Hire Purchase Act 1964

• (c) if the context of the reference requires that it shall be construed as a reference only to a contract relating to an article within the limitation as to value specified in the said paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, the said paragraph (b) it shall be construed as a reference to a hire-purchase agreement (within the meaning assigned as aforesaid) under which the hire-purchase price does not exceed the limitation for the time being specified in section 1(1) of the Act of 1938 or, as the case may be, a conditional sale agreement (within the meaning assigned as aforesaid) under which the total purchase price does not exceed the limitation specified or referred to in section 21(2) of this Act;

• (d) for the removal of doubt it is hereby declared that except as required by the last preceding paragraph no account is to be taken of section 1 of the Act of 1938, or section 2 or the proviso to section 21(2) of this Act, in construing any such reference;

• (e) in relation to any such reference, expressions to which meanings are assigned by section 21(1) of the Act of 1938 shall in any enactment passed before this Act have the meanings so assigned to them respectively, unless the context otherwise requires; and any words defining the expressions " purchaser " or " instalment " for the purposes of any such reference shall be disregarded.

• (5) In this Part of, and in Schedules 2 and 7 to, this Act, the expression " the Act of 1938 " means the said Act of 1938 as extended to Scotland by this section.

Extension to Scotland of provisions of Part I

26

• (1) For the purpose of further amending the law relating to hire-purchase and credit-sale in Scotland the provisions of this Act set out in the following Table shall extend to Scotland subject to the modifications specified in the next following subsection.

Section 2.
Sections 4 to 11.
Section 13.
Sections 15 to 20.
Section 21(2) to (5).
Section 22.
Section 23.
Section 24 (in so far as it relates to the provisions mentioned in this Table).
Schedule 1.

• (2) The modifications referred to in the preceding subsection are as follows:—

• (a) references to the principal Act and to Part I of this Act shall be construed respectively as references to the Act of 1938 and such of the provisions of the said Part I as are extended to Scotland by this section; and any reference to those provisions, or to any of them, shall be construed as a reference to those provisions, or, as the case may be, that provision, as so extended;

• (b) any reference to the Hire-Purchase Act 1954 or any provision thereof shall be omitted;

• (c) any reference to the bailment of goods shall be omitted ;

• (d) for any reference to a personal representative there shall be substituted a reference to an executor;

• (e) in section 10(3), for any reference to a condition or warranty there shall be substituted a reference to a stipulation;

• (f) in section 13 for any reference to a condition, in relation to an agreement, there shall be substituted a reference to a stipulation which is material to the agreement;

• (g) in section 15, subsection (8) and paragraph (a) of subsection (7) shall be omitted ;

• (h) in section 17—

• (i) for any reference to a grant of probate or letters of administration there shall be substituted a reference to an appointment as executor;

• (ii) for any reference, in relation to an action, to adjourning there shall be substituted a reference to sisting;

• (iii) in subsection (3), the words " in an action for money had and received " shall be omitted ;

• (iv) in subsection (4), the words from "and in relation to " to the end of the subsection shall be omitted;

• (v) in subsection (7), for the words " by an application for the issue of a warrant of delivery " there shall be substituted the words " by an application for the grant of a warrant to officers of court to search such premises in the occupation of that person as may be specified in the warrant and to take possession of the goods or any of them which may be found in such premises " ; and at the end of the said subsection there shall be added the words " Any warrant granted in pursuance of an application under this subsection shall be deemed to include authority to open, if need be, shut and lockfast places for the purpose of carrying the warrant into lawful execution "; and

• (vi) subsection (8) shall be omitted ;

• (i) in section 18(3)(b) the words " (in any manner in which money may be ordered to be paid in accordance with section 99 of the County Courts Act 1959) " shall be omitted;

• (j) in section 20, for subsection (1) there shall be substituted the following subsection:—

(1) A contract of guarantee relating to a hire-purchase agreement to which the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 as extended to Scotland applies or relating to a credit-sale agreement to which that Act applies under which the total purchase price exceeds £30, and any security given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such a contract, shall (subject to the next following subsection) not be enforceable unless the contract of guarantee is signed before two witnesses by the guarantor and, within seven days of the making of the contract of guarantee or the making of the hire-purchase agreement or credit-sale agreement, whichever is the later, there is delivered or sent to the guarantor a copy of the contract of guarantee and a copy of the hire-purchase agreement or credit-sale agreement.

and, in subsection (4)(b), the words " a note or memorandum of " shall be omitted ;

• (k) in section 22—

• (i) in subsection (2)(d), the words " note or memorandum of a" and the words " paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of ", where those words second occur, shall be omitted ; and

• (ii) in subsection (5)(a), for the words " section 3(4) of this Act" there shall be substituted the words " section 2(3) or 3(3) of the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 as extended to Scotland ";

• (l) in Schedule 1—

• (i) paragraph 3 shall be omitted ;

• (ii) in paragraph 4, for the word " bailee " there shall be substituted the word " custodier ";

• (iii) in paragraph 6(2), for any reference to an assignment there shall be substituted a reference to an assignation;

• (iv) in paragraph 8, the reference to section 9 of the Factors Act 1889 shall be construed as a reference to that section as extended to Scotland by the Factors (Scotland) Act 1890; and

• (v) paragraph 9 shall be omitted.

