1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit) Regulations 2010.
(2) These Regulations shall come into force —
(a)on 1st February 2011, or
(b)in relation to a prospective or actual regulated consumer credit agreement, on the date and at the time Parts 1 to 3 of the Consumer Credit (EU Directive) Regulations 2010 M1 apply to such an agreement, being a date before 1stFebruary 2011.
Marginal Citations
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“annual percentage rate of charge” means the rate of the total charge for credit (calculated in accordance with regulation 4), expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of credit;
“current account” means an account under which the customer may, by means of cheques or similar orders payable to the customer or to any other person or by any other means, obtain or have the use of money held or made available by the person with whom the account is kept and which records alterations in the financial relationship between the said person and the customer;
“overdraft facility” means an explicit agreement whereby a creditor makes available to a debtor funds which exceed the current balance in the debtor's current account;
“total amount of credit” means the credit limit or the total sums made available under a consumer credit agreement;
“total cost of credit to the debtor” means all costs, including interest, commissions, taxes and any other kind of fees which are required to be paid by or on behalf of the debtor or a relative of the debtor in connection with the consumer credit agreement, whether payable to the creditor or to any other person, and which are known to the creditor, except for notarial costs.
(2) In these Regulations—
(a)a reference to a rate of interest is a reference to the interest rate expressed as a fixed or variable percentage applied on an annual basis to the amount of credit drawn down;
(b)a reference to a consumer credit agreement is to a consumer credit agreement regulated by [F1the Consumer Credit Act 1974].
[F2(c)a reference to an open-end consumer credit agreement is to a consumer credit agreement of no fixed duration and includes credits which must be repaid in full within or after a period but, once repaid, become available to be drawn down again.]
Textual Amendments
F1Words in reg. 2(2)(b) substituted (31.1.2011) by The Consumer Credit (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/11), regs. 1, 7(2)
F2Reg. 2(2)(c) inserted (1.1.2013) by The Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/1745), regs. 1(2), 3
3. These Regulations shall not apply to consumer credit agreements which are secured on land or to prospective consumer credit agreements which are to be secured on land except to the extent that the Consumer Credit (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2010 apply to such agreements.
4.—(1) The total charge for credit which may be provided under an actual or prospective consumer credit agreement shall be the total cost of credit to the debtor determined in accordance with the requirements in paragraphs (2) to (5) below.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the following costs shall be included in the total cost of credit to the debtor—
(a)the costs of maintaining an account recording both payment transactions and drawdowns;
(b)the costs of using a means of payment for both payment transactions and drawdowns;
(c)other costs relating to payment transactions.
(3) The costs at paragraph (2) shall not be included in the total cost of credit to the debtor where—
(a)the opening of the account is optional and the costs of the account have been clearly and separately shown in the consumer credit agreement or in any other agreement made with the debtor;
(b)in the case of an overdraft facility the costs do not relate to that facility.
(4) Costs in respect of an ancillary service shall be included in the total cost of credit to the debtor if the conclusion of a service contract is compulsory in order to obtain the credit or to obtain it on the terms and conditions marketed.
(5) The total cost of credit to the debtor shall not include—
(a)any charges payable by or on behalf of the debtor or a relative of his for non-compliance with his commitments contained in the consumer credit agreement;
(b)charges which, for purchases of goods or services, he or a relative of his is obliged to pay whether the transaction is effected in cash or on credit.
(6) In paragraph (4), the reference to an ancillary service means a service that relates to the provision of credit under the consumer credit agreement and includes in particular an insurance or payment protection policy.
5. The annual percentage rate of charge shall be calculated in accordance with the mathematical formula set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.
