ABSTRACT
The law of consumer credit, embodied in statutes, protects consumers and provides guidelines for the credit industry. The overall purpose of such consumer protection statutes are to protect consumers obtaining credit to finance their transactions, ensure that adequate credit is provided, and govern the credit industry in general. Uganda has not had a consumer credit protection law, and consumer protection generally has been regulated by general contract laws and common law principles. The new law, the hire purchase act, is the first attempt at legal protection of consumers who undertake the services of consumer credit from credit companies offering hire purchase services. However, hire purchase law. like other sill generic legislations addressing consumer credit protection, need to be alive to certain core principles of consumer credit protection. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential of the hire purchase act of 2009 to protect consumers against unfair credit practices. The research was conducted in Uganda. as an analysis of the hire purchase legal regime. The study analyzed the Hire Purchase Act of 2009 to determine its potential to protect the consumer from unfair credit practices of the credit institutions. Further. the study' carried out a comparative jurisdictional analysis to determine ho hire purchase legislations have guaranteed consumer credit protection in other countries. The type of data collected for analyses and which was he the basis of this study was obtained from secondary sources. The study found there is need for clarity in the contract, so that the consumer, who is usually having less information, is protected Further, there is need for the two principles of recovery and re-negotiation to be taken into consideration in the law. Again, the author posits that the act should be further amended to guarantee the rights of the consumer further, to equitable provide for protection of the property, and to remove and delete unnecessary provisions and make the law more clear since clarity is an important component of hire purchase law.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION
APPROVAL
DEDICATION
LIST OF ACRONYMS
STATUTORY INSTRUMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data Type
Data Source
Method of Study
Scope of the Research Study
LITERATURE REVIEW
Summary
Consumer Credit Protection
Hire Purchase
The Hire Purchase Agreement
HP in Uganda
Conclusion: The Gap
CHAPTER BREAKDOWN
CHAPTER TWO
A STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF HIRE PURCHASE
SUMMARY
INTRODUCING HIRE PURCHASE: DEFINITION
HISTORY OF HIRE PURCHASE
CHALLENGES FACING HIRE PURCHASE
CONCLUSION
CHAPER THREE
OBJECTS OF HIRE PURCHASE LAW
CHAPTER SUMMARY
STANDARD PROVISIONS
The Two Fundamental Principles
Validity
The Seller and the Owner
Implied Warranties And Conditions To Protect The Hirer
The Hirer's Rights
The Hirer's Obligations
The Owner's Rights
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER SUMMARY
HISTORY OF HP LAW IN UGANDA
ANALYSIS OF THE HIRE PURCHASE ACT
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE HIRE PURCHASE ACT, 2007
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER SUMMARY
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Findings on Objective