Consumer Credit Act, 1995
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PART XII Obligation on credit Institutions to Notify Director of all Customer Charges | ||
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Customer charges, etc., by credit institutions. |
149.—(1) Each credit institution shall, within three months, notify the Director of all charges imposed by it in relation to the provision of any service to a customer or to a group of customers. | |
(2) A credit institution or, subject to the Competition Act, 1991 , a group of credit institutions in respect of a service offered jointly by the group, shall notify the Director of every proposal— | ||
(a) to increase any charge which has been previously notified to the Director under subsection (1), or | ||
(b) to impose any charge in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or to a group of customers, which has not been previously notified to the Director under subsection (1). | ||
(3) Every notification under subsection (2) shall be accompanied by— | ||
(a) subject to subsection (4), such fee as the Director may decide as respects each notification, being not more than a fee of £25,000 or such other amount as may stand specified in regulations, | ||
(b) a statement of the commercial justification for the proposal including a detailed statement of cost, and | ||
(c) details of the estimated amount of additional income accruing from the proposal. | ||
(4) The fee referred to in subsection (3) may be waived or reduced by the Director where the payment of the fee would, in the opinion of the Director, be unfair to the credit institution having regard to— | ||
(a) the impact of any increase in or imposition of charges on customers, | ||
(b) the number of customers affected by any increase in or imposition of charges, | ||
(c) the additional income likely to accrue from any increase in or imposition of charges, and | ||
(d) any other criteria that he deems appropriate. | ||
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the Director may within 4 months of receipt of a notification under subsection (2) direct a credit institution— | ||
(a) to refrain from imposing or changing a charge in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or to a group of customers, without the prior approval of the Director, and | ||
(b) to publish, in such manner as may be specified by the Director from time to time, information on any charge in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or to a group of customers. | ||
(6) Where a notification under subsection (2) is in respect of a proposal to impose a charge for a new service which was not previously offered to its customers or is being offered as choice to and in a materially different way to existing services, the Director may, within 3 weeks of receipt of the notification, direct the credit institution— | ||
(a) to refrain from imposing or changing a charge in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or to a group of customers, without the prior approval of the Director, and | ||
(b) to publish, in such manner as may be specified by the Director from time to time, information on any charge in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or to a group of customers. | ||
(7) A direction under this section may be expressed to apply— | ||
(a) to every credit institution or to credit institutions carrying on a specified type of banking or financial business, | ||
(b) to all services provided to a customer or to a group of customers by credit institutions or to specified services or to services of a specified kind, or | ||
(c) to a specified time or times or during a specified period or periods, | ||
and the direction shall— | ||
(i) (I) be communicated to every credit institution concerned, and | ||
(II) where not communicated in writing, be confirmed in writing to every such credit institution concerned as soon as possible thereafter, and | ||
(ii) have effect in accordance with its terms. | ||
(8) The Director shall, in exercising his powers under this section, have regard to— | ||
(a) the promotion of fair competition between— | ||
(i) credit institutions, and | ||
(ii) credit institutions carrying on a particular type of banking or financial business, | ||
(b) the statement of commercial justification referred to in subsection (3) (b), | ||
(c) a credit institution passing any costs on to its customers or a group of its customers in proposing to impose or change any charge, in relation to the provision of a service to a customer or a group of its customers, and | ||
(d) the effect on customers or a group of customers of any proposal to impose or change any charge in relation to the provision of such service. | ||
(9) The Director may amend or revoke a subsisting direction under this section and may amend or revoke a subsisting direction which has been amended. | ||
(10) The Director may exempt a credit institution from the obligation to make a notification under subsection (2) in respect of any charge which has been individually negotiated bona fide with the credit institution by a customer, or by or on behalf of a group of customers, of the credit institution. | ||
(11) The Director shall— | ||
(a) keep under general review the terms and conditions applying to the provision of services to customers by credit institutions, and | ||
(b) (i) require a credit institution to discontinue or refrain from the use of such terms and conditions that are, or are likely to be regarded as unfair, and | ||
(ii) to institute proceedings in the High Court for an order prohibiting the use, or, as the case may be, the continued use of such terms and conditions if the credit institution fails to comply with a requirement under subparagraph (i). | ||
(12) In this section— | ||
“service” means any service provided by a credit institution to a customer in respect of the following— | ||
(a) making and receiving payments, | ||
(b) providing foreign exchange facilities, | ||
(c) providing and granting credit, | ||
(d) maintaining, and administrating transaction accounts used for the services specified by this subsection, including issuing statements, or | ||
(e) any other service as may be prescribed; | ||
“charge” does not include any rate of interest or any charge, cost or expense levied by a party other than the credit institutions in connection with the provision of the service to the credit institution or the customer and which is to be discharged by the customer. |