PART III — Motor Vehicles on Hire-purchase or Conditional Sale

Protection of purchasers of motor vehicles

27

• (1) The provisions of this section shall have effect where a motor vehicle has been let under a hire-purchase agreement, or has been agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and, at a time before the property in the vehicle has become vested in the hirer or buyer, he disposes of the vehicle to another person.

• (2) Where the disposition referred to in the preceding subsection is to a private purchaser, and he is a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement, that disposition shall have effect as if the title of the owner or seller to the vehicle had been vested in the hirer or buyer immediately before that disposition.

• (3) Where the person to whom the disposition referred to in subsection (1) of this section is made (in this subsection referred to as " the original purchaser ") is a trade or finance purchaser, then if the person who is the first private purchaser of the motor vehicle after that disposition (in this section referred to as " the first private purchaser ") is a purchaser of the vehicle in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement, the disposition of the vehicle to the first private purchaser shall have effect as if the title of the owner or seller to the vehicle had been vested in the hirer or buyer immediately before he disposed of it to the original purchaser.

• (4) Where, in a case falling within the last preceding subsection.—

• (a) the disposition whereby the first private purchaser becomes a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement is itself a letting under a hire-purchase agreement, and

• (b) the person who is the owner in relation to that agreement disposes of the vehicle to the first private purchaser, or a person claiming under him, by way of transferring to him the property in the vehicle in pursuance of a provision in the agreement in that behalf,

the disposition referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection (whether the person to whom it is made is then a purchaser in good faith and without notice of the original hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement or not) shall, as well as the disposition referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, have effect as mentioned in the last preceding subsection.

• (5) The preceding provisions of this section shall have effect—

• (a) notwithstanding anything in section 21 of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 (which relates to the sale of goods by a person who is not the owner), but

• (b) without prejudice to the provisions of the Factors Acts (as defined by section 62(1) of the said Act of 1893) or of any other enactment enabling the apparent owner of goods to dispose of them as if he were the true owner of the goods.

• (6) Nothing in this section shall exonerate the hirer or buyer from any liability (whether criminal or civil) to which he would be subject apart from this section; and, in a case where the hirer or buyer disposes of the motor vehicle to a trade or finance purchaser, nothing in this section shall exonerate—

• (a) that trade or finance purchaser, or

• (b) any other trade or finance purchaser who becomes a purchaser of the vehicle and is not a person claiming under the first private purchaser,

from any liability (whether criminal or civil) to which he would be subject apart from this section.

Presumptions relating to dealings with motor vehicles

28

• (1) Where in any proceedings (whether criminal or civil) relating to a motor vehicle it is proved—

• (a) that the vehicle was let under a hire-purchase agreement, or was agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and

• (b) that a person (whether a party to the proceedings or not) became a private purchaser of the vehicle in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement,

the following provisions of this section shall have effect for the purposes of the operation of section 27 of this Act in relation to those proceedings.

• (2) It shall be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is proved, that the disposition of the vehicle to the person referred to in paragraph (b) of the preceding subsection (in this section referred to as " the relevant purchaser ") was made by the hirer or buyer.

• (3) If it is proved that that disposition was not made by the hirer or buyer, then it shall be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is proved.—

• (a) that the hirer or buyer disposed of the vehicle to a private purchaser who was a purchaser of the vehicle in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement, and

• (b) that the relevant purchaser is or was a person claiming under the person to whom the hirer or buyer so disposed of the vehicle.

• (4) If it is proved that the disposition of the vehicle to the relevant purchaser was not made by the hirer or buyer, and that the person to whom the hirer or buyer disposed of the vehicle (in this subsection referred to as " the original purchaser") was a trade or finance purchaser, then it shall be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is proved.—

• (a) that the person who, after the disposition of the vehicle to the original purchaser, first became a private purchaser of the vehicle was a purchaser in good faith and without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement, and

• (b) that the relevant purchaser is or was a person claiming under the original purchaser.

• (5) Without prejudice to any other mode of proof, where in any proceedings a party thereto admits a fact, that fact shall, for the purposes of this section, be taken as against him to be proved in relation to those proceedings.

Interpretation of Part III

29

• (1) In this Part of this Act—

• " conditional sale agreement " and " seller " have the meanings assigned to them by section 21(5) of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to, this Act;

• " disposition " means any sale or contract of sale (including a conditional sale agreement), any letting under a hire-purchase agreement and any transfer of the property in goods in pursuance of a provision in that behalf contained in a hire-purchase agreement, and includes any transaction purporting to be a disposition (as so defined), and " dispose of" shall be construed accordingly;

• " hire-purchase agreement " and " owner " have the meanings assigned to them by section 21(1) of the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 ;

• " motor vehicle " means a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads to which the public has access.

• (2) In this Part of this Act "trade or finance purchaser " means a purchaser who, at the time of the disposition made to him, carries on a business which consists, wholly or partly.—

• (a) of purchasing motor vehicles for the purpose of offering or exposing them for sale, or

• (b) of providing finance by purchasing motor vehicles for the purpose of letting them under hire-purchase agreements or agreeing to sell them under conditional sale agreements,

and " private purchaser " means a purchaser who, at the time of the disposition made to him, does not carry on any such business.

