Abstract:
The Unfair Contract Terms law (UCT) prohibits the use of unfair contract terms in consumer contracts in New Zealand. The introduction of a law does not, however, mean that the law is followed. To test whether businesses were complying with the UCT a study took consumer contracts both before and after the law came into effect. Prior to the UCT all the contracts looked at contained unfair contract terms. While no business had successfully removed all of its unfair contract terms, there was a 11.4% reduction of such terms across the contracts. The relatively slight reduction can be explained by the fact that only one third of businesses had made any attempt to remove unfair contract terms. The article explores the common unfair contract terms that remain. Because consumers cannot challenge unfair contract terms, unless they are unlawful other legislation such as the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, consumers have little or no protection against unfair contract terms. The UCT requires amendment so that consumers are better protected.