HIRE-PURCHASE. - austlii.edu.au · agreeing to sell goods under a hire-purchase agreement;...

1958.] Hire-Purchase. [No. 55.

HIRE-PURCHASE.

7° Elizabeth II., No. LV.

No. 55 of 1958.

AN ACT to consolidate and amend the Law relatingto Hire-Purchase.

[Assented to 23rd December, 1958.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most ExcellentMajesty, by and with the advice and consent

of the Legislative Council and the LegislativeAssembly of Western Australia, in this presentParliament assembled, and by the authority of thesame, as follows:—

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Hire- Short title.

Purchase Act, 1958.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on a day ,Facigta enee-

to be fixed by proclamation.

2. (1) This Act shall apply in respect of hire-purchase agreements and policies and contractsentered into after the commencement of this Act

Operation 4tAct.

Repeal.

Interpreta-tion.

No. 55.] Hire-Purchase. [1958.

but shall not apply to any hire-purchase agreementunder which the hirer is a person who is engagedin the trade or business of selling goods of the samenature or description as the goods to which thehire-purchase agreement relates and who entersinto the hire-purchase agreement in the course ofthat trade or business.

(2) The Hire-Purchase Agreements Act, 1931-1937, is repealed but that Act shall continue to havethe same operation and effect in relation to hire-purchase agreements entered into before thecommencement of this Act as if this Act had notbeen passed.

3. (1) In this Act unless inconsistent with thecontext or subject-matter-

"cash" includes a cheque drawn on a banker;

"dealer" means a person, not being the owneror a servant of the owner, by whom or onwhose behalf negotiations leading to themaking of a hire-purchase agreement withthe owner were carried out or by whom oron whose behalf the transaction leading toa hire-purchase agreement was arranged;

"goods" includes all chattels personal otherthan money or things in action;

"gross purchase price" means the total amountto be paid or provided whether by way ofcash or other consideration by the hirerunder a hire-purchase agreement;

"guarantor" means a person who has guaran-teed the performance by a hirer of all orany of his obligations under a hire-purchaseagreement;

"hire-purchase agreement" includes a lettingof goods with an option to purchase andan agreement for the purchase of goods byinstalments (whether such agreement

1958.] Hire-Purchase. [No. 55

describes such instalments as rent or hireor otherwise) but does not include anyagreement whereby the property in thegoods comprised therein passes at the timeof the agreement;

"hirer" means the person to whom goods arelet hired or agreed to be sold under a hire-purchase agreement;

"owner" means the person letting hiring oragreeing to sell goods under a hire-purchaseagreement;

"schedule" means Schedule to this Act; and

"statutory rebate"

(a) in relation to terms charges

(i) means the amount derived bymultiplying the terms chargesby the sum of all the wholenumbers from one to thenumber which is the numberof complete months in theperiod of the agreement stillto go (both inclusive) andby dividing the product soobtained by the sum of all thewhole numbers from one tothe number which is the totalnumber of complete monthsin the total period of theagreement (both inclusive);

(ii) where it is agreed in a hire-purchase agreement that theterms charges have beencalculated on a simple interestbasis at a rate specified in theagreement on the amountoutstanding from month tomonth—means the amount ofinterest attributable to theperiod of complete months stillto go under the agreement.


(b) in relation to insurance, means thesum of-

As to formand contentof hire-pur-chase agree-ments.

FirstScbedule.

(i) the total amount of premiumpaid in respect of any annualperiod not yet commenced;

(ii) the proportion of the amountof the premium for insurancein respect of the currentannual period attributable tothe unexpired portion of thatperiod consisting of wholemonths less ten per centum;

(c) in relation to maintenance, meansthe amount derived by multiplyingthe amount charged for maintenanceby the number of complete monthsin the period of the agreement stillto come and dividing the product soobtained by the number of completemonths in the total period of theagreement.

(2) Any reference in this Act to taking possessionby the owner of goods comprised in a hire-purchaseagreement does not include a reference to takingpossession by the owner as a result of the voluntaryreturn of such goods by the hirer but does includea taking of possession by the owner of such goodspursuant to an order of any court and a return ofgoods after a notice has been served on the hirerpursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two ofthis Act.

4. (1) Every hire-purchase agreement shall bein writing and shall be signed by or on behalf ofthe hirer and all other parties to the agreement.