• (3) For the purposes of this Part of this Act a person becomes a purchaser of a motor vehicle if, and at the time when, a disposition of the vehicle is made to him; and a person shall be taken to be a purchaser of a motor vehicle without notice of a hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement if,

at the time of the disposition made to him, he has no actual notice that the vehicle is or was the subject of any hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement.

• (4) In this Part of this Act " the hirer or buyer ".—

• (a) in relation to a motor vehicle which has been let under a hire-purchase agreement, means the person who at the material time (whether the agreement has before that time been terminated or not) is the hirer in relation to that agreement for the purposes of the Hire-Purchase Act 1938, including a person who at that time is, by virtue of section 13(1) of that Act, deemed to be a bailee of the vehicle as therein mentioned ;

• (b) in relation to a motor vehicle which has been agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, means the person who at the material time (whether the agreement has before that time been terminated or not) is in relation to that agreement the buyer (as defined by paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to this Act), including a person who at that time is, by virtue of section 13(1) of the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 (as modified by paragraph 4 of that Schedule), deemed to be in possession of the vehicle as therein mentioned.

• (5) In this Part of this Act any reference to the title of the owner or seller to a motor vehicle which has been let under a hire-purchase agreement, or agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and is disposed of by the hirer or buyer, is a reference to such title (if any) to the vehicle as, immediately before that disposition, was vested in the person who then was the owner in relation to the hire-purchase agreement, or the seller in relation to the conditional sale agreement, as the case may be.

• (6) In the application to Scotland of subsection (4) of this section, for the word " bailee " there shall be substituted the word " custodier ".

PART IV — Advertisements

Extension of advertisements to which Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957 applies

30

In section 1 of the Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957 (which provides that that Act applies to any advertisement which includes one or more of the elements mentioned in subsection (2) of that section) at the end of subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs:—

(d) a fraction represented as being the rate of interest or rate of charge to be borne by the hirer or buyer in hiring or purchasing goods in accordance with the advertisement; (e) a sum stated as the hire-purchase price or total purchase price of the goods

;

and at the end of that section there shall be added the following subsection:—

(4) For the purposes of this Act— (a) a fraction stated in an advertisement shall be taken to be represented therein as mentioned in subsection (2)(d) of this section if it is stated in the advertisement in such a way that it could reasonably be understood to be so represented; (b) a sum indicated in an advertisement (whatever the words used) as being the total amount which, on a hire-purchase or credit sale of any goods, would be payable by the hirer or buyer shall be taken to be stated therein as the hire-purchase price or total purchase price of the goods.

Information to be included in advertisements

31

• (1) Section 2 of the Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957 (which sets out the information required to be included in advertisements to which that Act applies) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

• (2) In subsection (2) of that section (which relates to advertisements which contain details of payments), in paragraph (e) the word " and " shall be omitted, and at the end of paragraph (f) there shall be inserted the words

and (g) a sum stated as the hire-purchase price or total purchase price of the goods and being, in either case, the amount (directly expressed) of the aggregate of the amount of the deposit (if any) and of all the instalments payable.

• (3) In subsection (3) of that section (which relates to advertisements which do not contain details of payments), in paragraph (b) (which excludes any requirement to set out the information specified in paragraphs (b) and (f) of subsection (2)) for the words " paragraphs (b) and (f)" there shall be substituted the words " paragraphs (b), (f) and (g) ".

• (4) At the end of subsection (4) of that section (which defines an advertisement which contains details of payments) there shall be added the words " or if it states a sum as the hire-purchase price or total purchase price of those goods ".

Information as to rate of interest or charge

32

• (1) The following section shall be inserted after section 2 of the Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957—

(2A) (1) An advertisement to which this Act applies which, in relation to any goods, contains a fraction represented as mentioned in section 1(2)(d) of this Act shall not be displayed or issued unless— (a) the advertisement contains details of payments in respect of those goods ; (b) in so far as it relates to those goods, the instalments are expressed in the advertisement as being instalments of equal amounts and payable in respect of equal periods; and (c) the fraction so represented in the advertisement is expressed as a specified amount per cent. per annum and the amount so specified is not less than an amount calculated in accordance with the prescribed formula. (2) In paragraph (c) of the preceding subsection " the prescribed formula" means the formula set out in the Schedule to this Act (being a formula for calculating a rate of interest or charge on the basis of so much of the cash price, less any deposit, as remains outstanding after each instalment is paid). (3) For the purposes of this section any period of a calendar month shall be taken to be equal to any other period of a calendar month. (4) This section shall have effect without prejudice to any requirement imposed by section 2 of this Act.

.

• (2) The provisions set out in Schedule 3 to this Act shall be inserted in the said Act of 1957 as the Schedule to that Act.

PART V — Supplementary Provisions

Supplementary provisions as to regulations, Orders in Council and interpretation

33

• (1) Any power of the Board of Trade to make regulations under this Act or the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

• (2) Anything required or authorised by or under this Act or the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 to be done by, to or before the Board of Trade may be done by, to or before the President of the Board, any Minister of State with duties concerning the affairs of the Board, any secretary, under-secretary or assistant secretary of the Board or any person authorised in that behalf by the President.

