Consumer Arbitration Agreements Act 1988

3 Contracting “as a consumer”

(1) For the purposes of section 1 above a person enters into a contract “as a consumer” if—

(a) he neither makes the contract in the course of a business nor holds himself out as doing so; and

(b) the other party makes the contract in the course of a business; and

(c) in the case of a contract governed by the law of sale of goods or hire-purchase, or by section 7 of the Act of 1977, the goods passing under or in pursuance of the contract are of a type ordinarily supplied for private use or consumption;

but on a sale by auction or by competitive tender the buyer is not in any circumstances to be regarded as entering into the contract as a consumer.

(2) In subsection (1) above—

• “business” includes a profession and the activities of any government department, Northern Ireland department or local or public authority; and

• “goods” has the same meaning as in the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

(3) It is for those claiming that a person entered into a contract otherwise than as a consumer to show that he did so.