3.7 Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1975

The Unsolicited Goods and Services Act provides protection for people (consumers and businesses) who receive unsolicited goods or invoices for unordered goods or services.
The Act establishes that unsolicited goods sent to a person remain the property of the sender until the consumer accepts them, does something contrary to the sender’s ownership (i.e. disposes of them), or the sender recovers them. If the sender does not recover the goods within times specified in the Act, the goods become an unconditional gift to the consumer. These provisions limit the person receiving the goods’ liability for goods sent to them without prior request (i.e. goods which are “unsolicited”).

There is a prohibition on sending invoices to people for goods or services they have not ordered unless the sender has a reasonable belief that they are entitled to payment. This limits a sender’s ability to seek payment for unordered goods or services. The Act also prohibits senders from demanding or using threats to elicit payment for unsolicited goods unless they have reasonable cause to believe they have a right to payment, for example, senders cannot threaten or take legal action or debt collection processes for payment for unsolicited goods. The Act also enables certain services to be specified by regulations so prior written consent must be obtained by the service provider before the service can be charged for.

These provisions place the onus on the sender to establish their right to payment. The maximum fine for invoicing or demanding payment without an established right is $1,000 and $1,500 for threats to elicit payment. Penalties, up to $300, can be imposed on persons ordering goods for others without their authority.

The Unsolicited Goods and Services Act also includes provisions that can be used to remove the ability for proceedings to be taken in a New Zealand Court to enforce payment for unsolicited goods or services provided overseas.

Enforcement

This Act is enforced by the Commerce Commission.