Unfair Contract Term — Consumer Rights Act 2022 Part 6 (Ireland)
Under Part 6 of the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (Ireland), a term of a consumer contract, whether or not individually negotiated, is not binding on the consumer if it is unfair (s.129). A term is unfair where, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the detriment of the consumer (s.130); Schedule 5 lists terms presumed unfair (the "grey list", s.133). A private parking charge imposed on standard signage terms that is disproportionate to the operator's legitimate interest may be an unfair term and therefore unenforceable. A court must consider the fairness of such a term of its own motion where it has sufficient legal and factual material (s.136).
Legal basis
Consumer Rights Act 2022 (No. 37 of 2022), Part 6, ss.129-130, 133 and Schedule 5 (in force 29 November 2022, S.I. No. 596 of 2022), giving effect to Directive 93/13/EEC. Replaces the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 27/1995), revoked in whole by CRA 2022 s.8 and Schedule 1 Part 2. Part 6 applies to contracts concluded on or after 29 November 2022; under CRA 2022 s.9(4), S.I. 27/1995 continues to govern qualifying contracts concluded before that date.
How to identify this in your case
Read parking signage. Identify terms limiting consumer remedies, imposing unilateral discretion, disproportionate charges, restrictive appeals.
Sample appeal wording
To: [Operator] Re: PCN [NUMBER] The purported contract terms in your signage at [LOCATION] are unfair and not binding. Under the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 27/1995) the following clauses cause significant imbalance: - Charge of EUR [X] disproportionate to any loss (reg. 3 + Sched. 3 para. 1(e)) - Sole right to determine breach vested in operator (Sched. 3 para. 1(c)) - Internal-only appeals with no independent review (Sched. 3 para. 1(q)) - Unilateral right to alter terms (Sched. 3 para. 1(j)) - Exclusion of consumer's statutory rights (reg. 6) Under reg. 6, an unfair term shall not be binding. The contract subsists on remaining terms only, which do not justify the charge. The charge is voided. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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