UK Act of Parliament 1977 United Kingdom

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

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At a glance

Enforced by

CMA, Trading Standards

What's here

1 practical guide · 2 journeys

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Supporting — topic alignment

1 guides

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part I — AMENDMENT OF LAW FOR ENGLAND AND WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Browse 14 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

s.001

Scope of Part I.

s.002

Negligence liability.

s.003

Liability arising in contract.

s.004

Unreasonable indemnity clauses.

s.005

“Guarantee” of consumer goods.

s.006

Sale and hire purchase.

s.007

Miscellaneous contracts under which goods pass.

s.008

Misrepresentation.

s.009

Effect of breach.

s.010

Evasion by means of secondary contract.

s.011

The “reasonableness” test.

s.012

“Dealing as a consumer”.

s.013

Varieties of exemption clause.

s.014

Interpretation of Part I.

Part II — AMENDMENT OF LAW FOR SCOTLAND

Browse 11 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

s.015

Scope of Part II.

s.016

Liability for breach of duty.

s.017

Control of unreasonable exemptions in ... standard form contracts.

s.018

Unreasonable indemnity clauses in consumer contracts.

s.019

“Guarantee” of consumer goods.

s.020

Obligations implied by law in sale and hire-purchase contracts.

s.021

Obligations implied by law in other contracts for the supply of goods.

s.022

Consequence of breach.

s.023

Evasion by means of secondary contract.

s.024

The “reasonableness” test.

s.025

Interpretation of Part II.

Part III — PROVISIONS APPLYING TO WHOLE OF UNITED KINGDOM

Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

s.026

International supply contracts.

s.027

Choice of law clauses.

s.028

Temporary provision for sea carriage passengers.

s.029

Saving for other relevant legislation.

s.030

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

s.031

Commencement; amendments; repeals.

s.032

Citation and extent.

Schedules

Browse 4 other Schedules — structural / supplementary

s.002

“Guidelines” for Application of Reasonableness Test

s.004

Repeals

s.sch001

Scope of Sections 2 , 3 and 7

s.sch003

Amendments of Enactments

Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

CMA

Primary

Competition and Markets Authority

Promotes competitive markets and tackles unfair behaviour. Investigates mergers, enforces competition law, and has specific digital markets powers. Digital Markets Unit (DMU) …

Trading Standards

Trading Standards (Local Authority)

Enforces consumer protection legislation including food labelling, weights and measures, product safety, and fair trading. Part of local authority structure. Investigates food …