Full Description
Consumer law, particularly consumer credit law, is characterised by increasingly complex regulation in Western economies. Reacting to the Global Financial Crisis, governments in the UK, the EU, Australia, New Zealand and the United States have adopted new laws dealing with consumer credit, responsible lending, consumer guarantees and unfair contracts. Drawing together authors from all of these jurisdictions, this book analyses and evaluates these initiatives, and makes predictions as to their likely success and possible flaws.
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Table of Cases
Table of Legislation
Part 1- Issues and Themes
1. Consumer Law: Paternalism, Fragmentation, and Centralised Enforcement
Dr Paul O'Shea, Karen Fairweather and Professor Ross Grantham
Part 2- Functional Perspectives
2. It's for your Own Good: Legal Paternalism and New Zealand Consumer Credit Laws
Kate Tokeley
3. Credit - Suitable for One or Safe for Everyone?
Professor Gail Pearson
4. Responsible Lending: Consumer Protection and Prudential Regulation Perspectives
Dr Onyeka Osuji
5. Can Consumer Law Solve the Problem of Complexity in US Consumer Credit Products?
Professor Kathleen Engel
Part 3 - Responsible Lending and Financial Exclusion
6. Making Payday Loans Safer: the Australian Approach to Regulating Small and Medium Sized Loans
Nicola Howell
7. High Cost Credit in the United Kingdom: A Philosophical Justification for Government Intervention
Jodi Gardner
8. Apples and Oranges? Responsible Mortgage Lending in the UK and Australia
Karen Fairweather
9. Sorting the Sheep from the Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: Defining Community Development Finance Institutions as Distinct from Fringe Lenders in Efforts to Address Financial Exclusion
Dr Therese Wilson
Part 4 - Unfair Contract Terms
10. Unfair Contract Terms Legislation: Is it Good Consumer Law?
Dr Paul O'Shea
11. The Fragility of Unfair Terms Law on Bank Charges: Towards a Complex Re-Litigation in the UK?
Professor Mel Kenny and Professor James Devenney
12. The Regulation of Unfair Terms in Non-Professional Suretyship Agreements: Lessons for the Wider European Union Harmonization Agenda
Professor James Devenney and Professor Mel Kenny
Index