• (3) Where a power to make regulations is exercisable by virtue of this Act (including any amendment made by this Act in any other enactment) regulations made in the exercise of that power may make different provision in relation to different classes of cases.

• (4) Any Order in Council made under section 1(3) of this Act may be revoked by any subsequent Order in Council made thereunder which substitutes a larger sum for the sum specified in the Order which is thereby revoked.

• (5) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

Minor and consequential amendments and repeals

34

• (1) Without prejudice to any amendments having effect by virtue of the preceding provisions of this Act, the enactments specified in Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in that Schedule, being minor amendments or amendments consequential upon the preceding provisions of this Act.

• (2) The enactments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in relation thereto in the third column of that Schedule.

• (3) For the removal of doubt it is hereby declared that no account is to be taken of section 1 of the principal Act, or of section 2 of this Act, for the purpose of construing any enactment whereby (however the enactment is expressed) it is provided that in the enactment (or, if the enactment extends to Scotland, in the enactment in its application to England and Wales) " hire-purchase agreement", or any similar expression, has the same meaning as " hire-purchase agreement " has in the principal Act or the definition of " hire-purchase agreement " in the principal Act is otherwise applied for the purposes of the enactment:

Provided that this subsection shall not affect the construction of—

• (a) any enactment (not contained in this Act) which expressly refers to hire-purchase agreements " to which the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 applies ", or

• (b) any reference in this Act to hire-purchase agreements to which the principal Act applies.

Transitional provisions

35

• (1) The transitional provisions contained in Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the operation of Part I of this Act and with respect to the operation of the last preceding section in relation to enactments contained in the Hire-Purchase Act 1938 or the Hire-Purchase Act 1954.

• (2) The transitional provisions contained in Schedule 7 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the operation of Part II of this Act and with respect to the operation of subsection (2) of the last preceding section in relation to enactments contained in the Hire Purchase and Small Debt (Scotland) Act 1932, the Hire-Purchase Act 1954 in its application to Scotland or the Credit-Sale Agreements (Scotland) Act 1961.

• (3) The provisions of Part III of this Act—

• (a) shall have effect in relation to hire-purchase agreements and conditional sale agreements made before, as well as in relation to such agreements made after, the commencement of this Act, but

• (b) shall not have effect where the disposition by the hirer or buyer which is referred to in subsection (1) of section 27 of this Act was made before the commencement of this Act.

Commencement

36

• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, this Act shall come into operation on 1st January 1965.

• (2) This section, any provisions of this Act which confer any power to make regulations (including any provision conferring such a power by way of amendment of another Act) and any provisions of this Act relating to the exercise of any such power shall come into operation on the passing of this Act; but no regulations shall be made in pursuance of any such provisions so as to come into operation before 1st January 1965.

• (3) Any reference in this Act, and (notwithstanding anything in section 36 of the Interpretation Act 1889) any reference in any Act passed after the passing of this Act, to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to 1st January 1965.

• (4) The preceding provisions of this section shall have effect without prejudice to the generality of section 37 of the Interpretation Act 1889 (which relates to the exercise of statutory powers between the passing and the commencement of an Act).

Short title, citation and extent

37

• (1) This Act may be cited as the Hire-Purchase Act 1964.

• (2) In their application to England and Wales, the Hire-Purchase Act 1938, the Hire-Purchase Act 1954, the Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957 and this Act (except Parts II and III thereof and Schedules 2 and 7 there(a) may be cited together as the Hire-Purchase Acts 1938 to 1964.

• (3) In their application to Scotland, the Hire-Purchase Act 1938, the Advertisements (Hire-Purchase) Act 1957 and this Act (except Parts I and III thereof and Schedule 6 thereto) may be cited together as the Hire-Purchase (Scotland) Acts 1938 to 1964.

• (4) Except so far as otherwise provided in Part II of this Act, Part I of this Act and Schedule 6 thereto shall not extend to Scotland ; and Part II of this Act and Schedules 2 and 7 thereto shall not extend to England and Wales.

• (5) This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

SCHEDULE 1

PART I — Exceptions and Modifications Referred to in Section 21(3)

1

The provisions of this Part of this Schedule shall have effect for the purposes of section 21(3) of this Act; and in this Part of this Schedule " conditional sale agreement" and " total purchase price" have the meanings assigned to them by section 21(5) of this Act.

2

• (1) Subject to paragraph 4 of this Schedule, the provisions specified in section 21(3) of this Act shall have effect as therein mentioned as if—

• (a) any reference to a hirer were a reference to a buyer ;

• (b) any reference to an owner were a reference to a seller ;

• (c) any reference to hire-purchase price were a reference to total purchase price ;

• (d) any reference to hire-rent were a reference to instalments of the purchase price ; and

• (e) any reference to goods let under a hire-purchase agreement were a reference to goods agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement.

