Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Consumer Law / Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Respondent agreed to make Applicant a dress for her birthday party for $280.00 / Applicant paid $170.00 toward materials / Dress was not completed / Applicant sought a refund of $170.00 paid / Respondent claimed there was no contract as the dress was offered as a gift  / Held: no evidence the Respondent offered to make the dress as a birthday gift / Therefore, there was a contract between the parties / Respondent breached and cancelled the contract when they failed to finish the dress / Applicant is to collect the fabric from Respondent / Financial award not appropriate  / Claim dismissed .

Contract law / Applicant owned two rental properties managed by Respondent / Respondent purchased business previous property manager / Respondent deducted fees in accordance with its standard contract / Applicant disputed deductions and believed Respondent had underpaid amount owing / Applicant claimed $1423.99 for underpayment / Held: Respondent’s standard contract did not apply as Applicants had never seen or agreed to it / Despite this, Respondents had paid all rent due under original contract between Applicants and original property managers / Respondent entitled to deduct termination and Tenancy Tribunal fees following tenant’s departure / Respondents overcharged Tribunal fee allowed in contract by $100 / Claim dismissed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased a water distiller from the Respondent / Applicant noticed rust forming inside the wall of the distiller’s stainless steel boiling chamber / Efforts to clean the rust were unsuccessful / Applicant sought a refund of the purchase price and reimbursement of the Tribunal filing fee / Respondent said the rust the Applicant referred to would have been the result of her inappropriate use of an abrasive agent / Held: the extensive rust referred to by the Applicant was not normal and not such as should be reasonably acceptable to a reasonable consumer / No causal link between the use of an abrasive agent and the rust appearing / Device’s failure to meet the relative, and applicable, guarantee was substantial / Respondent was to provide a full refund of the purchase price of $599.00 / Tribunal had no power to award the Tribunal filing fee / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Applicant entered residential building contract with Respondent / Applicant took possession of property but noticed the handbasin in the ground floor single toilet was badly cracked and unusable / Applicant claimed installed product was sub-standard and inferior to other preferred basin / Applicant claimed $100 cost for installing new basin / Held: Applicant agreed to a compact composite basin to be installed / Respondent not liable for installation costs for new handbasin / Applicant failed to prove damaged handbasin was a workmanship issue / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Tort / Trespass / First Applicant visited vape shop and parked vehicle in carpark managed by Respondent / Parking area reserved for laundromat customers / Respondent claimed $514.96 payment for parking breach notice, debt recovery administration costs and interest / Applicants claimed declaration of non-liability / Held: First Applicant trespassed Respondent's property / Parking signages clearly indicate parking reserved for laundromat customers / No contract between First Applicant and Respondent regarding late fees and charges / Even if contract had been formed, Applicant not required to pay extra fees as it was not adequately brought to their attention / Extra fees were unreasonable being four times initial breach figure / First Applicant ordered to pay Applicant $95 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract law / Applicant leased commercial unit to Respondents for period of one year / Respondent gave notice to terminate lease with 4 months remaining on lease / Respondent cited protection order and issues with the way landlord billed for electricity usage as reason for termination / Applicant claimed for outstanding four months rent plus interest / Applicant claimed unjustified termination as cancellation of lease for protection order is only available in residential tenancies / Held: Respondent entitled to terminate lease / Protection order not valid ground for termination / Electricity billing arrangement was undisclosed to Respondent prior to entering lease and was unreasonable / Billing arrangement meant Respondent liable for bills of other tenants without clear mechanism for reimbursement / Ongoing confusion and financial pressure on Respondent interfered with quiet enjoyment and business viability for Respondent entitling them to cancel lease / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Applicants paid $23,685 deposit for Respondent to host their wedding / Respondent’s premises had a burglary and Applicant’s deposit was stolen / Respondent accused Applicants of stealing deposit / Respondent stated Applicants could not have wedding hosted unless they paid deposit again / Respondent also did not refund deposit / Held: Respondent was in breach of contract / Respondent did not provide any evidence proving Applicants had burgled deposit / Applicants were entitled to cancel wedding at Respondent’s premises / Applicants also entitled to a full refund as Respondent repudiated contract / Respondent to pay Applicants $24,207.21 / Claim allowed.

