Services
When you get someone to do work eg. plumbing, haircut, banking, repairs.
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Over-charged
- The tradesperson sent me a bill for more than the quoted amount
The quote is a contract between you and the seller. You don’t have to pay more than the quoted amount. You can send the seller only the amount quoted with a note to explain why. You may want to add ‘banking this payment will be considered full and final settlement of the bill”. If the seller has possession of your goods and you can’t agree on a fair price, then it might be best to pay the full amount to take the goods away. You can go to the Disputes Tribunal to try to get the extra money back later.
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No quote
- I didn’t get a quote or estimate
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act the seller must complete the work with reasonable skill and care, and within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price. You can find out what is reasonable by asking other sellers how much the work should cost, and how long it should take.
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Untrue statement
- They told me something that wasn't true about a service
The Fair Trading Act makes it illegal for traders to mislead consumers, give you false information, or use unfair trading practices. If you have been misled or deceived you may be able to claim compensation.
The Act applies to advertising and servcies, auctions and commercial sales. But it doesn't cover private sales.
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Not finished
- The seller didn’t complete the project properly
Try to sort out the problem with the trader first. If it fixable, then you need to give the tradesperson a chance to fix it at no cost to you. If it’s a serious problem, or one that can’t be fixed, you can cancel the work and refuse to pay, or arrange with the tradesperson to pay a lower price.
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Repair disputes
- There is a dispute about the repairs I asked for
If you don’t want to pay the full amount for the repairs you might have trouble getting the item back from the repairer. You might not want to pay the full amount because you didn’t ask for some of the repairs, or because you don’t think the repair was good enough. You can try negotiating a lower price with the repairer or you can agree to pay part or the full amount to get the item back and then go to the Disputes Tribunal to decide on the complaint. Tell the repairer in writing that you are paying “without prejudice” which means that you do not accept the amount charged.
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Repairs sold
- A repairer sold your goods because you forgot them
If you don’t collect and pay for your repaired item then the repairer can sell it. Repairers can hold items until they get the payment but if they don’t hear from you after two months then they can sell the item.
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Can't find service
- Can't find your service problem?
Services provided by a trader are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act.
You can find out more about services by checking out our information on:
- Services
- Unsatisfactory services
- Quotes and estimates
- Repair services
- Unauthorised work
- Contracts
- Banking
- Electricity and gas
- Moving and transporting goods
- Insurance
- Consumer Guarantees Act
Or use the search function at the top of the pages to type in your problem.
