Gather evidence to support your complaint

If you and the business don’t agree

The Consumer Guarantees Act has definitions that can be hard to interpret. Terms like ‘reasonable time’, ‘durable’ and ‘due care and skill’ can lead to confusion. This makes it hard for consumers and businesses to agree on whether a guarantee has been fulfilled or not.

There are many factors that should be considered to prove whether a guarantee has been met. Use the tips below to help troubleshoot and gather back-up evidence to help resolve your complaint.

Get a second opinion

You can get a second opinion to help you prove that the product did not last a reasonable time, or the service wasn’t provided with due care and skill. 

These can come from:

• suppliers and manufacturers of similar products or services — ask them how long they would expect the item to last or if they would expect a fault to occur over a certain period. This gives you an average you can provide to the business  
• repairers, service technicians or specialist installers who have experience with similar products. They can help you understand if the problem you're facing is common and when wear and tear usually happens 
• industry associations such as Master Builders or the Motor Trades Association who can advise whether the service or problem meets their code of practice. Most service providers have an association to refer matters relating to their occupation 
• consumer testing reports from organisations like Consumer NZ can be helpful. Their research can show you if there are any common problems with a product and provide average information that can support your claim.

It may help to get opinions in writing if possible. This could help if you decide to take the claim to the Disputes Tribunal. 

Check quality and durability

You can get an indication on the level of quality or durability you can expect by checking the descriptions on packaging, care instructions or promotional material on the business’ website including:  

• if the packaging suggests the product can withstand heavy-duty use, or gives examples of use, you can apply these to demonstrate if the product has not been fit for purpose or durable
• if care labels or instructions say ‘wash with care’ or ‘dry clean only’ then it may not be expected to last or withstand lots of wear and tear
• some instruction manuals suggest regular maintenance tasks that should be followed to ensure a long lifespan. If you can prove that maintenance has been kept up to date, this can aid your case.

Price can also be an indicator of quality and durability as the materials used or time taken on the product or service will be reflected in the cost.  

Check the contract of sale

The business must provide what has been detailed in the contract of sale and the product or service must deliver what the business said it would.

Details provided in writing (emails, texts, documents) or through other channels can be accepted as part of the terms and conditions in the contract of sale.

Often the levels of expected durability, quality or timeframes for provision of service are included in the written terms and conditions.

For example, businesses might provide:

• timeframes for how long a service will take to be completed
• expected delivery dates
• statements about the quality of the materials that will be used. 

You can also review emails between you and the business that may include similar details. 

Contracts and sales agreements 

Check delivery and return terms

If the business gave you a timeframe for when products would be delivered after placing an order, you can use that information to see if a reasonable amount of time has passed.

Even if the business you are dealing with does not provide an indicator, the policies of similar businesses could be used to demonstrate that the timeframe is unreasonable. 

Delivery issues

What to do with your evidence

Take any evidence you find relating to your claim back to the business and ask them to reconsider.

If they still don’t provide a remedy, or won’t respond to your request, you can get a formal decision from the Disputes Tribunal or other dispute resolution scheme. Keep your evidence and use it when you complete the claim.

Get a final decision on a complaint