(2) The owner shall serve a copy of the agreementon the hirer within fourteen days after the makingof the agreement together with a copy of the FirstSchedule which copy may be endorsed on the saidcopy of the agreement.


(3) Every hire-purchase agreement shall set outin a tabular form-

a) the price at which at the time of signingthe agreement the hirer might havepurchased the goods for cash (in this Actcalled and in the agreement to be describedas "the cash price");

(b) (i) the amount paid or provided by way ofdeposit showing separately the amountpaid in cash and the amount providedby a consideration other than cash (inthis Act called and in the agreementto be described as "the deposit");

(ii) where a motor vehicle (as defined inthe Traffic Act, 1919-1957) constitutessuch consideration, full details of themake, model and type of such motorvehicle;

(c) the difference between the amountsrequired to be stated by paragraphs (a) and(b) of this subsection;

(d) any amount included in the gross purchaseprice for insurance (in this Act called andin the agreement to be described as"insurance");

(e) any amount included in the gross purchaseprice for maintenance of the goods (in thisAct called and in the agreement to bedescribed as "maintenance");

a detailed statement of the amount of anyother charges (other than terms charges)included in the gross purchase price;

any amount included in the gross purchaseprice for terms charges, to be describedas "terms charges";

(h) the total of the amounts referred to inparagraphs (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) of thissection (in this Act called "the balanceoriginally payable under the agreement");

(f)

(g)

No. 55.]

Hire-Purchase. [1958.

Hirer to beentitled tocopy ofagreementand state-ment of hisPresentposition.

(i) the gross purchase price;

and shall contain a description of the goods to whichit relates sufficient to identify them.

(4) Every owner who fails to comply with anyof the provisions of this section shall be guilty ofan offence against this Act but an agreement shallnot thereby be avoided.

5. (1) At any time before the final payment hasbeen made under a hire-purchase agreement theowner shall, within fourteen days after he hasreceived a request in writing from the hirer sendto the hirer a statement signed by the owner or hisagent showing

(a) the amount paid by or on behalf of thehirer;

(b) the amount which has become due underthe agreement but remains unpaid; and

(c) the amount which is to become payableunder the agreement;

but an owner shall not be obliged to comply withsuch a request if he has sent the hirer a statementwithin one month of the receipt of the request.

If the hirer on the ground that the copy or copiespreviously supplied to him has or have been lost ordestroyed requests in writing that the owner supplyhim with a further copy of the agreement andtenders to the owner the sum of five shillings, theowner shall as soon as is practicable after receivingthe request send to the hirer a copy of the agree-ment, but this paragraph does not apply to a copyxequired to be served under subsection (2) of sectionlour of this Act.


(2) If an owner fails to comply with a requestmade pursuant to the last preceding subsection heshall be guilty of an offence and liable to a penaltynot exceeding twenty pounds and, until the defaultis remedied

(a) the owner shall not be entitled to enforce-

(i) the agreement against the hirer;

(ii) any right to recover the goods fromthe hirer; or

(iii) any contract of guarantee relating tothe agreement; and

(b) any security given by the hirer in respect ofmoney payable under the agreement orgiven by a guarantor shall not be enforce-able against the hirer or the guarantor byany holder thereof.

6. A hirer who is liable to make payments inrespect of two or more hire-purchase agreementsto the same owner shall, notwithstanding anyagreement to the contrary, be entitled, on makingany payment in respect of the agreements whichis not sufficient to discharge the total amount thendue under all the agreements, to appropriate thesum so paid by him in or towards the satisfactionof the sum due under any one or more of theagreements, or in or towards the satisfaction of thesum due under any two or more of the agreementsin such proportions as he thinks fit, and, if hefails to make any such appropriation as aforesaid,the payment shall by virtue of this section beappropriated in or towards the satisfaction of thesums due under the respective agreements in theorder in which the agreements were entered into.

7. (1) The right title and interest of a hirerunder a hire-purchase agreement may be assignedwith the consent of the owner and the owner'sconsent to any such assignment shall not beunreasonably withheld and no p a y m en t orconsideration shall be required by the owner for hisconsent to an assignment.

As toappropria-tion ofpaymentswhen morethan oneagreement.

As toassignmentsof rightsunderhire-Pur-chaseagreements.