6. For the purposes of calculating the total charge for credit and the annual percentage rate of charge—
(a)it shall be assumed that the consumer credit agreement is to remain valid for the period agreed and that the creditor and the debtor will fulfil their obligations under the terms and by the dates specified in that agreement;
(b)in the case of a consumer credit agreement allowing variations in—
(i)the rate of interest, or
(ii)where applicable, charges contained in the annual percentage rate of charge,
where these cannot be quantified at the time of calculation, it shall be assumed that they will remain at the initial level and will be applicable for the duration of the agreement;
(c)where not all rates of interest are determined in the consumer credit agreement, a rate of interest shall be assumed to be fixed only for the partial periods for which the rate of interest is determined exclusively by a fixed specific percentage agreed when the agreement is made;
(d)where the duration of the consumer credit agreement cannot be determined at the date of calculation and where different rates of interest and charges are to be offered for limited periods during that agreement, the rate of interest and the charge shall be assumed to be at the highest level for the duration of the agreement;
(e)where there is a fixed rate of interest agreed in relation to an initial period under a consumer credit agreement, at the end of which a new rate of interest is determined and subsequently periodically adjusted according to an agreed indicator, it shall be assumed that, at the end of the period of the fixed rate of interest, the rate of interest is the same as at the time of making the calculation, based on the value of the agreed indicator at that time;
(f)where the consumer credit agreement gives the debtor freedom of drawdown, the total amount of credit shall be assumed to be drawn down immediately and in full;
(fa)where the consumer credit agreement imposes, amongst the different ways of drawdown, a limitation with regard to the amount of credit and period of time, the amount of credit shall be assumed to be the maximum amount provided for in the agreement and to be drawn down on the earliest date provided for in the agreement;
(g)where the consumer credit agreement provides different ways of drawdown with different charges or rates of interest, the total amount of credit shall be assumed to be drawn down at the highest charge and rate of interest applied to the most common drawdown mechanism for the credit product to which the agreement relates;
(h)for the purposes of paragraph (g), the most common drawdown mechanism for a particular credit product shall be assessed on the basis of the volume of transactions for that product in the preceding 12 months, or expected volumes in the case of a new credit product;
(i)in the case of an overdraft facility, the total amount of credit shall be assumed to be drawn down in full and for the entire duration of the consumer credit agreement;
(j)for the purposes of paragraph (i) if the duration of the overdraft facility is not known it shall be assumed that the duration of the facility is three months;
(k)in the case of an open-end consumer credit agreement, other than an overdraft facility, it shall be assumed that the credit is provided for a period of one year starting from the date of the initial drawdown, and that the final payment made by the debtor clears the balance of capital, interest and other charges, if any;
(l)for the purposes of paragraph (k)—
(i)the capital is repaid by the debtor in equal monthly payments, commencing one month after the date of initial drawdown;
(ii)in cases where the capital must be repaid in full, in a single payment, within or after each payment period, successive drawdowns and repayments of the entire capital by the debtor shall be assumed to occur over the period of one year;
(iii)interest and other charges shall be applied in accordance with those drawdowns and repayments of capital and as provided for in the consumer credit agreement;
(m)in the case of a consumer credit agreement, other than an overdraft facility, or an open-end consumer credit agreement—
(i)where the date or amount of a repayment of capital to be made by the debtor cannot be ascertained, it shall be assumed that the repayment is made at the earliest date provided for under the consumer credit agreement and is for the lowest amount for which the consumer credit agreement provides;
(ii)where it is not known on which date the consumer credit agreement is made, the date of the initial drawdown shall be assumed to be the date which results in the shortest interval between that date and the date of the first payment to be made by the debtor;
(n)where the date or amount of a payment to be made by the debtor cannot be ascertained on the basis of the consumer credit agreement or the assumptions set out in paragraphs (i) to (m), it shall be assumed that the payment is made in accordance with the dates and conditions required by the creditor and, when these are unknown—
(i)interest charges are paid together with repayments of capital;
(ii)a non-interest charge expressed as a single sum is paid on the date of the making of the consumer credit agreement;
(iii)non-interest charges expressed as several payments are paid at regular intervals, commencing with the date of the first repayment of capital, and if the amount of such payments is not known they shall be assumed to be equal amounts;
(iv)the final payment clears the balance of capital, interest and other charges, if any;
(o)in the case of an agreement for running-account credit, where the credit limit applicable to the credit is not yet known, that credit limit shall be assumed to be £1,200.]
Textual Amendments
F3Reg. 6 substituted (1.1.2013) by The Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/1745), regs. 1(2), 4
Kevin Brennan
Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills