3Purposes

1. The primary purpose of this Act is to protect the interests of consumers in connection with credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions of land.

2. It is also the purpose of this Act—

3. to promote the confident and informed participation in markets for credit by consumers; and
4. to promote and facilitate fair, efficient, and transparent markets for credit; and
5. to protect the interests of consumers under credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions of land, both when those agreements are entered into and for their duration; and
6. to provide remedies for debtors, lessees, and occupiers (including consumers) in relation to—
   1. oppressive credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions of land; and
   2. oppressive conduct by creditors under credit contracts, lessors under consumer leases, and transferees under buy-back transactions of land.

7. To achieve the purposes referred to in subsections (1) and (2), this Act—

8. requires creditors under consumer credit contracts and transferees under buy-back transactions of land to be responsible lenders, both when they provide credit or finance and for the duration of those agreements; and
9. provides for the disclosure of adequate information to consumers under consumer credit contracts and consumer leases (both before entry into, and before variation of, such agreements)—
   1. to enable consumers to distinguish between competing credit or lease arrangements; and
   2. to enable consumers to be informed of the terms of consumer credit contracts or consumer leases before they become irrevocably committed to them; and
   3. to enable consumers to monitor the performance of consumer credit contracts; and
   4. in the case of consumer leases, to make clear to consumers that consumer leases are not consumer credit contracts; and
10. provides rules about interest charges, credit fees, default fees, and payments in relation to consumer credit contracts; and
11. enables consumers to seek reasonable changes to consumer credit contracts on the grounds of unforeseen hardship; and
12. provides for the disclosure of adequate information to consumers under buy-back transactions of land and for independent legal advice to those consumers—
    1. to inform consumers of the terms, the effects, and the implications of those transactions before they become irrevocably committed to them; and
    2. to enable consumers to monitor the performance of those transactions; and
13. provides rules about fees in relation to buy-back transactions of land; and
14. provides, in relation to credit contracts that include or involve a security interest,—
    1. rules that apply in relation to the creditor's rights to repossess consumer goods; and
    2. corresponding rights for consumers and third parties that are affected by the exercise of the creditor's rights; and
15. applies, as appropriate, the requirements, disclosure obligations, rules, and remedies specified in paragraphs (a) to (g) in relation to guarantors; and
16. requires creditors under consumer credit contracts and mobile traders to be certified; and
17. provides for the disclosure of certain information about debt collection to debtors under credit contracts.