Provided that as a condition of granting suchconsent the owner shall be entitled to stipulate thatall defaults under the hire-purchase agreement shallbe made good and to require the hirer and assignee

(a) to execute and deliver to the owner anassignment agreement in a form approvedby the owner whereby without prejudicingor affecting the continuing personal liabilityof the hirer in such respects the assigneeagrees with the owner to be personally liableto pay the instalments of hire remainingunpaid and to perform and observe all otherstipulations and conditions of the hire-purchase agreement during the residue ofthe term thereof and whereby the assigneeindemnifies the hirer in respect of suchliabilities;

(b) to pay the reasonable costs incurred by theowner in preparing and stamping theassignment agreement and counterpartsand if required by the owner also thereasonable costs incurred by the owner inregistering the same under the Bills of SaleAct, 1899-1957.

(2) The right title and interest of a hirer undera hire-purchase agreement shall be capable ofpassing by operation of law to the personalrepresentative of the hirer or to his trustee orassignee in bankruptcy and if the hirer is a companythe liquidator may exercise the same rights underthe agreement as the company but nothing inthis subsection shall relieve any such personalrepresentative trustee assignee or liquidator fromcompliance with the provisions of the agreement.

(3) Section thirty of the Bills of Sale Act, 1899-1957, shall not apply to any assignment agreement ofthe kind referred to in the proviso to subsection (1)of this section.


8. (1) In every hire-purchase agreement there to itZliedshall be an implied condition that the goods shall gireev-filfr-be of merchantable quality but no such condition zeinent.shall be implied

(a) as regards defects of which the owner couldnot reasonably have been aware at the timethat the agreement was made; or

(b) where the hirer has examined the goods ora sample thereof as regards defects whichthe examination ought to have revealed; or

(c) if the goods are second-hand goods and theagreement contains a statement to theeffect that-

(i) the goods are second-hand; and(ii) all conditions and warranties as to

quality are expressly negatived;and appropriate words just above the hirer'ssignature to the effect that before theagreement was made the statement wasspecifically brought to his notice.

(2) Where the hirer expressly or by implicationmakes known the particular purpose for which thegoods are required there shall be implied in everyhire-purchase agreement a condition that the goodsshall be reasonably fit for that purpose but no suchcondition shall be implied in respect of second-handgoods if the agreement contains a statement to theeffect

(a) that the goods are second-hand; and

(b) that all conditions and warranties of fitnessand suitability are expressly negatived;

and appropriate words just above the hirer'ssignature to the effect that before the agreementwas made the statement was specifically broughtto his notice.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prejudice in anyway any other enactment or rule of law wherebyany condition or warranty is to be implied in anyhire-purchase agreement.

As torepresenta-tions, &c.,made inrespect ofhire-pur-chaseagreements.


9. (1) Every representation warranty or state-ment made to the hirer or prospective hirer whetherorally or in writing by any person acting inconnection with or in the course of negotiationsleading to the entering into of a hire-purchaseagreement (whether or not made by a servant oragent of the owner) shall confer on the hirer

(a) as against the owner the same right torescind the agreement as the hirer wouldhave had if the representation warranty orstatement had been made by an agent ofthe owner; and

(b) as against the person who made therepresentation warranty or statement andany person on whose behalf such personwas acting in making it—the same rightof action in damages as the hirer wouldhave had against them or either of themif the hirer had purchased the goods fromsuch firstmentioned person or the personon whose behalf he was acting (as the caserequires) as a result of the negotiations.

(2) Every covenant, condition or term in anyhire-purchase agreement or other documentpurporting to exclude, limit or modify the operationof this section or to preclude any right of action orany defence based on or arising out of any suchrepresentation, warranty or statement shall be voidand of no effect.

(3) An owner shall be entitled to be indemnifiedby the person who made and by any person on whosebehalf the representation warranty or statementwas made against any damage suffered by himthrough the operation of the foregoing provisionsof this section.

Avoidanceof certainProvisions.

