This page provides information on the guarantees goods have to meet under the Consumer Guarantees Act and the rights and remedies available to you if goods fail to meet one or more of these guarantees.

From 8 July 2003, the Consumer Guarantees Act also applies to

Electricity
Gas
Water
Computer software

Whenever these goods are supplied to you as a consumer after the 8 July 2003, they are covered by the guarantees contained in the Act. You can seek a remedy where these goods fail to meet any of the guarantees in the Act.

Consumer Guarantees Act - Goods publication

This guide is the online version of our Consumer Guarantees Act - Goods, a guide for consumers booklet. The booklet is also available in Adobe Acrobat format (211 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 that goods must meet

Guarantee of acceptable quality

Goods must be:

fit for the purpose they are made for
safe
durable - last for a reasonable time
have no minor defects
acceptable in look and finish.

When deciding if goods are of acceptable quality you must take into account the price you paid, any information on the goods or the package, anything said by the manufacturer or seller about the goods. This also applies to second hand goods.

eg, if you are told when buying goods that they are shop soiled you will not be able to complain later about marks on them.

Goods will usually meet the guarantee of acceptable quality if most consumers would be happy with them.

Goods must be fit for any particular purpose

When you have told a supplier what you want the goods to be able to do, the trader should provide you with goods that do what you want.

eg, you ask the trader to supply you with a heater that will heat a large room. The trader must supply you with a heater that is powerful enough to do this.

Fitness for particular purpose is different from fit for normal purpose which is covered under the guarantee of acceptable quality.

It is an additional purpose to the main purpose people use the goods for. The normal purpose of the heater is to heat a room, the particular purpose you need the heater for is to heat a large room.

Claims that suppliers make about what goods can do may also be covered by this. This means that, if the supplier tells you a watch will be suitable for diving, but on the first dive you find it is not waterproof, you will have a claim against the supplier.

However, there may be situations where it would be best not to rely on the discussions with the supplier.

eg, it may not be wise to rely on discussions with a checkout operator in a large bargain store.

It may not be reasonable to expect the operator to know enough about the goods to say they would suit your purpose. In such a situation it would not be sensible to rely on anything that was said.

Goods must match description

If a description is given with the goods it must be accurate. This means, if a refrigerator is described as "automatic defrost" it must defrost automatically, as promised in the description.

Goods must comply with sample or demonstration model

If you buy the goods based on the model or sample the trader has shown you, what you are supplied with must correspond with the sample.

eg, if you are shown a demonstration model of a car or electrical appliance, what you eventually get from the supplier must be the same as the demonstration model you saw.

If you buy something on the basis of a sample you have been shown, the supplier should give you a reasonable amount of time to compare the goods you receive with the sample.

Consumers should make a reasonable allowance for goods that are made of natural material. This takes into account variations occurring in such items as wood (grain) or wool (for different batches of colour).

Right to sell the goods

When you buy goods, the trader should be able to pass all the ownership rights or title in the goods to you. The trader must tell you when someone else has rights over the goods.

You have the right to expect that no one will have any right or claim to the goods you buy except when they are on hire purchase and are legally repossessed by the retailer or finance company.

Where the goods are not on hire purchase they can only be repossessed if, before you bought the goods:

you were told about the possibility of repossession, and
you were given a copy, or relevant part of the document telling you about repossession.

eg, if you order a carpet and pay a deposit, the order form might say the trader can take the carpet back if the rest of the money is not paid within a month. The trader must tell you about this when you order the carpet and give you a copy of the relevant part of the order form.

If you are buying a used vehicle from a motor vehicle trader check the Supplier Information Notice on the vehicle. If the following statement is included on the front of the notice...

"There is a security interest registered over this motor vehicle"

...the person or company who has registered the security interest (money owing) may repossess the vehicle from you.

Spare parts and repair facilities

This is a guarantee that a manufacturer must give. Unless the manufacturer has let you know that it is not possible, you have a right to repair facilities -some place that can fix your goods - and spare parts for goods you buy.

This right applies to all new goods. It also applies to second hand goods that have been imported into New Zealand and you are the first person to buy them.

This right only applies for a reasonable time after the goods have been bought.

If you buy imported goods, the importer must take reasonable steps to provide repair facilities and spare parts. You can not expect a New Zealand company that makes the same brand to provide these things for imported models.

Manufacturer’s written guarantee or warranty

The Act says that the manufacturer must provide what is set out in their written warranty. This is called an "express" guarantee under the Act. A warranty usually states that faulty goods will be repaired or that the goods will be replaced if necessary. It may also set out the availability of spare parts and who will do the repairs.

The Act does not state that a manufacturer has to provide a written warranty with their goods. Goods sold without a manufacturer's warranty are covered by other remedies under the Act.

Rights and remedies

Rights if goods are faulty

The Act requires the retailer who supplied the goods to sort out any problems. This means a retailer can not tell you to take the problem to the manufacturer.

You can choose whether to seek a remedy for the problem from the trader or the manufacturer.

When you have bought something that doesn’t meet one of the guarantees you have the following rights:

Minor problems

You can ask the trader to fix the goods. The trader must choose between repairing the goods, replacing the goods or giving you a refund.

If the trader refuses to fix the problem or takes more than a reasonable time to do so, you can return the goods and ask for your money back. Or, you can ask for replacement goods, if the same type of goods are reasonably available to the trader. Or, you can take the goods elsewhere to be fixed and ask the supplier to pay for the cost of repair.

Serious problems

If the problem is a serious one (the goods are unsafe, substantially do not meet acceptable quality, fitness for particular purpose, description or sample), you can choose to:

return (reject) the goods and get your money back, or
return the goods for a replacement of similar value and type (if the goods are reasonably available as part of the supplier's stock ), or
keep the goods and have the price reduced to make up for its drop in value.

If the goods cause damage when they become faulty - the washing machine floods the laundry ruining the vinyl flooring - you can ask the supplier to pay for the damage. This is called consequential loss.

Returning goods

If the fault with the goods is serious, you must reject goods by returning them to the trader as soon as you can. Put your rejection in writing, and give this to the trader. If the goods are large and you are unable to deliver them yourself, ask the trader to arrange to collect them.

You can't reject goods where they have been attached to other property and removal will damage the goods. For example - faulty wallpaper!

Rights against a manufacturer or importer

You can sometimes choose a remedy from either the manufacturer of the goods or the trader you bought the goods from. Going to the manufacturer or importer is useful when the trader has gone out of business or is unreasonable to deal with.

You can go to the manufacturer or importer if:

the goods you buy are not of acceptable quality
the goods are different from a description given by the manufacturer
there are no spare parts or repairs available and you were not told this when you bought the goods
the manufacturer does not provide what is promised in their warranty.

The manufacturer is not liable if the problem is caused by someone else or by a cause independent of human control, such as an earthquake or some other natural disaster.

You can ask the manufacturer or importer to:

give you some of the money back to make up for the drop in value of the goods caused by the fault. But if you have an express guarantee given by the manufacturer saying they will repair or replace the goods you have to first give them an opportunity to put the matter right
pay for any damage caused by the goods when they became faulty (consequential loss).

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