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The Consumer Credit Directive -Equally important for enterprises and consumers
05 November 2013
A very interesting information
session was held at the GRTU premises in collaboration with the European
Commission Representation Office in Malta on the European Consumer Credit
Directive, in line with a European Commission campaign aimed at raising awareness
about the rights this Directive establishes in aid of consumers.
Directive
2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers was transposed into Maltese Law
as Legal Notice 330 of 2010 and published in the Government Gazette of 11th
June 2010.
The campaign focuses on five
rights established by the Directive:
– Advertisement that is transparent,
– Provision of information that is compatible
prior to the signing of a contract also through a standardized form,
– Clear information in the contract,
– A 14 day period for withdrawal from any
contract without the need of any explanation
– The right to repay the credit before the
stipulated time.
The Directive is applicable only on
business to consumer credit agreements and on credit of between €200 and
€75,000. It is not applicable on credit agreements concerning property.
Further rights in favour of
the consumer include, that a contract is drawn on paper and the consumer is
given a copy, information provided where a request for credit is refused,
information related to changes in the lending rate and provision of information
if the credit limit is exceeded. The Directive also establishes a method of how
the annual percentage rate of repayment is calculated and the European
Commission has issued guidelines to help enterprises apply this method of
calculation.
Further information can
be obtained from the campaign website:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/citizen/my_rights/consumer-credit/index_en.htm
Addressing the meeting were Mr
Angelo Chetcuti, Press and Policy Officer at the European Commission
Representation Office, Ms Abigail Psaila Mamo, Head of Europe Direct Valletta
and the GRTU EU Desk and Dr Irelene Bonello from the Office for Consumer
Affairs within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.
