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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

170: Acceptance of goods

You could also call this:

“How you show you're happy with something you bought”

When you buy something, there are a few ways you’re treated as if you’ve accepted the goods. This means you’ve agreed that what you got is okay. Here are the ways:

You tell the seller that you’ve accepted the goods. This is like saying “Yes, this is good, I’ll keep it.”

You get the goods delivered to you, and then you do something with them that shows you think they’re yours now, not the seller’s anymore. For example, if you buy a shirt and start wearing it, that shows you’ve accepted it.

You keep the goods for a long time without telling the seller you don’t want them. If you’ve had something for a while and haven’t said anything about not liking it or wanting to return it, it’s assumed you’ve accepted it.

There’s one exception to the second point. Sometimes, there might be a rule that says even if you do something with the goods, it doesn’t always mean you’ve accepted them. You’d need to check another part of the law (section 169) to see if this applies.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844376.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Fair trading
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"You can check what you buy before keeping it"

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"You don't have to send back things you don't want to keep"

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

170Acceptance of goods

  1. The buyer must be treated as having accepted the goods when—

  2. the buyer indicates to the seller that the buyer has accepted the goods; or
    1. the goods have been delivered to the buyer and the buyer does any act in relation to the goods that is inconsistent with the ownership of the seller; or
      1. after a reasonable time has elapsed, the buyer retains the goods without indicating to the seller that the buyer has rejected the goods.

        1. Subsection (1)(b) does not apply if section 169 provides otherwise.

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