10. Any provision in a hire-purchase agreementwhereby

(a) the right conferred on the hirer by thisAct to determine the agreement is excludedor restricted;


(b) any liability beyond the liability imposedby this Act, is imposed on the hirer byreason of the determination of the agree-ment in accordance with this Act;

(c) the hirer is subject to any greater liabilityon the determination, in any mannerwhatsoever, of the agreement or of thebailment thereunder, than the liability towhich he would be subject if the agreementwere determined in accordance with thisAct;

(d) the hirer is required to pay interest on anyoverdue instalment at a rate exceedingeight per centum per annum simple interestcalculated on a daily basis;

(e) any person acting on behalf of the ownerin connection with or in the course of thenegotiations leading to the entering intothe agreement is to be treated as, or declaredto be, the agent of the hirer;

(f) the owner is relieved from liability for theacts or defaults of any person acting inconnection with or in the course of thenegotiations leading to the entering intothe agreement; or

(g) except as expressly provided by this Actthe operation of any provision of this Actis excluded, modified or restricted;

shall be void and of no effect.

11. (1) The hirer of any goods under a hire- frertrpurchase agreement may, after giving not less than 'ger=fourteen days notice in writing to the owner of hisintention so to do and re-delivering the goods tothe owner during ordinary business hours at his


ordinary place of business or to the place specifiedfor that purpose in the agreement, terminate thehiring by payment or tender to the owner of

(i) the amount (if any) required to be paid insuch circumstances under the agreement;Or

(ii) the amount (if any) which the ownerwould have been entitled to recover if hehad taken possession of the goods at thedate of the termination of the hiring;

whichever is the less.

(2) Where the nature of the goods comprised inany hire-purchase agreement or the facilities avail-able at the ordinary place of business of the ownerare such that it would be impracticable to return thegoods to the ordinary place of business of the owner,the owner shall advise the hirer in writing withinseven days of receipt of the hirer's notice of a suitableand convenient place to which the goods may bereturned by the hirer if he desires to terminate theagreement pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

Hirer to beentitled tofinaliseagreementat any time.

12. (1) The hirer under a hire-purchase agree-ment may, if he has given notice in writing to theowner of his intention so to do, on or before the dayspecified for that purpose in the notice, completethe purchase of the goods by paying or tenderingto the owner the net balance due to the owner underthe agreement.

(2) For the purposes of this section the netbalance due shall be the balance originally payableunder the agreement less any amounts paid underthe agreement by the hirer on account of instal-ments, rental or hire but not including the amountpaid as deposit and less the statutory rebates for

(a) terms charges; and

if the hirer requires the contracts for insuranceand maintenance to be cancelled

(b) insurance; and

(c) maintenance.


(3) The rights conferred on the hirer by thissection may be exercised by him or by his assigneeat any time during the continuance of the agree-ment or where the owner has taken possession ofthe goods on paying or tendering to the owner(within twenty-one days after the owner has serveda copy of the Second Schedule on the hirer) inaddition to the amount required by this section thereasonable costs incurred by the owner in connec-tion with his taking possession of the goods and anyamount properly expended by the owner on thestorage repair or maintenance of the goods.

13. (1) Within fourteen days of the owner =cite tohaving taken pos session of goodswhich were Pgirvieffigg?)ds

comprised in a hire-purchase agreement he shall Hee'rpossessed.serve on the hirer a copy of the Second Schedule.

(2) If a copy of the Second Schedule is not servedas required by this section the rights of the ownerunder the hire-purchase agreement shall thereuponcease and determine but if the hirer exercises hisrights under this Act to recover the goods so takenpossession of the agreement shall have the sameforce and effect in relation to the rights andliabilities of the owner and the hirer as it would havehad if the notice had been duly given.

14. (1) Where goods have been delivered to the nliggttgthirer pursuant to a hire-purchase agreement and recover

the owner subsequently takes possession thereof the ",;11,Pg.ruenOer

hirer shall be entitled to recover from the owner the f;eo-stsae'gron

total of the deposit and other moneys paid by him of goods.

under the agreement in respect of the goods onaccount of instalments rental or hire less thedifference between

(a) the net purchase price of the goods; and

(b) the value of the goods at the time of theowner so taking possession thereof.

No. 55.]


As toascertain-ment ofvalue ofgoods andchattels attime ofre-possession.

(2) For the purposes of this section the netpurchase price shall be the gross purchase price lessthe statutory rebates for terms charges insuranceand maintenance.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the valueof any goods at the time of the owner takingpossession thereof shall be the best price whichcould be reasonably obtained by the owner at thetime, less

(a) the reasonable costs, charges and expensesof the owner in respect of taking possessionof the goods; and

(b) (whether or not the goods havesubsequently been sold or disposed of by theowner) the reasonable expenses of sellingor otherwise disposing of the goods.

