Word of Advice

7 September 2009

What to do with unsafe products

No one expects a ladder to collapse under them or a knife to lose its handle mid-chop. But occasionally products fail us. As part of Safety NZ Week 7-13 September, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is encouraging consumers to report unsafe products.

After you’ve dealt with the emergency – or if it was just a near miss – collect and record the evidence. Instead of throwing the faulty product out, you can take it back for a refund and report a safety issue to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Getting a refund

Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, when you buy something and then discover it is not of acceptable quality usually you have to take it back and let the shop decide whether to repair it, replace it or give you a refund.

But when the problem is serious and/or makes the goods unsafe you don’t have to accept a repair. You can choose to get a refund or replacement, or if you want to keep the goods you can get compensation for the loss of value.

Reporting a product safety issue

When you have a product that is unsafe you should also report it to the appropriate authority. This helps to protect others from having the same problem. You will need to describe what happened, so photos and a detailed explanation are helpful.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs looks after safety for products except food, vehicles, medicines, and gas and electrical goods. Depending on how serious the problem is, the issue may be investigated or may be used to monitor trends.

Investigations

Unsafe goods are investigated by the Ministry’s Measurement and Product Safety Service (MAPSS). You can report an unsafe product to them by phone (on 0508 627 774), the website, or in writing (MAPSS, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, PO Box 1473, Wellington).

The Ministry usually works with retailers, manufacturers and importers to deal with safety issues. The problem can sometimes be solved by making the product safer, but otherwise the business may have to stop selling the goods, and recall products that it has already sold.

Mandatory recalls and standards

The Minister of Consumer Affairs has the power to recall unsafe goods and publish Unsafe Goods Notices to prevent unsafe goods being made, imported or sold in New Zealand.

There are a few products with mandatory safety standards, including children’s toys, some baby equipment, and bicycles. The Commerce Commission investigates where products have been sold that don’t meet these standards.

Where to complain about other unsafe products

The Food Safety Authority investigates food, the NZ Transport Authority investigates vehicles, Medsafe investigates medicines and Energy Safety investigates gas and electric products.

Visit for more information about product safety.