header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
07 October 2022 / Alexander Edwards
Issue: 7997 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail

The Consumer Credit Act: Behind the times?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
96633
Change is (hopefully) coming: Alexander Edwards explores the benefits a reformed Consumer Credit Act 1974 might offer
  • The UK government has committed to reform the Consumer Credit Act 1974. It is hugely out of date in its current form, and it fails to offer the consumer protection it set out to deliver.
  • Technical terms will be simplified, and it will become easier and more cost-effective for businesses to implement regulation.
  • The reforms to the Act will essentially allow lenders to provide a wide range of finance while maintaining high levels of consumer protection.

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) governs billions of credit card purchases and loans each year. Almost 50 years after its enactment, there is self-evident need for an urgent reform. It is out of date with today’s modern world. In its current form, it fails to offer the consumer protection it set out to deliver, and some may say it could be contributing harm to consumers.

Unfit for purpose

While CCA

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

HFW—Simon Petch

HFW—Simon Petch

Global shipping practice expands with experienced ship finance partner hire

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Infrastructure specialist joins as partner in Glasgow office

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll