Before making a complaint, know how the law protects you, whether you have a case, and what rights you have when things go wrong. Having a good understanding of the law gives you a better chance of getting a resolution.
Understanding consumer law
Consumer laws protect you when you're buying, trading, or sharing information with sellers and businesses in New Zealand, including online retailers.
These laws require businesses to do things like:
- sell products and services of acceptable quality
- be truthful in advertising and other descriptions
- meet product safety rules.
Whenever you are buying any products or services from a business that are typically for personal, domestic, or household use, you are protected by the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA).
Learn more about your rights when:
- products and services are misrepresented, or businesses misled you
- your personal information is not stored or managed securely
- you are borrowing, investing or buying on credit.
When you can get a remedy
When you purchase a product or service for personal use, and something goes wrong, you’re covered by the guarantees in the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA).
If one of the guarantees are not met, you have the right to a remedy. The guarantees are slightly different depending on if you purchased a product or a service.
Product Guarantees
The Consumer Guarantees Act requires all businesses to sell products that are:
- of acceptable quality — this means products must do what they are made to do, look acceptable, not have defects, be safe, and last a reasonable time
- fit for a particular purpose — for example, you asked the business, and they told you the products were suitable for a particular purpose
- matched with the description — for example, on packaging, labels and promotional material
- reasonably priced — if a price wasn’t agreed before hand
- delivered on time — or within a reasonable timeframe and in good condition.
Service Guarantees
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, services such as subscription services like phone or internet, household plumbing, a haircut, or fixing your car, are guaranteed to be:
- carried out with reasonable care and skill
- fit for a particular purpose you told the provider you required, and they agreed they could supply
- carried out within a reasonable time, if no timeframe was agreed
- charged for at a reasonable price when the price is not set in advance.
Contacting the business with a complaint
The Consumer Guarantees Act applies to products and services regardless of any store guarantees or warranties.
Remedies available under the CGA
When a product or service doesn’t meet the guarantees set by the CGA, the supplier is required to remedy the situation promptly. The remedies set out in the CGA differ for products and services and depend on how serious the failing is.
Remedies when a product does not comply with the guarantees
The business can remedy the problem by repairing or replacing the product (with an identical model) or providing a refund. The remedy must be provided at no charge and within a reasonable time.
If the business refuses or does not do so within a reasonable time you can have the fault remedied elsewhere and request the business pays for all reasonable costs for doing so.
Where a remedy isn’t provided in a reasonable time or is of substantial character, you can return the product and:
- ask for a refund or a replacement or
- keep the faulty product but get compensation for the difference in value compared with one in good condition.
In addition to these remedies, you can claim compensation for any additional loss or damage to you from the failure.
Compensation for loss from faulty products
A problem or fault with a product is of ‘substantial character’ if:
- a reasonable person would not have bought the product if they had known about the fault, taking into account the nature, price and other information that might indicate durability of the product
- the product is significantly different to its description, sample, or demonstration model
- the product is unfit for its normal purpose and can't easily be put right within a reasonable time — for example, washable wallpaper that bubbles after being wiped clean
- doesn’t achieve a particular result that you told the service provider you wanted, and can’t be easily fixed within a reasonable period of time
- it’s unsafe, for example, a bicycle with faulty brakes.
A ‘reasonable time’ is defined by how long it would take most businesses to fix or replace the product.
Sometimes a business may offer an alternative, such as a discount on another item or a store credit. It’s up to you to decide if the offer is fair, but you don’t have to accept it.
If the business is not willing to negotiate you can seek help to get a resolution.
Get a final decision on a complaint
Remedies when a service does not comply with the guarantees
If it can be fixed you can require the supplier to fix the problem within a reasonable time. If the supplier refuses or fails to do so within a reasonable time you can have it fixed elsewhere and recover the costs from the supplier or cancel the contract for the supply of the service.
If it can’t be fixed or the failure is of substantial character, you can cancel the contract for supply of service and ask for a refund. If you haven’t paid yet, you can refuse to pay for the work.
