header-logo header-logo

Civil way: 23 January 2015

23 January 2015
Issue: 7637 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail

Regulated unregulated credit, cross-border harassment & CPR latest

NOT AS IT SEEMS

Prior to 6 April 2008 consumer credit agreements for more than £25,000 were not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974). For nine years before then, Northern Rock had a product which allowed borrowers to take out an unsecured loan as an adjunct to their mortgage under which interest was charged at the mortgage rate. However, Northern Rock used the same paperwork for these over £25,000 loans as they did for the £25,000 and under loans (as did certain other lenders). Not only the loan agreement itself but the pre-contractual and other contractual documentation repeatedly informed borrowers that the loan was regulated and that they would benefit from the rights available under CCA 1974.

The failure to distinguish between what was regulated and what was intended by the Northern Rock to be unregulated has presented headaches which a bucketful of aspirin would fail to mitigate for the state-owned Northern Rock successor company. They arise because it was discovered that the

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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll