Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002

i Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 S.R. No. 61/2002 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Regulation Page 1. Objective 1 2. Authorising provision 2 3. Commencement 2 4. Principal Regulations 2 5. Amendment of objectives 2 6. Prescribed categories of evidence as to identity—persons selling or pawning goods 2 7. Recording transactions 3 8. Pawn ticket and notice of rights and responsibilities 3 9. Sale of unredeemed goods—residual equity requirements 4 10. Part 5 inserted 5 PART 5—ENFORCEMENT 5 19. Entry and search of premises 5 20. Embargo notice 5 21. Infringement penalties 5 11. Substitution of Schedules 4 and 5 6 SCHEDULE 4—What are my rights when I pawn goods? 6 SCHEDULE 5—Notice of sale of pawned goods 9 SCHEDULE 6—Acknowledgment of consent to entry and search of premises 11 SCHEDULE 7—Embargo notice 12 ═══════════════ ENDNOTES 13 -- 1 of 14 -- 1 STATUTORY RULES 2002 S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 The Governor in Council makes the following Regulations: Dated: 16 July 2002 Responsible Minister: CHRISTINE CAMPBELL Minister for Consumer Affairs HELEN DOYE Clerk of the Executive Council 1. Objective The objective of these Regulations is to amend the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Regulations 1997 to— (a) ensure that the information regarding transactions required to be recorded is the same for both second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers; (b) update the form regarding the rights and responsibilities of persons pawning goods; (c) prescribe a notice regarding the sale of unredeemed pawned goods; (d) prescribe offences in respect of which an infringement notice may be issued; (e) prescribe forms for the use of inspectors for the search of premises; -- 2 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 2 (f) update the prescribed categories of evidence as to identity for persons selling or pawning goods; (g) replace references to the "Secretary" with references to the "Authority". 2. Authorising provision These Regulations are made under section 31 of the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989. 3. Commencement These Regulations come into operation on 1 September 2002. 4. Principal Regulations In these Regulations, the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Regulations 19971 are called the Principal Regulations. 5. Amendment of objectives In regulation 1 of the Principal Regulations— (a) in paragraph (g), for "goods." substitute "goods;"; (b) after paragraph (g) insert— "(h) offences in respect of which an infringement notice may be issued.". 6. Prescribed categories of evidence as to identity— persons selling or pawning goods In regulation 11(a) of the Principal Regulations, for sub-paragraphs (iv) and (v) substitute— "(iv) the following cards issued by or on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services or the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing— r. 2 -- 3 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 3 (A) Commonwealth seniors health cards; (B) health care cards; (C) pensioner concession cards; (v) any other card issued by or on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing or the Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs that certifies entitlement to Commonwealth health concessions;". 7. Recording transactions (1) In regulation 12(3)(b) of the Principal Regulations, after "pawned" insert ", including a description of any identifying mark or label on the goods". (2) In regulation 12(3) of the Principal Regulations, after paragraph (c) insert— "(ca) details of the identification provided by that person; (cb) the address to which notices to the person are to be sent;". (3) In regulations 12(4)(b) and 12(9) of the Principal Regulations, for "Secretary" substitute "Authority". 8. Pawn ticket and notice of rights and responsibilities In regulation 14 of the Principal Regulations, for sub-regulation (1) substitute— '(1) A pawn ticket issued by a pawnbroker under section 23(3)(a) of the Act must contain the particulars listed in Schedule 3 completed as appropriate. r. 7 -- 4 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 4 (1A) A notice under section 23(3)(b) of the Act must be in the form of Schedule 4 and— (a) the heading to the form and the headings "In brief", "For further information" and "In more detail" must be printed in at least 14 point bold font; and (b) the words between "In brief" and "For further information" must be printed in at least 12 point bold font; and (c) other headings must be printed in at least 12 point bold font; and (d) the remainder of the form must be printed in at least 12 point font.'. 