Amount tobe recoveredin court ofcompetentjurisdiction.

As to noticeof claim byhirer andproceedingsfor recoveryof amountclaimed.

(4) The amount recoverable by the hirer underthis section may be recovered in any court ofcompetent jurisdiction.

(5) No amount shall be recoverable under thissection unless

(a) the hirer within twenty-one days after theowner has given to the hirer a copy of theSecond Schedule as required by sectionthirteen of this Act gives to the ownernotice in writing-

(i) setting out the amount claimed underthe provisions of this section and theamount which is claimed by the hirerto be the value of such goods at thetime of the owner taking possessionthereof; and

(ii) signed by the hirer or his solicitor oragent; and


(b) proceedings for the recovery of the amountso claimed under the provisions of thissection are commenced not earlier thanseven days and not later than three monthsafter the giving of such notice.

(6) If before any such proceedings are f,T,Witfgtcommenced by the hirer the owner serves an offer ion,,r,Lci.°Buirlin writing on the hirer to pay any amount inf,r,,,ialtiglera.satisfaction of the claim by the hirer under thissection the owner in any such proceedings shallbe entitled to pay into court the amount so offeredand upon so doing shall be entitled to the samerights as if that amount had been tendered to thehirer before the proceedings were commenced:

Provided that no such right shall be available tothe owner in any proceedings by the hirer to recoverthe amount so offered or any lesser amount if thehirer before commencing the proceedings notifiesthe owner in writing of the acceptance by the hirerof the amount so offered.

15. (1) An owner shall not be entitled if he hastakingOwnr afterentities after

taken possession of the goods to recover any sum possessionof goods t(whether under a judgment or order or otherwise) recover aosum whichwhich would together with— togetherwith then

the value of the goods at the time of the owner wade oafndreregri paidso taking possession thereof (ascertained as lat

provided in subsection (3) of the last preceding ncrectr„

section); and price thereof.

the moneys paid or other consideration providedby the hirer under the agreement by way ofdeposit instalments rental or hire or by anyother person on his behalf

amount to more than the net purchase price of thegoods (ascertained as provided in subsection (2) ofthe last preceding section).

(2) In any legal proceedings in relation to ahire-purchase agreement after the owner has takenpossession of the goods the court before which suchproceedings are brought may vary or discharge the

No. 55.]


Provision forhirer toobtainre-deliveryto him ofgoods takenpossession ofon givingnotice andpaying ortenderingmoneys thendue, Sze.

judgment or order of any court against the hirerfor the recovery of money so far as is necessary togive effect to the provisions of the last precedingsubsection.

16. (1) If an owner takes possession of any goodscomprised in a hire-purchase agreement the hirermay before or within fourteen days after theowner has given to the hirer a copy of the SecondSchedule give to the owner notice in writing signedby himself or his agent requiring the owner tore-deliver the goods to the hirer.

(2) If within seven days after giving notice asaforesaid the hirer

(a) pays or tenders to the owner such moneys(if any) as are due by the hirer under thehire-purchase agreement in respect of theperiod of hiring up to the date of suchpayment or tender (and for the purposesof this paragraph the hiring shall be deemedto have continued up to such date);

(b) remedies any breach of the agreement or(where he is unable to remedy the breachby reason of the fact that the owner hastaken possession of the goods) pays ortenders to the owner the costs and expensesreasonably and actually incurred by theowner in doing any act matter or thingnecessary to remedy that breach; and

(c) pays or tenders to the owner the costs andexpenses of the owner properly incurredin respect of his taking possession of thegoods and the re-delivery to the hirer

the owner shall forthwith re-deliver the goods tothe hirer and the goods shall be received and heldby the hirer pursuant to the terms of the hire-purchase agreement as if a breach had not occurredand the owner had not taken possession thereof:


Provided that where the goods are re-delivered tothe hirer as aforesaid and any breach has not beenremedied the owner shall not have any right arisingout of that breach to take possession of such goodsunless

(a) by notice in writing given to the hirer atthe time of re-delivery as aforesaid hespecifies the breach and requires it to beremedied; and

(b) the hirer fails within fourteen days afterreceiving such notice to remedy the breach.

