Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378)

Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378), article 45

Official PDF on legislation.mt

45. (1) An unfair term means any te rm in a consumer contract, which on its own or in conjuncti on with one or more other terms - (a) creates a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the contractin g parties to the detriment of the consumer; or (b) causes the performance of the contract to be unduly detrimental to the consumer; or (c) causes the performance of the contract to be significantly different from what the consumer could reasonably expect; or (d) is incompatible with the requirements of good faith. (2) The unfairness of a term sh all be assessed, taking into account the following: (a) the nature of the goods or services for which the contract was concluded; (b) the time of conclusion of the contract; and (c) all the circumstances attending the conclusion of the c o n t r a c t a n d a l l t h e o t h e r terms of the contract or of another contract on which it is dependent. Such circumstances may also include: (i) the bargaining power of the parties; (ii) whether a consumer was subjected to undue pressure; and (iii) whether the lack of knowledge or skill of a consumer was improperly taken advantage of. Provided that, in so far as it is in plain intelligible languag e, the assessment of fairness of a term shall not relate - (a) to the definition of the main subject matter of the contract, or (b) to the adequacy of the price or remuneration, as against the goods or servi ces supplied in exchange. (3) The provisions of articles 44 to 47 shall be applicable to contracts concluded or executed after the coming into force of these articles. Consequence of inclusion of unfair or prohibited term. Added by: XXVI. 2000.15.

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Text read from the consolidated PDF published by Legislation Malta. Tables, figures and marginal notes may be incomplete or out of place: the official PDF is authoritative. General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.