Voluntary compliance agreement
8.—(1)  Where there are reasonable grounds for believing that a supplier has engaged, is engaging or is likely to engage in an unfair practice, a specified body may invite the supplier to enter into a voluntary compliance agreement.
(2)  The voluntary compliance agreement must —
(a)be in writing; and
(b)include an undertaking that the supplier will not engage in the unfair practice.
(3)  Subject to subsection (5), the specified body may (with the agreement of the supplier) include in a voluntary compliance agreement all or any of the following undertakings by the supplier:
(a)to compensate any consumer who has suffered loss or damage as a result of an unfair practice;
(b)to reimburse any specified body for any costs or expenses incurred by it;
(c)to publicise the voluntary compliance agreement,
in the manner or upon the terms specified in the undertakings.
(4)  Subject to subsection (5), the specified body may (after entering into a voluntary compliance agreement and with the agreement of the supplier) —
(a)vary the terms of any undertaking included in the voluntary compliance agreement; or
(b)include, in the voluntary compliance agreement, additional undertakings mentioned in subsection (3).
(5)  No undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(a) may be included in a voluntary compliance agreement or varied after its inclusion, except at the request of the consumer to whom the undertaking relates.
(6)  Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(a), the consumer may recover the compensation specified in the undertaking as a civil debt due to the consumer.
(7)  Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(b), the specified body may recover the reimbursement specified in the undertaking as a civil debt due to the specified body.
(8)  Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(c), the specified body may publicise the voluntary compliance agreement in accordance with the undertaking and recover the costs and expenses so incurred from the supplier as a civil debt due to the specified body.
(9)  Unless otherwise provided in the voluntary compliance agreement, recovery of compensation or reimbursement (as the case may be) under a voluntary compliance agreement or under subsection (6), (7) or (8) bars all further actions to recover any loss, damage, costs or expenses to which the undertaking so enforced relates.
(10)  The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint any person or body as a specified body for the purposes of this section.
[25/2016]