Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

Repossession of consumer goods under consumer credit contract - Rules that apply before repossession

83F: Duty to ensure goods are specifically identified

You could also call this:

"Lenders must clearly describe goods in a loan contract so they can be easily identified."

Illustration for Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

You need to know that a creditor has a duty to ensure goods are specifically identified. When a creditor wants to take back goods, they must make sure the goods are clearly described in the credit contract. This means the contract must have enough details about the goods so they can be easily identified. You must have a clear description of the goods in the contract, like what each item is. It is not enough to just say what kind of goods they are. If you buy goods after you have entered into a credit contract, the creditor must make sure the contract is updated to include these new goods. The creditor must also make sure you are told about any changes to the contract, as required by section 22. If you replace goods that were already in the contract, the new goods must be clearly identified in the contract. The creditor must follow the rules in section 83C when taking back goods.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6501343.

This page was last updated on 1 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection

83E: Circumstances in which creditor can repossess consumer goods, or

"When a lender can take back goods you bought with a loan"

83G: Creditor must serve repossession warning notice on debtor and other persons before taking possession of consumer goods, or

"Lenders must give debtors a warning notice before taking back goods they own."

Part 3ARepossession of consumer goods under consumer credit contract
Rules that apply before repossession

83FDuty to ensure goods are specifically identified

A creditor must, before exercising a right referred to in section 83C in relation to consumer goods, ensure that—
the goods are specifically identified in the credit contract (whether or not the goods are subject to a purchase money security interest); or
if the goods were acquired by the debtor after the credit contract has been entered into,—
1. the following requirements are satisfied:
  1. the parties to the contract have agreed to change the contract to specifically identify the goods in the credit contract; and
  2. in the case of a consumer credit contract, there has been disclosure of the full particulars of that change as required by section 22; or
2. the debtor has acquired the goods as a replacement for the goods that were specifically identified in that credit contract.

For the purposes of determining whether consumer goods are specifically identified,—
the goods are specifically identified if the credit contract contains an adequate description of the goods by item that enables the goods to be identified; and
it is insufficient to merely describe the goods by kind.

Compare

1999 No 126 s 36(1)(b)(i)

Notes

Section 83F: inserted, on 6 June 2015, by section 51 of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 33).