The Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations

The rules governing the advertising of consumer credit will change at the end of this month. The Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2004 (the "Regulations") come into force on 31 October 2004.

General Requirements

Under the Regulations all consumer credit advertisements must:

• use plain and intelligible language;
• be easily legible or, where any information is given orally, clearly audible; and
• specify the name of the advertiser.

Further Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, the inclusion in advertisements of certain types of information automatically triggers a requirement to include other information.

Triggers include references to:

• the frequency, number or amounts of repayments
• other payments or charges payable under the credit agreement
• the total amount payable, except where there is 0% credit or there is no reference to the cash price of the goods, services or land financed under the agreement

The additional information to be included is:

• where applicable:
  • the amount of credit
  • whether the debtor is required to place any sum on deposit
  • the cash price of any goods, services or land specified in the advertisement
  • whether any advance payment is required and, if so, the amount of that payment
  • the frequency, number or amounts of repayments
  • other payments or charges
  • the total amount payable;
  • the typical APR - the Regulations set out in some detail how the typical APR should be determined and when it should be disclosed; and
• the postal address at which the advertiser may be contacted, except where the advertisement:
  • appears on television or radio
  • appears on the premises of a dealer or creditor and is not to be taken away
  • already includes the name and address of a dealer or the name and postal address of a credit broker.

All the above information must be shown together as a whole with equal prominence except the typical APR which should appear in characters at least 1½ times the size of the characters in which the other information appears.

Useful website: www.dti.gov.uk/ccp