Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

Supply of services - Right of redress against suppliers where services fail to comply with guarantees

32: Options of consumers where services do not comply with guarantees

You could also call this:

“What you can do if a service doesn't meet the promises made to you”

If a service you receive doesn’t meet the guarantees set out in sections 28 to 30, you have several options:

If the problem can be fixed, you can ask the supplier to fix it within a reasonable time. If they refuse, take too long, or fail to fix it, you can either:

  1. Get someone else to fix it and make the supplier pay for the reasonable costs, or
  2. Cancel your contract for the service (as explained in section 37), but you need to follow the rules in section 35.

If the problem can’t be fixed or it’s a big issue (as defined in section 36), you can:

  1. Cancel your contract (following the rules in sections 35 and 37), or
  2. Get money back from the supplier to make up for any loss in value of what the service produced, compared to what you paid or were supposed to pay.

In any case, you can also ask the supplier for money to cover any other loss or damage you experienced because of the problem with the service. This doesn’t include the loss in value of what the service produced, but it must be something that could have reasonably been expected to happen because of the problem.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM312844.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
Business > Fair trading
Previous

31: Guarantee as to price, or

“A fair price guarantee for services when the price isn't already set”

Next

33: Exceptions to right of redress against supplier in relation to services, or

“When you can't ask the supplier to fix a problem with a service”

Part 4 Supply of services
Right of redress against suppliers where services fail to comply with guarantees

32Options of consumers where services do not comply with guarantees

  1. Where a service supplied to a consumer fails to comply with a guarantee set out in any of sections 28 to 30, the consumer may,—

  2. where the failure can be remedied,—
    1. require the supplier to remedy it within a reasonable time:
      1. where a supplier who has been required to remedy a failure refuses or neglects to do so, or does not succeed in doing so within a reasonable time,—
        1. have the failure remedied elsewhere and recover from the supplier all reasonable costs incurred in having the failure remedied; or
          1. subject to section 35, cancel the contract for the supply of the service in accordance with section 37:
        2. where the failure cannot be remedied or is of a substantial character within the meaning of section 36,—
          1. subject to section 35, if there is a contract between the supplier and the consumer for the supply of the service, cancel that contract in accordance with section 37; or.
            1. obtain from the supplier damages in compensation for any reduction in value of the product of a service below the charge paid or payable by the consumer for the service:
            2. in addition to the remedies set out in paragraphs (a) and (b), obtain from the supplier damages for any loss or damage to the consumer resulting from the failure (other than loss or damage through reduction in value of the product of the service) which was reasonably foreseeable as liable to result from the failure.

              Notes
              • Section 32(b)(i): substituted, on , by section 4 of the Consumer Guarantees Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 33).