Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Consumer definition

What does Consumer mean? A consumer is, in practice, an individual who acquires goods, services or digital content for personal use, not for the purposes of a trade, business, craft or profession. The precise meaning is statutory and context‑specific. England & Wales and Scotland: The Consumer Rights Act 2015, s2(3), defines a consumer as an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession (capturing mixed‑purpose purchases where the business purpose is not predominant). The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 instead asks whether a party “deals as consumer”, a distinct test relevant to exclusion and limitation clauses. The Sale of...

UTCCR 1999 (UK): Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts pre-1 October 2015—Fairness Test, Grey List, Case Law and Enforcement [Archived]

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Practice notes

ARCHIVED:

This Practice Note is archived and no longer updated. It provides an overview of the law, official guidance and practice concerning unfair terms in consumer contracts under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, SI 1999/2083, relevant to consumer agreements made before 1 October 2015. For contracts concluded on or after 1 October 2015, see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—unfair terms. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, SI 1999/2083 (UTCCR 1999) generally cover agreements between a seller or supplier and a consumer, subject to certain exclusions. A seller or supplier is any person acting in the course of their trade, business or profession, whether in the public or private sector, and may take the form of an individual or a corporate entity. A consumer is a person acting outside their trade, business or profession. The UTCCR 1999 regulate the small print of standard form consumer contracts, applying a fairness test to standard terms. They do not evaluate the fairness of provisions setting the price or the core subject matter of the contract, provided those terms are drafted in plain and intelligible language (OFT v Abbey National). Standard terms...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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