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...

Consumer law before 1 October 2015: key legislation, enforcement powers and compliance actions for businesses (archived)

Published by a LexisNexis Commercial expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.

It provides a concise overview of the principal legislation relevant to trading with consumers, and consumer contracts formed, before 1 October 2015. From that date, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 revised or superseded much of the material considered here. For the position after 1 October 2015, see Practice Note: Key consumer legislation—summary. The table below outlines the main statutes businesses had to observe when engaging with consumers before 1 October 2015, indicates how those laws evolved over time, and highlights key actions arising from them.

Core legislation

Legislation: Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA 1977)
Description/key terms: UCTA 1977 identifies categories of liability that businesses cannot exclude against a consumer, and applies a test of reasonableness to other provisions that exclude or cap consumers’ liability or remedies.
Action required: Evaluate the standard terms you apply to consumers. Assess if any could be regarded as unfair. See Practice Note: Unfair terms in consumer contracts (pre 1 October 2015) [Archived].
Risk: most limits or constraints on consumers will...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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