Consumer Protection Act 1999 · Updated to 1 Nov 2021 · Part V · Guarantees in Respect of Supply of Goods
31. Implied guarantee as to title
Feedback & supportSubject to subsection (5), the following guarantees shall be implied where goods are supplied to a consumer:
goods
“goods” means goods which are primarily purchased, used or consumed for personal, domestic or household purposes, and includes— (a) goods attached to, or incorporated in, any real or personal property; (b) animals, including fish; (c) vessels and vehicles; (d) utilities; and (e) trees, plants and crops whether on, under or attached to land or not, but does not include choses in action, including negotiable instruments, shares, debentures and money;
that the supplier has a right to sell the goods;
that the goods are free from any undisclosed security;
and
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that the consumer has a right to quiet possession of the goods, except in so far as that right is varied by—
a term of the agreement for supply where that agreement is a hire-purchase agreement within the meaning of the Hire-Purchase Act 1967
[Act 212];
a disclosed security; or
a term of the agreement for supply.
Where subparagraphs (1)(c)(ii) and (iii) apply, the supplier shall first orally advise the consumer as to the way in which his right to quiet possession of the goods may be varied.
supplier
“supplier” means a person who, in trade— (a) supplies goods to a consumer by transferring the ownership or the possession of the goods under a contract of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase to which that person is a party; or (b) supplies services to a consumer, and includes— (i) where the rights of the supplier have been transferred by assignment or by operation of law, the person for the time being entitled to those rights; (ii) a financier who has lent money on the security of goods supplied to a consumer, if the whole or any part of the price of the goods is to be paid out of the proceeds of the loan and if the loan was arranged by a person who, in trade, supplied the goods; (iii) a person who, in trade, assigns or procures the assignment of goods to a financier to enable the financier to supply those goods, or goods of that kind, to the consumer; and (iv) a person who, in trade, is acting as agent for another person where that other person is not supplying in trade; *NOTE—This Act has replaced the Companies Act 1965 which came into operation on 31 January 2017–see subsection 620(1)…
The advice given by the supplier under subsection (2)
shall be as may be sufficient to enable a reasonable consumer to understand the general nature and effect of the variation.
consumer
“consumer” means a person who— (a) acquires or uses goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household purpose, use or consumption; and (b) does not acquire or use the goods or services, or hold himself out as acquiring or using the goods or services, primarily for the purpose of— (i) resupplying them in trade; (ii) consuming them in the course of a manufacturing process; or (iii) in the case of goods, repairing or treating, in trade, other goods or fixtures on land;
Where a consumer has received oral advice under subsection (2)—
the supplier shall give to the consumer a written copy of the security or agreement for supply or a written copy of the part thereof which provides for the variation as explained to the consumer under subsection (2); and
the consumer shall acknowledge receipt thereof in writing.
Where the goods are only hired or leased—
paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) shall not apply; and
paragraph (1)(c) shall confer a right to quiet possession of the goods only for the period of the hire or lease.
For the purposes of this section—
“right to sell” means a right to dispose of the ownership of the goods to the consumer at the time when that ownership is to pass;
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“undisclosed security” means any security that is—
not disclosed to the consumer in writing before he agrees to the supply; and
not created by or with his express consent.