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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Sale of goods - Performance of contract - Rules about delivery

161: Goods in possession of third person

You could also call this:

“When someone else has the thing you bought, you need them to agree it's yours now”

If someone else has the goods when you buy them, you don’t actually get them until that person says they’re holding them for you now. This means if you buy something that’s not with the seller, but with another person, you don’t really have it until that other person agrees they’re now keeping it for you.

But remember, this rule doesn’t change how documents that show who owns the goods work. If you have a paper that says you own something, that still counts even if someone else is holding onto the actual item.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844366.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Fair trading
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160: Goods must be sent within reasonable time if no time is fixed, or

"Send goods quickly if no delivery date is set"

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162: Demand or tender of delivery must be at reasonable hour, or

"Giving or getting things should happen at a sensible time"

Part 3 Sale of goods
Performance of contract: Rules about delivery

161Goods in possession of third person

  1. If the goods at the time of sale are in the possession of a third person (A), there is no delivery by the seller to the buyer unless and until A acknowledges to the buyer that A holds the goods on the buyer’s behalf.

  2. However, sections 158 to 163 do not affect the operation of the issue or transfer of any document of title to goods.

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