Consumer Rights Act 2022

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Sales contracts

11. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (7), “sales contract” means a contract under which—

(a) a trader transfers, or undertakes to transfer, the ownership of goods to a consumer, and

(b) the consumer—

(i) pays, or undertakes to pay, the price of the goods, or

(ii) transfers, or undertakes to transfer, ownership of goods to the trader in full or part payment of the price.

(2) Any reference in the definition of “sales contract” in subsection (1) to the consumer paying a price includes a reference to the consumer using by way of payment any facility by which payment is made.

(3) A sales contract may be concluded between one part-owner and another.

(4) A sales contract includes a contract for the sale of goods to be produced or manufactured by the trader, including goods made to the consumer’s specifications.

(5) A sales contract may be—

(a) a transaction under which the ownership of goods is transferred from a trader to a consumer (referred to in this section as a “sale”), or

(b) a transaction under which the ownership of goods is to be transferred from a trader to a consumer at a future time or subject to a condition that is to be fulfilled at a future time (referred to in this section as “an agreement to sell”).

(6) An agreement to sell becomes a sale when the time elapses or the condition is met subject to which ownership of the goods is to be transferred.

(7) A sales contract may be absolute or conditional.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), a sales contract is conditional if the trader retains ownership of the goods to which the sales contract relates until the conditions specified in the contract (whether for the payment of instalments or otherwise) are met.

(9) For the avoidance of doubt, a contract is not a conditional sales contract if it is a hire-purchase agreement.

(10) In this section, “hire-purchase agreement” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1995.