Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998

10 Interpretation of Part II.U.K.

(1)In this Part—

• “contract term” means a term of the contract creating the debt or any other contract term binding the parties (or either of them);

• “contractual remedy” means a contractual right to interest or any contractual remedy other than interest;

• “contractual right to interest” includes a reference to a contractual right to charge interest;

• “overall remedy”, in relation to the late payment of the debt, means any combination of a contractual right to interest, a varied right to statutory interest or a contractual remedy other than interest;

• “substantial remedy” shall be construed in accordance with section 9.

(2)In this Part a reference (however worded) to contract terms which vary the right to statutory interest is a reference to terms altering in any way the effect of Part I in relation to the debt (for example by postponing the time at which interest starts to run or by imposing conditions on the right to interest).

(3)In this Part a reference to late payment of the debt is a reference to late payment of the sum due when the debt is created (excluding any part of that sum which is prevented from carrying statutory interest by section 3).