S.L. 376.10 Art. 7Advertisements. Cap. 378. Cap. 378.

(1) Without prejudice to Title I of Part VIII of the

Consumer Affairs Act, advertising concerning credit agreements shall be fair, clear and not misleading and wording in such advertising and marketing communications that may create false expectations for a consumer regarding the availability or the cost of credit or the total amount payable by the consumer shall be prohibited.

(2) Advertising concerning credit agreements shall include a clear and prominent warning to make consumers aware that borrowing costs money, using wording such as ‘Caution! Borrowing money costs money’ or an equivalent wording.

(3) Without prejudice to Title I of Part VIII of the Consumer Affairs Act, any advertising concerning credit agreements which indicates an interest rate or any figure relating to the cost of the credit to the consumer, shall include standard information by means of a representative example in accordance with sub-regulation (4).

(4) The representative example referred to in sub-regulation

(3) shall specify and comprise in a clear, concise and prominent way, the following items of information:

(a) the borrowing rate, whether fixed, or variable or both, together with particulars of any charges included in the total cost of credit to the consumer;

(b) the total amount of credit;

(c) the annual percentage rate of charge;

(d) the duration of the agreement, if applicable;

(e) in the case of credit in the form of a deferred payment for specific goods or services, the cash price and the amount of any advance payment; and

(f) the total amount payable by the consumer and the amount of the instalments, if applicable:

Provided that in specific and justified cases where the medium used to communicate the standard information referred to in sub-regulation (4) does not allow the information to be visually displayed, sub-regulation (4)(e) and (f) shall not apply:

Provided further that, in specific and justified cases and without prejudice to Title I of Part VIII of the Consumer Affairs Act, where the electronic medium used to communicate the standard information referred to in sub-regulation (4) does not allow such information to be visually displayed in a prominent and clear manner, the consumer shall be able to access the information referred to in sub-regulation (4)(e) and (f) by means of clicking, scrolling or swiping.

(5) An advertisement concerning credit agreements shall include a clear and concise statement which is advertised prominently in respect of any obligation to enter into a contract in respect of an ancillary service relating to the credit agreement, where:

(a) the conclusion of that service is compulsory in order to obtain the credit or to obtain it on the terms and conditions advertised; and

(b) the cost of that service cannot be determined in advance.

(6) Creditors shall be prohibited from advertising for credit products which:

(a) encourage consumers to seek credit by suggesting that credit would improve the financial situation of those consumers;

(b) specify that outstanding credit agreements or registered credit in databases have little or no influence on the assessment of a credit application;

(c) falsely suggest that credit leads to an increase in financial resources, constitutes a substitute for savings or can raise a consumer’s living standards;

(d) highlight the ease or speed with which credit can be obtained; or

(e) offer ‘grace periods’ of more than three (3) months for the repayment of credit instalments.