• (2) In accordance with the preceding sub-paragraph (and without prejudice to the generality thereof) in section 4(1) of this Act the reference to a document which, if executed by or on behalf of another person as owner of the goods to which it relates, would constitute a hire-purchase agreement to which the principal Act applies shall be construed as including a reference to a document which, if executed by or on behalf of another person as seller of the goods to which it relates, would constitute such a conditional sale agreement as is mentioned in section 21(3) of this Act.

3

In sections 5(c), 11(3) and 14(1) of the principal Act, the words " or the bailment", and in section 15 of this Act the words " or the bailment of the goods " in subsections (2) and (5) and the words " or the bailment" in the second place where they occur in subsection (5), shall be omitted.

4

In section 13(1) of the principal Act, for the words " the hirer shall be deemed to be a bailee of the goods under and on the terms of the hire-purchase agreement" there shall be substituted the words " the buyer shall be deemed to be in possession of the goods under and on the terms of the conditional sale agreement, other than any term providing for the property in the goods to vest in the buyer at any time before the payment of the whole of the total purchase price (as defined by section 21(5) of the Hire-Purchase Act 1964) ".

5

• (1) Where goods have been sold under a conditional sale agreement and the property in the goods, having become vested in the buyer, is transferred to a person who does not become the buyer under the agreement, the buyer shall no longer be entitled to determine the agreement under section 4 of the principal Act.

• (2) Subject to the preceding sub-paragraph, where a buyer under a conditional sale agreement determines the agreement under section 4 of the principal Act after the property in the goods has become vested in him, the property in the goods shall thereupon vest in the person (in this sub-paragraph referred to as " the previous owner ") in whom it was vested immediately before it became vested in the buyer:

Provided that if the previous owner has died, or any other event has occurred whereby that property, if vested in him immediately before that event, would thereupon have vested in some other person, the property shall be treated as having devolved as if it had been vested in the previous owner immediately before his death or immediately before that event, as the case may be.

6

• (1) The definitions of "buyer" and "seller" in section 21(1) of the principal Act shall not apply to conditional sale agreements.

• (2) In this Part of this Schedule—

• " buyer ", in relation to a conditional sale agreement, means the person who agrees to purchase goods under the agreement and includes a person to whom the rights or liabilities of that person under the agreement have passed by assignment or by operation of law ;

• " seller ", in relation to a conditional sale agreement, means the person who agrees to sell goods under the agreement and includes a person (other than the buyer) to whom that person's property in the goods or any of that person's rights or liabilities under the agreement has passed by assignment or by operation of law.

PART II — Consequential Exceptions and Modifications

7

In this Part of this Schedule " conditional sale agreement" means a conditional sale agreement, as defined by subsection (5) of section 21 of this Act, in relation to which the provisions of Part I of this Act have effect in accordance with subsection (3) of that section, and " buyer " and " seller " have the meanings assigned to them by paragraph 6 of this Schedule.

8

For the purposes of section 9 of the Factors Act 1889 and of section 25(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 (under which, notwithstanding that the property in the goods has not been transferred to him, a person who has bought or agreed to buy goods and is in possession of them can confer a good title to the goods) the buyer under a conditional sale agreement shall be deemed not to be a person who has bought or agreed to buy goods.

9

• (1) Section l1(1)(c) of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 (whereby in certain circumstances a breach of a condition in a contract of sale is to be treated only as a breach of warranty) shall not apply to a conditional sale agreement.

• (2) A breach of a condition (whether express or implied) to be fulfilled by the seller under a conditional sale agreement shall be treated as a breach of warranty, and not as grounds for rejecting the goods and treating the agreement as repudiated, if (but only if) it would have fallen to be so treated had the condition been contained or implied in a corresponding hire-purchase agreement as a condition to be fulfilled by the owner.

• (3) In this paragraph " corresponding hire-purchase agreement" means a hire-purchase agreement relating to the same goods as the conditional sale agreement and made between the same parties and at the same time and in the same circumstances and, as nearly as may be, in the same terms as the conditional sale agreement.

10

A conditional sale agreement shall be treated as not being a contract of sale for the purposes of sections 12 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 (which imply certain conditions and warranties in contracts of sale).

11

In section 9 of the principal Act the reference to payments in respect of two or more hire-purchase agreements shall include a reference to payments in respect of one or more hire-purchase agreements and one or more conditional sale agreements as well as a reference to payments in respect of two or more conditional sale agreements.

12

Section 15 of the principal Act shall have effect where—

• (a) after the making of a hire-purchase agreement, the owner, as seller, makes a conditional sale agreement with the hirer, as buyer, or

• (b) after the making of a conditional sale agreement, the seller, as owner, makes a hire-purchase agreement with the buyer, as hirer,

as it has effect where both agreements are hire-purchase agreements or both are conditional sale agreements.

SCHEDULE 2

PART I — Modifications of Hire-Purchase Act 1938 for Purposes of Extension to Scotland

1

In the Act of 1938, for any reference to an assignment (other than in section 12(8) thereof) there shall be substituted a reference to an assignation and any reference to the bailment of goods shall be omitted.

2

In section 8 of the Act of 1938, for any reference to a warranty or condition there shall be substituted a reference to a stipulation ; and after subsection (3B) there shall be inserted the following subsection, that is to say:—

(3C) In relation to every hire-purchase agreement the stipulations referred to in subsection (1)(b) and (d) and subsection (2) of this section shall be deemed to be material to the agreement.

