HIRE PURCHSES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 65, 7 November 1931, Page 3

HIRE PURCHSES

("Post" Special Commissioner)

CONTROL NEEDED DISCUSSION ON CHATTELS TRANSFER ACT AMENDMENTS PROTECTION FOR PURCHASERS

WELLINGTON, Friday. General agreement that the hirepurchase' system requires investigation with a view" to bringing down legislation, probably next session, was voiced by speakers in the House of Representatives to-day when the Chattels Transfer Amendment Bill was being considered. The Bill Was passed after a brief diseussion. In moving the second reading, the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, said that objections to the measure had now disappeared. The chattels referred, to were all of kinds commonly bought on the hire-purchase system. For the purpose of financing hire-jpurchase transaetions, a system had developed by which the price of the chattels was paid to the manfacturer or dealer by a finance corporation established, f or that purpose and a hire-purchase agreement was then made between the conditional purchaser and the finance corporation. Recently it had been decided by the Court of Appeal that such eorporations were not dealers within the meaning of the Chattels Transfer Act and that their agreements, though .of precisely the same character as ordinary hire-purchase agreements, were not entitled to the benefits eonferred by the measure. The purpose of of the present Bill was to establish as law what prior to the decision of the Court of Appeal already referred to had been understood to be the legal position. The Bill ,if passed, would be retrospective (for the purposes of existing agreements) through existing rights under any judicial decision were ex*fc BJWMMWWmMWPWI Uilllipmil WWTB— IWI 1 1111 HIHI —— I II I IWI I

pressly protected and any pending judicial proceedings were not interfered with. The leader of the Oppos'.tion, Mr. H. E. Holland, asked whether provision could be made to protect a purchaser who might have a car almost paid up and who was still in danger of losing it. Mr. J. T. Hogan (Independant, Rangitikei) asked if the regulation of the hire-purchase system was contemplated. Almost anything, he said, couldi be purchased on the hire-purchase system to-day to the immense dajnage of the retail traders. Mr. Hogan said i,t was time Parliament took the matter up in the interests of weakminded people who could not forsee the difficulties 'consequent on their committing themselves to hire-purchase agreements. Sir Harold Beauchamp had expressed the view some years ago that, to assist towards prosperity motor-cars should be removed from the seventh schedule of the Chattels Transfer Act. The list was growing year by year and the Minister should not allow additions without justification. During the recess the Minister should eonsider the registration of hire-pur-chase agreements if the sum involved exeeeded a certain figure. He should also eonsider removing motor-cars from the schedule of the Act. Mr. W. E. Barnard (Labour, Napier) supported this proposal, also Mr "W. J. Broadfoot (United, Waitomo who said that credit was far too easy to obtain and that Parliament should eonsider eliminating hire-purchases altogether. Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Reform, Gisborne) thought that there should be protection in cases of hardship where the bulk of the purchase money had been paid. In reply the Minister said the object of the Bill was to cover innocent purchasers. He agreed that hire-purchase agreements had become more and more involved, like the coupon system- There was something to be said against eompulsory registration as a housewife who bought a sewing machine did not like to have her name registered as not being able to pay cash.- However, the point was to bring it under the notice of the Industries and Commerce Department. He did not know whether that would be practical to make . provision for the protection of those who had paid the bulk of the purchase money. The Bill was passed without amendment.