The Sanctity of Contracts in English Law - College of Social ...

32 Encroachments on Sanctity of Contractswhere the price does not exceed £300. The mainrequirements are (a) a pre-contract statement to thehirer of the price at which the goods could bepurchased by him for cash, (b) a note or memorandumcontaining a statement of the hire-purchase price andthe cash price of the goods, the amount of eachinstalment payable and the date for payment of it,a list of the goods, and (c) the delivery of a copy ofthe note or memorandum to the hirer within sevendays of the making of the agreement.Obviously the legislature's objective was the protectionof hire-purchasers in the lower income groups.Instead of declaring certain types of such agreements" absolutely void," it sought to provide for suchdisclosure of certain vital terms of the contract asdirectly to influence the terms of hire-purchase agreementsgenerally and to open the eyes of the hirerto see the full implications of his bargain. Restrictionswere imposed by these two sets of modernstatutes on the freedom of contract in the interestsof fair dealing between parties and to protect personswhose acquisitive instincts may be greater than theireconomic resources.LABOUR LEGISLATIONEven in the eighteenth century, Acts of Parliamentregulating the conduct of sundry trades andoccupations were strangely multiplied; but most ofthese restrictive regulations were swept away duringthe Benthamite campaign for freedom of contract.Largely, however, as the result of the Industrial