3

Section 10 of the Act of 1938 shall be omitted.

4

In section 11 of the Act of 1938,

• (a) for any reference to a judgment there shall be substituted a reference to an order of the court;

• (b) at the end of subsection (1) there shall be added the words:—

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be taken to confer on an owner any right to recover, otherwise than by action, possession of any goods let under a hire-purchase agreement where one-third of the hire-purchase price has not been paid or tendered as aforesaid

; and

• (c) in subsection (2) the words " in an action for money had and received ", in each place where they occur, shall be omitted.

5

In section 12 of the Act of 1938,

• (a) for subsection (1) there shall be substituted the following subsections—

(1) The following provisions of this section shall apply, in a case to which the last foregoing section applies, where the owner commences an action to enforce a right to recover possession of any of the goods from the hirer after one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid or tendered as aforesaid. (1A) After such an action has been commenced the owner shall not take any steps to enforce payment of any sum due under the hire-purchase agreement or under any contract of guarantee relating thereto, except by claiming the said sum in the said action

; and

• (b) for any reference to the county court there shall be substituted a reference to the sheriff court.

6

In section 13 of the Act of 1938, for any reference to a bailee there shall be substituted a reference to a custodier ; and for any reference to executing an order there shall be substituted a reference to executing diligence on an order.

7

Sections 16 to 18 of the Act of 1938 shall be omitted.

8

In section 19 of the Act of 1938, the words " made after the commencement of this Act" and the words " and in section 14(1) of the Hire-Purchase Act 1964 " shall be omitted.

9

After section 19 of the Act of 1938 there shall be inserted the following section, that is to say—

(19A) (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement to which this Act applies and the owner brings or institutes an action to enforce a right to recover possession of any of the goods from the hirer, the action shall be brought or instituted in the sheriff court for the district in which the hirer resides or carries on business or resided or carried on business at the date on which he last made a payment under the hire-purchase agreement. (2) No cause, action or proceeding on or arising out of any hire-purchase agreement to which this Act applies or credit-sale agreement to which this Act applies which may competently be brought or instituted in the small debt court shall be brought or instituted otherwise than in that court; but nothing in this section shall affect or prejudice any power vested in the sheriff to remit to the ordinary court roll any such cause, action or proceeding brought or instituted in the small debt court. (3) In this section " small debt court" means any court held in pursuance of the Small Debt (Scotland) Act 1837 as amended by any subsequent enactment.

10

Section 20 of the Act of 1938 shall be omitted.

11

In subsection (1) of section 21 of the Act of 1938, the definition of " warranty " shall be omitted and for the definition of " hire-purchase agreement " there shall be substituted the following definition, that is to say—

• " hire-purchase agreement " means any contract, in whatsoever terms it may be expressed and whether it be truly one of sale or hire, whereby goods are taken on hire by one person from another person in consideration of periodical payments to be made by the first mentioned person to the other person, with an option to the first mentioned person to become the buyer of the goods.

12

In section 22 of the Act of 1938, subsection (3) shall be omitted.

13

In the Schedule to the Act of 1938—

• (a) in the second paragraph 1, the words from the beginning to " has been paid, then " shall be omitted ; and

• (b) in the second paragraph 2, after the word " If ", in the first place where it occurs, there shall be inserted the words " [after (here insert an amount calculated in accordance with the provisions of sections 11 and 19 of this Act*) has been paid] " and after the word " court ", in the second place where it occurs, there shall be inserted the words " (under powers conferred by the Hire-Purchase (Scotland) Acts 1938 to 1964) ".

PART II — Additions to Hire-Purchase Act 1938 for Purposes of Extension to Scotland

14

In section 1 of the Act of 1938 there shall be added the following subsections:—

(2) If at any time after the commencement of the Hire-Purchase Act 1964 it appears to Her Majesty in Council that the limit specified in the foregoing subsection (whether by virtue of that subsection or of a previous Order in Council under this subsection) should be further raised, Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that the foregoing subsection shall be amended so as to substitute, for the sum specified in that subsection, such larger sum as may be specified in the Order. (3) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to make an Order in Council under the last foregoing subsection unless a draft of the Order has been laid before Parliament and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

15

In section 2 of the Act of 1938 there shall be added the following subsections:—

(3) The Board of Trade may by regulations provide that in any document which on being signed as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) of this section constitutes a hire-purchase agreement to which this Act applies, the signature of the hirer shall be inserted in a space marked in such manner and accompanied in the document by such words, as may be specified in the regulations ; and the regulations may include provision as to the location of those words in relation to the space in which the signature is inserted and may prescribe such other requirements (whether as to type, size, colour or disposition of lettering or otherwise) as the Board may consider appropriate for securing that the words come to the attention of the hirer at the time when he is about to sign the document. (4) A document to which any regulations made under the last foregoing subsection apply shall not be invalid by reason only that the regulations are not complied with ; but subsection (2) of this section shall have effect in relation to compliance with the requirements of any such regulations as it has effect in relation to compliance with the requirements specified in paragraphs (b) to (e) of the said subsection.