If the service has already been provided and is still of some value, you may only be entitled to a partial refund, or you may still need to pay for some of the work.
In addition to these remedies, you can claim compensation for any additional loss or damage to you from the failure.
Compensation for loss from poor quality or incomplete service
A problem or fault with a service is of ‘substantial character’ if:
- a reasonable person would not have purchased the service if they had known about the nature and extent of the service failure.
- the result of the service doesn’t achieve a particular result that you agreed with the service provider you wanted, and can’t be easily fixed to achieve that purpose within a reasonable period of time
- the result of the service provided is unsafe — for example, an electrician wires a wall socket incorrectly.
Even if a business thinks they can repair a substantial character fault, you can choose to get your money back instead. If you choose repair, the business should make sure you know it’s a substantial character fault before repair work begins.
If the business doesn’t make this clear and the fault can’t be fixed, you can then reject the product or service. The business will then have to give you a refund or replacement.
If you think it’s a substantial character problem, but the supplier does not, get a second opinion from someone who knows about that type of product.
Gather evidence to support your complaint
Sellers should not make their remedy conditional on the payment of an assessment fee.
Find out if you can get a repair, replacement or refund
It’s not always easy to know if you are entitled to a remedy if there is a problem with your product or service. Check your rights with our Consumer Rights Finder. It will take you through common situations that can be tricky to figure out.
Claiming for loss or damages
Compensation for loss from faulty products
If a faulty product damages your home or belongings, it’s called consequential loss, and you can claim compensation but there are limits to what you can claim.
The loss must be due to something that has happened because of the fault, and you must avoid extra loss if possible.
For example, if your freezer breaks down and you realise in time to save food by moving it to another freezer, you cannot claim for food you didn’t move.
It may be hard to agree a compensation amount if the fault causes major damage to your home so it’s a good idea to get legal advice.
Businesses cannot opt out of being responsible for consequential loss. Sometimes a business offers a temporary replacement while they repair a faulty product, to keep extra costs down.
Compensation for loss from poor quality or incomplete service
If damage is caused to your belongings or property due to the service providers actions or failure, the business must pay for any damage or other losses they caused, and any extra costs directly related to the problem they caused.
For example:
- costs to clean up paint spilled on a driveway or repair scratches on tiles caused by moving an appliance
- costs of panel-beating and temporary transport if a builder drops roofing materials on a customer’s car
- costs to stay overnight in a hotel due to a travel delay that was under the control of the travel provider.
But if damage or loss couldn’t have been predicted, the business has limited responsibility.
For example, if a washing machine repairer causes a flood in the laundry, they must pay for damage to that room’s flooring. But if the water runs outside and damages a Persian rug left out to air, this is unforeseeable loss — the repairer does not have to pay for the rug.
When the CGA does not apply
Businesses can refuse to give you a remedy if you:
- simply change your mind
- use a product so much it is reasonable it breaks
- damage or lose a product
- misuse or alter a product and this causes the issue, e.g. not following instructions
- know about a fault before you buy a product
- take an unreasonable time to return a faulty product
- go to someone else for repairs before contacting the original seller
Additional rules and laws to consider
Although the CGA applies to all products and services, there are some circumstances where additional rules apply. For example, where a contract has been entered into such as for flights and travel, car purchases, financial services and building renovations.
Find out more about additional rules and laws that may apply.
If you bought an item online from an overseas seller shipping to New Zealand, the CGA does still apply but it can be difficult to resolve issues and enforce your rights.
Next steps
Now that you have a good understanding of your rights and remedies, you can contact the business to discuss your problem with confidence.
Use these helpful tips on building your case, writing a formal letter and discussing the issue with the business to ensure you get a fair outcome.
Contacting the business with a complaint
If you’ve already contacted the business and you can’t agree on a remedy, you can get a final decision through the Disputes Tribunal or other dispute resolution services.
Get a final decision on a complaint
For general enquiries please contact us