HC Deb 08 March 1979 vol 963 c787W
Mr. Warren

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if his Department will examine the lack of legal redress available to customers under typical general conditions of sale which absolve the supplier from any responsibility to the customer for delays in delivery of goods and services even though such delay may cause the customer financial loss which he cannot recover; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Fraser

If a supplier fails to meet the terms of a contract relating to the time for performance, he is in breach of contract, and the customer is entitled to damages for financial loss suffered as a result of the delay, provided that the loss was reasonably foreseeable by the parties at the time when the contract was made.

Section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 provides that a term in a standard form of contract which excludes or restricts the liability of a trader for breach of contract, such as liability for delay, is unenforceable unless it is found by a court to be a fair and reasonable one to be included in a contract.