16

In section 3 of the Act of 1938 there shall be added the following subsection:—

(3) Subsections (3) and (4) of the last foregoing section shall apply in relation to a credit-sale agreement to which this Act applies under which the total purchase price exceeds £30 as it applies to a hire-purchase agreement, with the substitution for any reference to the hirer of a reference to the buyer and for any reference to paragraph (a) or to paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (2) of the said section, of a reference to paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, to paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (2) of this section.

17

After section 13 of the Act of 1938 there shall be inserted the following section:—

(13A) (1) Where a postponed order for the specific delivery of goods to the owner has been made under paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 12 of this Act, the powers of the court under paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (4) of the last foregoing section may be exercised, notwithstanding that any condition of the postponement has not been complied with, at any time before the goods are delivered to the owner in accordance with a warrant issued in pursuance of the order; and where such a warrant has been issued the court shall— (a) if the court varies the conditions of the postponement under the said paragraph (a), suspend the warrant on the like conditions ; (b) if the court makes an order under the said paragraph (c) for the specific delivery of a part of the goods to the owner and for the transfer to the hirer of the owner's title to the remaining part thereof, cancel the warrant so far as it provides for the delivery of the last mentioned part of the goods. (2) At any time before the delivery of goods to the owner in accordance with a warrant issued as aforesaid, the warrant may, so far as it provides for the delivery of the goods, be discharged by the payment to the owner by the hirer or any guarantor of the whole of the unpaid balance of the hire-purchase price ; and in any such case the owner's title to the goods shall vest in the hirer. (3) If, in an action to which the said section 12 applies, an offer as to conditions for the postponement of the operation of an order under paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of that section is made by the hirer and accepted by the owner in accordance with rules of court, an order under that paragraph may thereupon be made by the court in accordance with the said offer without hearing evidence as to matters specified in the said paragraph (b) or in subsection (5) of that section: Provided that where a guarantor is a party to the action, no such order shall be made before the date fixed for the hearing of the action.

18

In section 21(1) of the Act of 1938—

• (a) in the definition of " hire-purchase price ", after the words " to which the agreement relates " there shall be inserted the words " inclusive of any sum so payable by way of a deposit or other initial payment, or credited or to be credited to the hirer under such an agreement on account of any such deposit or payment, whether that sum is to be or has been paid to the owner or to any other person or is to be or has been discharged by a payment of money or by the transfer or delivery of goods or by any other means ; but "; and

• (b) at the end of the subsection there shall be added the following words:—

and any reference in this Act to a document which constitutes a hire-purchase agreement or a credit-sale agreement shall be construed as including a reference to a document which together with one or more other documents constitutes such an agreement, and any reference to a document which, if executed by or on behalf of another person, would constitute such an agreement shall be construed accordingly.

PART III — Provisions of Hire-Purchase Act 1938 in its application to Scotland

SCHEDULE 3

SCHEDULE 4

SCHEDULE 5

SCHEDULE 6

1

Section 20 of the principal Act (which provides for the limited application of certain provisions of that Act to agreements made before the commencement of the Act and in all other respects excludes such agreements from that Act) shall have effect in relation—

• (a) to hire-purchase agreements of a class to which the principal Act applies by virtue only of subsections (1) and (2) of section 1 of this Act, and

• (b) to conditional sale agreements to which section 21 of this Act applies,

as if any reference in the said section 20 to the commencement of the principal Act were a reference to the commencement of this Act.

2

The following provisions of Part I of this Act shall, to the extent specified in this paragraph, have effect in relation to all hire-purchase agreements to which the principal Act applies, whether by virtue of section 1 of this Act or otherwise, and whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, and in relation to all conditional sale agreements to which section 21 of this Act applies, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, that is to say—

• (a) section 15, except in relation to a default committed before the commencement of this Act,

• (b) sections 16 and 17, except where the hirer or buyer has died before the commencement of this Act, and

• (c) sections 14, 18 and 19, so far as they relate to actions begun after the commencement of this Act.

3

Except as provided by paragraph 2 of this Schedule, Part I of this Act, and section 34 of this Act in so far as it amends or repeals any enactment contained in the principal Act or the Hire-Purchase Act 1954, shall not have effect in relation to any hire-purchase agreement, credit-sale agreement or conditional sale agreement made before the commencement of this Act.

4

• (1) In relation to hire-purchase agreements of a class to which the principal Act applies by virtue only of an Order in Council made under section 1(3) of this Act, and in relation to conditional sale agreements of a class to which section 21 of this Act applies by virtue only of such an Order, subsections (1) and (2) of section 20 of the principal Act shall apply as if any reference in those subsections to the commencement of the principal Act were a reference to the coming into operation of that Order.

• (2) In relation to any such agreement as is mentioned in the preceding sub-paragraph, whether made before, on or after the date on which the Order comes into operation.—

• (a) section 15 of this Act shall apply, except in the case of a default committed before that date ;

• (b) sections 16 and 17 of this Act shall apply, except where the hirer or buyer has died before that date; and

• (c) sections 14, 18 and 19 of this Act shall apply so far as they relate to actions begun after that date.

