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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Other commercial matters - Mercantile agents - Sales, pledges, and other dispositions by mercantile agents

300: Provisions relating to consent

You could also call this:

“Rules about agreeing to let someone handle your stuff”

When a mercantile agent has documents that prove ownership of goods, it’s important to know if the owner agreed to this. If the agent got these documents because they had the goods or other ownership papers with the owner’s permission, then it’s treated as if the owner agreed to the agent having the documents too. Also, unless there’s proof that says otherwise, it’s assumed that the owner did agree to the agent having the documents.

For example, if you let someone look after your bike and gave them the receipt, it would be treated as if you also agreed to let them have the bike’s registration papers. And unless you can show that you didn’t want them to have those papers, people will think that you were okay with it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844643.

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Business > Industry rules Business > Fair trading Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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299: Effect of withdrawal or expiry of owner’s consent, or

"What happens when the owner changes their mind about letting someone sell their stuff"

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301: Effect of pledges of documents of title, or

"Promising papers that prove you own something is like promising the actual thing"

Part 5 Other commercial matters
Mercantile agents: Sales, pledges, and other dispositions by mercantile agents

300Provisions relating to consent

  1. For the purposes of this subpart,—

  2. possession of the documents of title to goods by a mercantile agent (A) must be treated as being with the consent of the owner if A obtains possession of those documents by reason of A being or having been, with the consent of the owner, in possession of the goods or of any other documents of title to the goods; and
    1. the consent of the owner is presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

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