Bills of sale: a consultation paper - Response by Citizens Advice to the Law Commission

Citizens Advice warmly welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Law Commission’s consultation on bills of sale. [ 320 kb]  

Whilst  lending secured by bill of sale makes up a very small proportion of both the consumer credit market and the consumer credit and debt problems seen by the Citizens Advice service,  the experience of our clients suggests that consumers can suffer very severe detriment after entering into a credit agreement secured by bill of sale.  

We believe that the nature of the bill of sale lending and in particular the almost total lack of consumer protection is wholly unsuitable in a modern consumer credit market.  We therefore welcome the Law Commission’s proposals to overhaul bill of sale legislation and introduce effective consumer protection in respect of lending secured against chattels.