5

Except as provided by the last preceding paragraph, the principal Act and Part I of this Act shall not have effect in relation to any hire-purchase agreement, credit-sale agreement or conditional sale agreement which—

• (a) is of a class to which the principal Act or, as the case may be, section 21 of this Act, applies by virtue only of such an Order in Council as is mentioned in the last preceding paragraph, and

• (b) is made before the date on which that Order comes into operation.

6

For the purposes of the operation of this Schedule in relation to conditional sale agreements—

• (a) any reference in section 20 of the principal Act to a hire purchase agreement shall be construed as a reference to a conditional sale agreement;

• (b) that section shall be construed subject to the modifications specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to this Act;

• (c) any reference in that section to any other provision of the principal Act shall be construed as a reference to that provision as modified by that Schedule.

7

• (1) Section 21(1) of the principal Act shall have effect for the purposes of this Schedule as it has effect for the purposes of that Act.

• (2) In this Schedule " the principal Act" means the Hire-Purchase Act 1938, " conditional sale agreement" has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5) of section 21 of this Act, and any reference to a conditional sale agreement to which that section applies shall be construed as if this Schedule were included in that section after subsection (2) thereof, and references to conditional sale agreements of a class to which that section applies shall be construed accordingly.

SCHEDULE 7

1

The following provisions of the Act of 1938 and of Part I of this Act shall, to the extent specified in this paragraph, have effect in relation to hire-purchase agreements to which the Act of 1938 applies, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, and in relation to conditional sale agreements to which section 21 of this Act applies, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, that is to say—

• (a) section 9 of the Act of 1938, so far as it relates to payments made after the commencement of this Act,

• (b) sections 11 and 15 of the Act of 1938, so far as they relate to the recovery of possession of goods after the commencement of this Act, otherwise than in pursuance of a decree pronounced in an action commenced before the commencement of this Act,

• (c) sections 12, 13, 13A, 14, 15 and 19A(1) of the Act of 1938, so far as they relate to actions commenced after the commencement of this Act,

• (d) section 19 of the Act of 1938, so far as it relates to section 11, 12 or 15 of that Act,

• (e) section 15 of this Act, except in relation to a default committed before the commencement of this Act,

• (f) sections 16 and 17 of this Act, except where the hirer or buyer has died before the commencement of this Act, and

• (g) sections 18 and 19 of this Act, so far as they relate to actions begun after the commencement of this Act.

2

Except as provided by the last preceding paragraph, the Act of 1938, Part I of this Act, section 25(4) of this Act, and section 34(2) of this Act in so far as it repeals any enactment contained in the Hire Purchase and Small Debt (Scotland) Act 1932 or the Hire-Purchase Act 1954 or the Credit-Sale Agreements (Scotland) Act 1961, shall not have effect in relation to any hire-purchase agreement, credit-sale agreement or conditional sale agreement made before the commencement of this Act.

3

• (1) The following provisions of the Act of 1938 and of Part I of this Act shall, to the extent specified in this paragraph, have effect in relation to hire-purchase agreements of a class to which the Act of 1938 applies by virtue only of an Order in Council made under section 1(2) of the Act of 1938, and in relation to conditional sale agreements of a class to which section 21 of this Act applies by virtue only of such an Order.—

• (a) section 9 of the Act of 1938, so far as it relates to payments made after the date on which that Order comes into operation,

• (b) sections 11 and 15 of the Act of 1938, so far as they relate to the recovery of possession of goods after the date on which that Order comes into operation,

• (c) sections 12, 13, 13A, 14, 15 and 19A(1) of the Act of 1938, so far as they relate to actions commenced after the date on which that Order comes into operation,

• (d) section 19 of the Act of 1938, so far as it relates to section 11, 12 or 15 of that Act,

• (e) section 15 of this Act, except in relation to a default committed before the date on which that Order comes into operation,

• (f) sections 16 and 17 of this Act, except where the hirer or buyer has died before the date on which that Order comes into operation, and

• (g) sections 18 and 19 of this Act, so far as they relate to actions begun after the date on which that Order comes into operation.

• (2) The preceding sub-paragraph shall apply to any such agreement as is therein mentioned, whether the agreement was made before, on or after the date on which the Order comes into operation.

4

Except as provided by the last preceding paragraph, the Act of 1938 and Part I of this Act shall not have effect in relation to any hire-purchase agreement, credit-sale agreement or conditional sale agreement which—

• (a) is of a class to which the Act of 1938 or, as the case may be, section 21 of this Act, applies by virtue only of such an Order in Council as is mentioned in the last preceding paragraph, and

• (b) is made before the date on which that Order comes into operation.

5

• (1) For the purposes of this Schedule—

• (a) section 21(1) of the Act of 1938 shall have effect as it has effect for the purposes of that Act;

• (b) section 21(3) of this Act shall have effect as it has effect for the purposes of Part I of this Act.

• (2) In this Schedule, the expression " the Act of 1938 " has the meaning assigned to it by section 25(5) of this Act; references to Part I of this Act are references to such of the provisions of that Part as are extended to Scotland by section 26 of this Act; and any reference to those provisions, or to any of them, shall be construed as a reference to those provisions, or, as the case may be, that provision, as so extended.