9. Sale of unredeemed goods—residual equity requirements In regulation 18 of the Principal Regulations, for sub-regulations (2), (3), (4) and (5) substitute— '(2) A notice under section 23A(3) of the Act must be in the form of Schedule 5 and— (a) the heading to the form and the words commencing "Name and address of pawnbroker" and ending "Date by which you must claim this money" and the words "What you need to do" and "Details of pawned goods and sale" must be printed in at least 14 point bold font; and (b) the remainder of the form must be printed in at least 12 point font.'. r. 9 -- 5 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 5 10. Part 5 inserted After Part 4 of the Principal Regulations insert— "PART 5—ENFORCEMENT 19. Entry and search of premises For the purposes of section 26J(3) of the Act, an acknowledgment of consent to an entry and search of premises must be in the form of Schedule 6. 20. Embargo notice For the purposes of section 26P(1) of the Act, an embargo notice must be in the form of Schedule 7. 21. Infringement penalties For the purposes of Division 3 of Part 5 of the Act, the infringement penalty shown in column 2 of the following Table opposite an offence against a provision in column 1 is the infringement penalty prescribed for that offence. Column 1 Column 2 Offence Penalty units section 20 2 section 21(1) 2 section 21A 2 section 23(2) 2 section 23(3) 2 section 23A(3) 2 section 24B 2 ". r. 10 -- 6 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 6 11. Substitution of Schedules 4 and 5 For Schedules 4 and 5 to the Principal Regulations substitute— "SCHEDULE 4 WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS WHEN I PAWN GOODS? Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 (section 23A(3)(b)) In brief • The pawnbroker must give you a pawn ticket and written notice of the charge you will have to pay in addition to the loan. • If you do not repay your loan in time, the pawnbroker can sell your goods without telling you. • If the pawnbroker sells your goods, you are entitled to claim the money left from the proceeds of sale after the money you owe under the loan, any unpaid pawnbroker's charge and the reasonable costs of sale of the goods have been deducted. For further information • If you have any questions about your rights when you pawn goods or if you have a complaint about a pawnbroker, please contact Consumer Affairs Victoria. In more detail Pawnbroker's charge The pawnbroker will charge you a weekly or monthly amount (sometimes called interest) and must give you written notice of the amount of the charge. The pawnbroker's premises must have a sign that shows the maximum amount charged by the pawnbroker on pawn transactions. The pawnbroker must not charge you more than the maximum amount shown on the sign, unless the notice given to you states the reason for the higher amount and you agree in writing to pay the higher amount. You must also be given a copy of this agreement. r. 11 -- 7 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 7 Repaying the loan You may repay your loan at any time before the pawnbroker sells your goods, even if the period of your loan has ended. The pawnbroker must record on your pawn ticket all payments you make on your loan. Claiming your pawned goods You may claim your goods back by paying what you owe under the loan, and the amount of unpaid pawnbroker's charge. You may claim your goods back at any time before the pawnbroker sells them, even if the period of your loan has ended. When you claim your goods back you must show the pawnbroker— • your pawn ticket; and • one piece of identification with a photograph (such as a passport or a driver's licence) or two pieces of identification without a photograph (such as a birth certificate, health care card or a marriage certificate). If you do not have these, either the pawnbroker or Consumer Affairs Victoria can advise you what other identification can be used. Lost or stolen tickets If your pawn ticket is lost or stolen, the pawnbroker must give you a replacement pawn ticket if you provide— • a statutory declaration stating that your ticket has been lost or stolen; and • proof of identity as set out above. Selling unclaimed pawned goods • If you do not claim back your goods by the end of the loan period, the pawnbroker can sell them without telling you. • The pawnbroker must sell your goods as soon as practicable after the end of the loan period and must obtain the best price reasonably obtainable for the goods. • It is illegal for the pawnbroker to buy your goods. Money left over from the sale of unclaimed pawned goods • If your goods are sold, the pawnbroker is entitled to deduct from the proceeds of sale any money you owe (under the loan and the pawnbroker's charge) and the reasonable costs of selling the goods. • You are entitled to any money left over from the proceeds of sale after these amounts have been deducted, if you claim it within 12 months after the sale of the goods. r. 11 -- 8 