(3) Where an owner has taken possession of any ay= t°ggoods he shall not without the consent of the hirer nsglonrossessedsell or dispose of the goods or part with possession

thereof until after the expiration of fourteen zwy-onedays from the date of his serving on the hirer acopy of the Second Schedule or if notice under the Schedule.last preceding subsection has been given until thetime for payment or tender pursuant to that noticehas expired (whichever is the later).

17. (1) Save as provided in this Act a guarantor trgvtirshall not by reason of the operation of this Act be tore'

discharged from liability under his guarantee.

(2) The liability of a guarantor shall continuenotwithstanding that the owner has pursuant tothe provisions of a hire-purchase agreement takenpossession of the goods comprised therein (andwhether or not the goods have been re-delivered tothe hirer pursuant to this Act); but nothing in thissubsection shall operate to preserve the liability ofa guarantor where the owner and the hirer haveentered into a new agreement in respect of the goodscomprised in any hire-purchase agreement.

(3) No guarantor shall be liable to any furtheror other extent than the hirer the performance ofwhose obligations he has guaranteed; but nothingin this Act shall affect any agreement by theguarantor binding him to the performance of anyobligation which is not one of the obligationsimposed on the hirer under the hire-purchaseagreement in respect of which the guarantee isgiven.


(4) Where goods have been delivered to the hirerpursuant to a hire-purchase agreement and the'owner subsequently takes possession thereof anyguarantor who has paid any moneys to the ownerin accordance with his guarantee shall have the likeright in like manner to recover such moneys as hewould have had if he had been the hirer of thegoods but for the purpose of calculating the amountreceived by the owner all moneys paid by the hirershall be deemed to have been paid by the guarantor:

Provided that no moneys shall be recovered by theguarantor in excess of the moneys actually paid byhim.

Certaintransactionsprohibited.

18. Any person (in this section referred to as the"owner") who knowingly

(a) enters into an agreement for the bailmentof goods to any person (in this sectionreferred to as the "hirer"), which agreementdoes not by itself constitute a hire-purchaseagreement; or

(b) takes from any person (in this sectionreferred to as the "hirer") an offer inwriting that, if accepted, will constitute anagreement for the bailment of goods butwill not by itself constitute a hire-purchaseagreement;

in association, directly or indirectly, with themaking, by the hirer to the owner or to any personassociated, directly or indirectly, in business withthe owner, of an offer in writing to purchase thegoods the subject of the agreement referred to inparagraph (a), or of the offer referred to inparagraph (b), of this section on terms andconditions that, if the offer in writing to purchasethe goods is accepted, will constitute a hire-purchaseagreement shall be guilty of an offence against thisAct.


19. Any dealer who prepares or causes to beprepared any hire-purchase agreement or offer inwriting which if accepted will constitute a hire-purchase agreement with the intention of bringingabout a contractual relationship between an ownerand a hirer and which agreement or offer containsto the knowledge of the dealer any false statementor representation as to the amount of the cash priceor of the deposit shall be guilty of an offence againstthis Act.

20. If in connection with any goods any person Forgictiaara(hereinafter called the "dealer") arranges that some rogdwangsother person (hereinafter called the "financier") financiers

shall(a) enter into a hire-purchase agreement in

relation to those goods with a hirer; or

(b) accept any assignment of the dealer'sproperty in the goods comprised in, or ofthe dealer's rights under, a hire-purchaseagreement; oradvance or pay money to the dealer or tosome person on his behalf in respect of ahire-purchase agreement in relation tosuch goods;

such dealer shall not seek, accept, demand or receivefrom the financier and such financier shall not pay,offer or grant to the dealer, directly or indirectly,any money or other valuable consideration which,together with the money (if any) paid or payableby or on behalf of the hirer to the dealer and thevalue of any other consideration (if any) furnishedor to be furnished by or on behalf of the hirer to thedealer, would exceed the cash price of the goods:

Provided thatwhere the dealer has entered into a contractguaranteeing the performance of the hire-purchase agreement by the hirer acommission not exceeding one-tenth of thetotal terms charge payable under the hire-purchase agreement may be paid by thefinancier to the dealer; and

(c)

(a)


(b) where the dealer has agreed with the hirerto maintain or to provide any service forthe goods during the currency of the hire-purchase agreement any amount payableunder the agreement in respect of themaintenance or service may be paid by thefinancier to the dealer.

As toinsuranceof goodscomprised inhire-purchaseagreements.

Power toowner torequirehirerto delivergoods.

