Title: Protecting borrowers through information and advice: the Belgian Consumer Credit Act

Authors: Reinhard Steennot

Addresses: Financial Law Institute, Ghent University, Universiteitstraat 4, Ghent, Flanders, Belgium

Abstract: The Consumer Credit Directive requires the creditor or the credit intermediary on one hand to provide certain information and adequate explanations to consumers before they are bound by a consumer credit agreement and on the other hand to assess the consumer's creditworthiness before the conclusion of the credit agreement. The aim of this paper is to discuss the transposition of the European Consumer Credit Directive into Belgian legislation. We will analyse the pre-contractual obligations – and their sanctions in case of violation – as applied by the courts. Also, we will examine whether the Belgian Act is compatible with the Consumer Credit Directive, the latter being based on the principle of targeted full harmonisation.

Keywords: credit agreements; consumers; consumer credit; EC Directives; pre-contractual obligations; Belgium; EU; European Union; European Commission; legislation; statutes; laws; borrowers; information; advice; consumer protection; creditors; credit intermediaries; adequate explanations; transposition; creditworthiness; pre-contractual obligations; legal sanctions; violation; law courts; legal compatibility; targeted harmonisation; full harmonisation; private law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPL.2012.046057

International Journal of Private Law, 2012 Vol.5 No.2, pp.121 - 135

Published online: 20 Sep 2014 *

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