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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Sale of goods - Performance of contract - Rules about delivery

169: Buyer’s right to examine goods

You could also call this:

“You can check what you buy before keeping it”

When you buy something, you have the right to check it before you decide to keep it. If someone delivers goods to you and you haven’t seen them before, you don’t have to accept them right away. You get a fair chance to look at the goods to make sure they’re what you ordered.

If the seller brings goods to you, they must let you check them if you ask. This is so you can make sure the goods match what was agreed in your purchase. The seller has to give you enough time to do this check properly.

These rules apply unless you and the seller have agreed to something different.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844375.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Fair trading
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168: Risk where goods are delivered at place other than place where goods are sold, or

"Who's responsible when things are delivered to a different place than where they were sold"

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170: Acceptance of goods, or

"How you show you're happy with something you bought"

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

169Buyer’s right to examine goods

  1. If goods are delivered to the buyer without the buyer previously examining them, the buyer is not treated as having accepted them unless and until the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to examine them for the purpose of ascertaining whether they conform with the contract.

  2. Unless otherwise agreed, when the seller tenders delivery of goods to the buyer, the seller must, on request, give the buyer a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods for the purpose of ascertaining whether the goods conform with the contract.

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