Consumer Credit Act 1974

185 Agreement with more than one debtor or hirer. U.K.

(1) Where an actual or prospective regulated agreement has two or more debtors or hirers (not being a partnership or an unincorporated body of persons)—

(a) anything required by or under this Act to be done to or in relation to the debtor or hirer shall be done to or in relation to each of them; and

(b) anything done under this Act by or on behalf of one of them shall have effect as if done by or on behalf of all of them.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(a), where running-account credit is provided to two or more debtors jointly, any of them may by a notice signed by him (a “dispensing notice ”) authorise the creditor not to comply in his case with section 78(4) (giving of periodical statement of account); and the dispensing notice shall have effect accordingly until revoked by a further notice given by the debtor to the creditor:

Provided that:

(a) a dispensing notice shall not take effect if previous dispensing notices are operative in the case of the other debtor, or each of the other debtors, as the case may be;

(b) any dispensing notices operative in relation to an agreement shall cease to have effect if any of the debtors dies.

[F1 (c) a dispensing notice which is operative in relation to an agreement shall be operative also in relation to any subsequent agreement which, in relation to the earlier agreement, is a modifying agreement]

(3) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply for the purposes of section 61(1)(a) F2 . . . .

(4) Where a regulated agreement has two or more debtors or hirers (not being a partnership or an unincorporated body of persons), section 86 applies to the death of any of them.

(5) An agreement for the provision of credit, or the bailment or (in Scotland) the hiring of goods, to two or more persons jointly where—

(a) one or more of those persons is an individual, and

(b) one or more of them is [F3 not an individual] ,

is a consumer credit agreement or consumer hire agreement if it would have been one had they all been individuals; and [F4 each person within paragraph (b)] shall accordingly be included among the debtors or hirers under the agreement.

(6) Where subsection (5) applies, references in this Act to the signing of any document by the debtor or hirer shall be construed in relation to a body corporate [F5 within paragraph (b) of that subsection] as referring to a signing on behalf of the body corporate.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 185(2)(c) added by Banking Act 1979 (c. 37, SIF 10), s. 38(3)

F2 Words in s. 185(3) repealed (6.4.2007) by Consumer Credit Act 2006 (c. 14), ss. 70, 71(2), Sch. 4 (with Sch. 3 para. 11); S.I. 2007/123, art. 3(2), Sch. 2

F3 Words in s. 185(5)(b) substituted (6.4.2007) by Consumer Credit Act 2006 (c. 14), ss. {5(8)(a)}, 71(2); S.I. 2007/123, art. 3(2), Sch. 2 (as amended by S.I. 2007/387, art. 2(3)(a))

F4 Words in s. 185(5) substituted (6.4.2007) by Consumer Credit Act 2006 (c. 14), ss. {5(8)(b)}, 71(2); S.I. 2007/123, art. 3(2), Sch. 2 (as amended by S.I. 2007/387, art. 2(3)(a))

F5 Words in s. 185(6) inserted (6.4.2007) by Consumer Credit Act 2006 (c. 14), ss. {5(9)}, 71(2); S.I. 2007/123, art. 3(2), Sch. 2 (as amended by S.I. 2007/387, art. 2(3)(a))