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This page provides information on the
services guarantees under the Consumer Guarantees Act and the rights
and remedies available to you if the services fail to meet one or
more of these guarantees.
From 8 July 2003, the Consumer Guarantees Act applies to services
relating to the supply of electricity, gas, telecommunications,
water, and the removal of wastewater.
This means that from 8 July 2003, any services supplied to you by
your electricity, gas, telephone, water company or internet service
provider must meet the guarantees under the Act. You can seek a
remedy where these services fail to meet any of the guarantees.
eg, your electricity gas,
telecommunications or water company must supply their services
using reasonable skill and care.
Suppliers must use reasonable care and skill when reading meters
and sending bills.
Note: This applies not just to the company you
have a contract with, but also to any trader who supplies you with
services
eg, they are sub-contracted by another
company to supply these services to consumers.
The Act applies to Line services supplied to you even where you
don’t have a contract with the electricity lines company.
eg, an electricity lines company is
responsible for maintaining the lines and the power poles; they
must use reasonable skill and care in carrying out these services.
Consumer Guarantees Act - Services
publication
This guide is the online version of our
Consumer Guarantees Act - Services, a guide for
consumers booklet. The booklet is also available in
Adobe Acrobat format (314 KB) (instructions
for obtaining the viewer).
If you require a printed copy of the booklet, single copies can
be ordered from our
Publications section or picked up from your nearest Citizens
Advice Bureau.
Guarantees for services
Services must be provided with reasonable care and skill
This generally means that any work done for you must be at least
as good as the work of a competent person with average skills and
experience in the type of work required.
Services must fit for the purpose
After you have told the service provider what service you want
from them, and they accept the job, they must make sure you get what
you want.
eg, if you let the hairdresser know that
you want your hair dyed a particular colour and they agree to do
it, they must give you hair of that colour.
However, there may be situations where it would not be
appropriate to rely on discussions with a supplier
eg, it may not be reasonable to expect a
receptionist in a large service company to know enough about the
services to be able to say the service will do what you want.
You may not be able to rely on this guarantee or the guarantee of
reasonable care and skill if you insist on a service which the
service provider informs you will not be fit for your purpose.
eg, you ask the drycleaner to try to
remove an old stain from a jacket. The cleaner tells you that the
stain can not come out without taking colour out of the jacket.
You insist on the work being carried out.
The dry-cleaner must take reasonable care and skill but may not
be responsible if the jacket colour is changed, as you had been told
this could happen. If the dry-cleaner causes another problem such as
the buttons melting, the cleaner may be held responsible for that
problem.
Services must be provided within a reasonable time
Where you and the service provider have not agreed on a time when
the job must be finished, the service provider must complete the job
within a reasonable time. "Reasonable" time will be judged on the
time it takes a competent person who works in that type of job to
complete the task.
Reasonable price
If a price for the work has not been discussed with the service
provider, you do not have to pay a price which is unreasonable in
the circumstances.
eg, you hire a plumber to repair a leaking
tap. The price was not discussed because you were in a hurry. You
have had plumbing work done before so you were expecting the bill
to be approximately $45. You are very surprised when a bill
arrives for $120. You find out that plumbers normally charge $55
for this type of job so you only have to pay $55.
Rights and remedies
If you receive a service that fails to meet one of these
guarantees for services you have the following rights:
Right to repair
You can ask the person who did the job to fix it at no cost to
you.
If they refuse or take more than a reasonable time to fix it you
can:
- get someone else to fix it and claim the cost from the
supplier, or
- cancel the contract for service and refuse to pay for the work
done. If you have already paid the service provider you may be
able to get some or all of your money back. The amount you can ask
for will depend on whether some of the service provided was
satisfactory.
Right to cancel for serious problems
You can cancel the contract for the service and refuse to pay for
the work done or pay less than the agreed price. If you have already
paid you may be able to get some or all of your money back.
Have the price reduced to make up for the drop in value of the
service - this may mean asking for some of your money back if you
have already paid.
Consequential loss
If the work has caused damage to other property, you can claim
compensation for that damage (this is called consequential loss).
Failure outside service provider's control
A service provider will not be responsible if a guarantee has
been breached as a result of an event outside of his or her control.
eg, it takes a reasonable painter three
weeks to complete a house painting job, but your painter has now
taken four weeks. The sole reason for the delay has been the
weather which is outside the painter’s control.
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