Consumer Credit (Amendment) Regulations, 2024

L.N. 17 of 2024

CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT

(CAP. 378)

Consumer Credit (Amendment) Regulations, 2024

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 7(1) of the

Consumer Affairs Act, the Minister responsible for consumer affairs,

after consulting the Consumer Affairs Council, has made the following

(1) The title of these regulations is the Consumer Credit

(Amendment) Regulations, 2024 and these regulations shall be read

and construed as one with the Consumer Credit Regulations,

hereinafter referred to as the "principal regulations".

(2) These regulations shall be deemed to have come into force

on 30th December 2023.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following new regulation

2. The scope of these regulations is to

(a) transpose the provisions of Directive

2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for

consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/

EC;

(b) transpose the provisions of Commission

Directive 2011/90/EU of 14 November 2011

amending Part II of Annex I to Directive 2008/48/

EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

providing additional assumptions for the

calculation of the annual percentage rate of charge;

and

(c) transpose article 27 of Directive (EU)

2021/2167 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 24 November 2021 on credit servicers

and credit purchasers and amending Directives

2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU.".

Immediately after sub-regulation (4) of regulation 12 of

the principal regulations there shall be added the following new sub-

regulation

(4A) Without prejudice to other obligations

provided for in these regulations, prior to modifying the

terms and conditions of the credit agreement, the creditor

and conditions

shall communicate the following information to the

consumer

(a) a clear description of the proposed

changes and, where applicable, of the need for

consumer consent or of the changes introduced by

operation of law;

(b) the time period for the implementation

of the changes referred to in paragraph (a);

(c) the means for complaint available to the

consumer regarding the changes referred to in

paragraph (a);

(d) the time period available for filing any

such complaint;

(e) the name and address of the Arbiter for

Financial Services as established under the Arbiter

for Financial Services Act before whom the

consumer may submit the said complaint.".

Immediately after regulation 16 of the principal regulations Adds new

there shall be added the following regulation

(1) Creditors shall have adequate policies

and procedures to ensure that they make efforts to

exercise, where appropriate, reasonable forbearance

before enforcement proceedings are instituted. The said

forbearance measures shall take into account, among

other elements, the consumer’s circumstances and among

other possibilities may consist of

(a) a total or partial refinancing of a credit

agreement;

(b) a modification of the existing terms and

conditions of a credit agreement, which may include

among others

(i) extending the term of the credit

agreement;

(ii) changing the type of credit

agreement;

(iii) deferring payment of all or part of

the instalment repayment for a period;

(iv) changing the interest rate;

(v) offering a payment holiday;

(vi) partial repayments;

(vii) currency conversions;

(viii) partial forgiveness and debt

consolidation

Provided that the list of forbearance measures

stipulated in this sub-regulation is without prejudice to

rules set out in national law, including in particular the

national provisions implementing the European Banking

Authority Guidelines on management of non-performing

and forborne exposures (EBA/GL/2018/06) and the

European Central Bank Guidance to banks on non-

performing loans.

(2) Where the creditor is permitted to define and

impose charges on the consumer arising from the default,

those charges shall not be greater than is necessary to

compensate the creditor for costs it has incurred as a

result of the default.".

€0.27