PART 2Amendments to primary legislation
Assessment of creditworthinessI15
After section 55A (pre-contractual explanations etc) as inserted by regulation 3, insert—
Assessment of creditworthiness55B
1
Before making a regulated consumer credit agreement, other than an excluded agreement, the creditor must undertake an assessment of the creditworthiness of the debtor.
2
Before significantly increasing—
a
the amount of credit to be provided under a regulated consumer credit agreement, other than an excluded agreement, or
b
a credit limit for running-account credit under a regulated consumer credit agreement, other than an excluded agreement,
the creditor must undertake an assessment of the debtor’s creditworthiness.
3
A creditworthiness assessment must be based on sufficient information obtained from—
a
the debtor, where appropriate, and
b
a credit reference agency, where necessary.
4
For the purposes of this section an agreement is an excluded agreement if it is—
a
an agreement secured on land, or
b
an agreement under which a person takes an article in pawn.