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 8 • If the amount of money left over is $10 or more, the pawnbroker must send you a notice advising you that you can claim the money. • The notice must be sent within 14 days after the sale to the last address you gave the pawnbroker unless you gave an alternative address for sending notices. It is important that you tell the pawnbroker if you change your address. • If you do not claim the money left over within 12 months after the sale of the goods, you are no longer entitled to it and the pawnbroker can keep it. • It is illegal for the pawnbroker to refuse to pay you the money left over if you request payment within the 12-month period. If the pawnbroker refuses to pay you, you may apply to the Magistrates' Court for an order that the pawnbroker pay you the money. __________________ r. 11 -- 9 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 9 SCHEDULE 5 NOTICE OF SALE OF PAWNED GOODS Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 (section 23A(3)) Name and address of pawnbroker You are entitled to claim money from the sale of your pawned goods Amount you are entitled to claim $ Date by which you must claim this money (insert date 12 months after date of sale) What you need to do As you did not redeem your goods before the end of the loan period, your goods have been sold. The details of the goods, the amount obtained on their sale, the outstanding amount of the loan and the reasonable costs of sale are listed below. You need to go to the pawnbroker at the above address to claim this money. If you do not claim the money by the date referred to above, the pawnbroker is entitled to keep it. The pawnbroker may ask you to produce some identification when you claim this money. It is illegal for the pawnbroker to refuse to pay you money left over from the sale of your goods if you request payment within 12 months after the sale of your goods. If the pawnbroker refuses to pay you, you may make an application to the Magistrates' Court for an order that the pawnbroker pay you the money. If you have any questions about your rights when you pawn goods or if you have a complaint about a pawnbroker, you can get advice from Consumer Affairs Victoria. r. 11 -- 10 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 10 Details of pawned goods and sale Date goods were pawned Description of goods pawned Date goods sold Amount for which goods were sold $ Amount of the loan $ Amount of accrued interest $ Sum of all payments made $ Reasonable costs of sale $ Breakdown of sale costs $ Signature of pawnbroker Printed name Date __________________ r. 11 -- 11 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 11 SCHEDULE 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CONSENT TO ENTRY AND SEARCH OF PREMISES Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 (section 26J(3)) Name of inspector Details of premises Name of occupier Address of premises Consent to entry and search Purpose of entry and search Statement of occupier • The inspector has informed me of the purpose of the search of the premises. • I have been informed that I may refuse consent to the entry and search of the premises. • I have been informed that anything seized or taken with my consent during the search may be used in evidence in proceedings. • I consent to the entry and search of the premises. Signature of occupier Date Time __________________ r. 11 -- 12 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 12 SCHEDULE 7 EMBARGO NOTICE Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 (section 26P) 1. The item described below has been embargoed under section 26P of the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989. 2. Section 26P of the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 provides that a person who knows that an embargo notice relates to a thing and who— (a) sells; or (b) leases; or (c) without the written consent of the inspector who issued the embargo notice, moves; or (d) transfers; or (e) otherwise deals with— the thing or any part of the thing is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty not exceeding $5000. 3. It is a defence to a prosecution for such an offence to prove that the thing or part of the thing was moved for the purpose of protecting and preserving it. 4. Section 26P of the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 provides that despite anything in any other Act, a sale, lease, transfer or other dealing with a thing in contravention of that section is void. Description of embargoed item This notice has been— ! served on (name) ! affixed to the item described above Signature of inspector Name of inspector Telephone number Date Time ". ═══════════════ r. 11 -- 13 of 14 -- S.R. No. 61/2002 Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulations 2002 13 ENDNOTES 1 Reg. 4: S.R. No. 175/1997. Endnotes -- 14 of 14 --