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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Sale of goods - Remedies for breach of contract - Remedies of seller

192: Damages for non-acceptance

You could also call this:

“Payment for losses when a buyer doesn't accept what you're selling”

If you are selling something and the buyer refuses to accept and pay for it when they should, you can ask for money to make up for your loss. This is called ‘damages for non-acceptance’.

The amount of money you can ask for is based on how much you lost because the buyer didn’t follow through with the deal. This loss should be a direct result of the buyer’s actions and something that would normally happen in this situation.

If there’s a place where you can easily sell the item (like a shop or market), the amount you can ask for is usually the difference between the price the buyer agreed to pay and the current price of the item. This is calculated based on when the buyer should have accepted the item. If no specific time was set for the buyer to accept the item, then it’s based on when they refused to accept it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844410.

Topics:
Business > Fair trading Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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191: Claim for price, or

"Seller can ask for payment when goods are sold"

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193: Damages for non-delivery, or

"You can ask for money if a seller doesn't give you things you bought"

Part 3 Sale of goods
Remedies for breach of contract: Remedies of seller

192Damages for non-acceptance

  1. A seller has, against the buyer, a right to claim damages for non-acceptance of goods if the buyer wrongfully neglects or refuses to accept and pay for the goods.

  2. The measure of damages is the estimated loss directly and naturally resulting, in the ordinary course of events, from the buyer’s breach of contract.

  3. If there is an available market for the goods, the usual measure of damages is (unless the circumstances otherwise require) the difference between the contract price and the market or current price—

  4. at the time or times when the goods ought to have been accepted; or
    1. if no time was fixed for acceptance of the goods, at the time of the refusal to accept them.

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