I posted a few weeks ago about asset financing in Ireland. I recently discovered the following caveat on the abundantly useful oasis.gov.ie. Hire purchase agreements are increasingly popular in Ireland but many consumers are unaware of the protections afforded them under the 2nd Amendment to the Hire Purchase Act of 1960. Here’s a direct quote from Oasis.gov on the “one third rule”
The finance house can only repossess the goods under certain circumstances. If the consumer has not yet paid off one-third of the total hire purchase cost, the owner can repossess the goods at any time without taking legal action against the consumer.
However, if the consumer has paid one-third or more off the total hire purchase cost, the owner cannot repossess the goods without taking legal proceedings. Any deposit that is paid at the start of the agreement or the value of any trade-in for example, is taken into account in calculating one third of the cost.
If this “one-third” rule is breached by the owner, the consumer is entitled to end the agreement and can seek a refund of all payments made.
Very useful to know. Once the one-third threshold is exceeded the finance company cannot repossess the rented item without first issuing legal proceeding which means that well-intentioned consumers who miss a payment after this period will not be subject to an ill-considered repossession.