Hirer maybe requiredto statewhere goodsare.

21. (1) An owner may require any goodscomprised in a hire-purchase agreement to beinsured in the names of the owner and the hireragainst any risk that he thinks fit during the periodof the agreement at the expense of the hirer.

(2) An owner shall not require a hirer to insureany such risk with any particular insurer.

(3) An owner shall not refuse to enter into ahire-purchase agreement with a person who hasarranged for the insurance of the goods against therisks required by the owner in the names of theowner and the hirer with a reputable insurer carry-ing on business in the State if that person isotherwise acceptable to the owner.

22. Where an owner is entitled to take possessionof any goods comprised in a hire-purchase agreementand the hirer has been served with a notice in writingstating that the owner requires the goods to bedelivered to him, any hirer or any person acting onbehalf of a hirer who neglects or refuses to deliverup possession of the said goods on the demand of theowner or of any agent of the owner authorised inwriting in that behalf shall be guilty of an offenceagainst this Act.

23. The owner of any goods comprised in a hire-purchase agreement may at any time by notice inwriting served on the hirer thereof require him tostate in writing where the goods are or, if the goodsare not in his possession, to whom he delivered thegoods or the circumstances under which he lostpossession of them and any hirer who does not withinseven days after the receipt of any such noticecomply therewith shall be guilty of an offenceagainst this Act.


24. (1) Any notice or document required or ctr=ecrevl,c°authorised to be served on or given to an owner or ''ze•hirer under this Act may be so served or given

(a) by delivering it to him personally;

(b) by leaving it at his place of abode orbusiness with some person apparently of orover the age of sixteen years; or

(c) by posting it addressed to him at his lastknown place of abode or business.

(2) The affidavit of an owner or his servant or Zglferagent as to the delivery or posting of any notice ordocument required to be served by this Act shall beadmissible as prima facie evidence of the due serviceof the document or notice if the deponent swears tothe facts necessary to prove due service either fromhis own knowledge or to his information and beliefbased on and verified by the records of the owner.

25. Any person who contravenes or fails to Offences.

comply with any provision of this Act shall be guiltyof an offence, and every person guilty of an offenceagainst this Act where no other penalty is expresslyprovided shall be liable to a penalty of not more thanTwo hundred pounds.

SCHEDULES.FIRST SCHEDULE. Section 4.

Hire-Purchase Act, 1958.

ADVICE TO HIRERS.

Under the provisions of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1958-

(a) you are entitled to a copy of the agreementwhich the owner should serve on you withinfourteen days after the making of the agree-ment. For details see Hire-Purchase Act, 1958,section four.

(b) you are entitled to a statement of the amountthat you owe on your making a written requestto the owner but you may not make such arequest more than once a month. For detailssee Hire-Purchase Act, 1958, section five.

No. 55.]


(c) with the written consent of the owner you canassign your rights under the hire-purchaseagreement and he may not unreasonably refusehis consent. For details see Hire-Purchase Act,1958, section seven;

(d) you have the right to complete the agreementat any time and if you do you will be entitledto a rebate of some of the charges payableunder the agreement. For details seeHire-Purchase Act, 1958, section twelve;

(e) if you are unable to pay your instalments youare entitled to return the goods to the ownerat your own expense and if you do you will onlybe liable to pay an amount sufficient to coverthe loss suffered by the owner. For details ofthe amount that you will have to pay see theHire-Purchase Act, 1958, section eleven.

Section 13, SECOND SCHEDULE.

Hire-Purchase Act, 1958.

ADVICE TO HIRERS.

When the goods you have hired are re-possessed-(a) you may be entitled to some refund of what

you have paid;(b) you may be entitled to get the goods back if

you pay the arrears and remedy any otherbreaches of contract;

(c) you are entitled within fourteen days to givenotice of your intention to complete the contractand on payment of the balance due to get thegoods back;

(d) you are liable for loss suffered by the ownerby reason of your breach of the agreement.

DON'T DELAY.

Action to enforce your rights should be taken at once.You will lose your rights fourteen days after notice is servedor posted if you do not take action.

When goods are re-possessed you are not liable to payany more than enough to cover the balance due under thecontract and the costs of repossession less the value of thegoods when re-possessed. For details see Hire-PurchaseAct, 1958, section fifteen.

If you think you have any rights under theHire-Purchase Act, 1958, you should seek advice at once.

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