Negligence / Land Transport Act 1998 / Applicant claimed he was about to exit a roundabout at an intersection when the Respondent entered the intersection colliding with his vehicle / Respondent admitted the collision occurred but denied liability claiming she did not see the Applicant, probably because he did not have his headlights on / Applicant claimed the cost of repair of $2,303.57 / Held: collision occurred at dawn at a well-lit roundabout / Even if the Applicant did not have his lights on, the Respondent should have been able to see him / Damage was consistent with the description of the collision / Cost claimed for the repairs was reasonable / Respondent ordered to pay $2,303.57 to the Applicant’s insurer / Claim allowed.

Tort / Trespass / Applicant's daughter parked his car in a private car park managed by Respondent / Respondent issued two breach notices and claimed $95 for each breach / Applicant claimed declaration of non-liability / Held: $95 is a reasonable fee for each trespass / Owner is entitled to compensation for obstruction of land / Respondent can charge for unauthorised parking / Respondent not entitled to additional costs claimed / Applicant ordered to pay Respondent $190 / Claim dismissed.

Consumer law / In 2021, Applicant purchased three tickets for her family for a 2022 concert / Concert was cancelled due to Covid restrictions /  Ticket holders could get refund or have tickets rolled over to 2023 concert / Applicant elected to roll tickets over / Children under 12 could attend for free if with an adult who had adult ticket / Applicant’s son turned 13 before 2023 concert / Applicant contacted Respondent to ensure son was included in rollover tickets / Applicant told she would need to purchase ticket for son / Applicant purchased ticket for additional cost of $465.31 / Applicant claimed for refund of additional cost / Whether Applicant entitled to have son included in rollover tickets / Held: reasonable consumer would conclude 2022 concert ticket would remain valid for 2023 concert / By offering option to roll over tickets, Respondent represented that tickets for 2022 concert would be honoured for 2023 event / Reasonable for Applicant to accept the offer assuming her son…

Fencing / Fencing Act 1978 / Applicant and Respondent entered into agreement regarding fencing in 2015 / Agreement stipulated Applicant would pay Respondent $15,000 as a resolution of issues between parties for drainage work / Respondent disputes agreement for fencing requires her to pay for fence and whether she was paid $15,000 / Respondent also stated a fence could not be built until the $15,000 was resolved / Applicant communicated their intention to proceed with fence / Held: an absence of a fencing agreement between owners requires an exchange of Fencing Notices and Cross-Notices / Applicant did not obtain Respondent’s agreement for fence nor did they carry out correct procedure of Fencing Notice / Claim dismissed. 

Contract / Fixed term lease / Applicants and Respondent are flatmates / Applicants said Respondent moved in for about five days before his sister took over / Respondent continued to pay for rent and stopped when his sister moved out / Applicants claimed $3,000 for rent arrears incurred when Respondent stopped paying rent / Held: there is an implied term in the agreement that Respondent would continue to pay rent if he or his sister moved out until the room was filled by someone else / Respondent breached his contract when he stopped paying rent / Respondent ordered to pay Applicants $2,340 / Claim allowed.

Negligence / Compensation / First Respondent involved in a collision with a car driven by the Applicant / Collision caused $3,348.51 worth of damage to Applicant’s vehicle / First Respondent did not dispute liability / First Respondent was driving a vehicle that belonged to the Second Respondent, her partner at the time / First Respondent agreed to pay Applicant $3,000.00 in instalments / Transpired that First Respondent paid Second Respondent $500 towards his insurance excess for his vehicle / First Respondent paid that amount believing it would remove any further liability on her to compensate Applicant / That did not occur / First Respondent no longer in contact with Second Respondent / First Respondent claimed a refund of $500 paid to Second Respondent / Held:  $500 was paid to Second Respondent as compensation towards repair cost of Applicant’s vehicle / Evidence suggested that sum was not used for that purpose / Second Respondent ordered to pay First Respondent $500 / Claim allow…