Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased a bed from the Respondent / Applicant immediately complained about a strong odour from the bedhead / Applicant placed bed in storage / Applicant requested a bed replacement from the Respondent twenty months later / Whether the Applicant was out of time to reject the bed / Held: Applicant failed to reject the bed in a reasonable time / Twenty months delay was not reasonable / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant ordered T-shirts and basketballs singlets with printed branding from Respondent / Applicant’s client rejected the garments due to printing issues / Applicant refunded client / Applicant seeks full refund for amount paid, $5,209.82 and declaration they are not liable for a further invoice of $1,115.84 / Respondent claims printing issue caused by incorrect washing of garments by client / Held: Respondent breached implied conditions in ss138 and 139 of the CCLA as garments supplied were not fit for purpose / Applicant entitled to full refund of the price paid for the goods / Applicant is not liable to pay the remaining invoice / Applicant  is to make the garments available for collection by the Respondent within 7 days of receipt of payment of $5,209.82 / Claim granted.

Contract / Applicant provided trucking and various construction services to Respondent / Respondent declined to make payment on basis that Applicant's invoices do not match Respondent's site records / Applicant claims outstanding invoiced balance $8,981.50 / Held: Applicant provided all services invoiced and entire outstanding balance plus interest is payable by Respondent / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $9,152.91 / claim allowed.

Negligence / Contributory Negligence Act 1947 (CNA) / Applicant dug hole during course of their work and damaged underground cables belonging to Respondent / Respondent issued invoice for $2,499.42 / Applicant claims for declaration of non-liability / Applicant claims they were not responsible for damage / Respondent counterclaims Applicant was negligent and caused damage to cables / Respondent counterclaims $2,499.42 in damages / Held: Tribunal is unable to rule on non-liability in tort / Held: Applicant partially responsible for damage under CNA / Respondent contributed to damage by only burying cables 150mm deep / Applicant to pay Respondent $999.77, being 40% of damages / Claim dismissed / Counterclaim partially upheld.

Property / Applicant and Respondent are family members involved in partnership that operated farm / Partnership dissolved in acrimonious circumstances / Applicant claims personal and partnership property remaining at farm after dissolution / Held: various chattels in dispute considered individually by Disputes Tribunal / Respondent's representative to collect two trailers and plumbing connections from Applicant / Respondent's representative to make available for collection any items listed as "A" in bundle of evidence / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $1,125 / claim allowed.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant took car to Respondent’s car wash / Soap suds were sprayed on car then carwash stopped working / Employee of Respondent washed off some suds / Applicant drove home and tried to hose off remaining suds / Sud marks left on car / Applicant claims for consequential damage caused by malfunction of the carwash / Held: damage caused by carwash malfunction / Applicant entitled to compensation / Respondent liable to pay $3,653.53 for cost of remedying damage, claim allowed

Contract / Consumer Guarantee Act 1993 (CGA) / Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) / Respondents ordered carpet for house from Applicant / Two years later Respondents ordered same carpet from Applicant / Applicant sent invoice for $4053 of which Respondents paid $1965 / Upon laying of carpet, Respondents realised new carpet varied in colour from original / Applicants claim remaining amount from invoice / Respondents claim Applicant breached CGA and FTA / Held: there can be no claim under FTA for conduct of manufacturer / Applicant failed guarantee of fitness for particular purpose of Respondents / Respondents to pay Applicants remaining amount of invoice minus 20% discount for breaches under the CGA / Claim partially granted.

Contract / Respondent engaged Applicant for legal services / Applicant gave a cost estimate for work to Respondent / Applicant carried out  work and invoiced a higher price than initially estimated / Respondent refused to pay Applicant more than estimated price / Applicant claimed $1800 plus GST for the legal work conducted / Held: Applicant intended to charge initial price range for work conducted / Terms of engagement did not allow Applicant to charge beyond the estimate given / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $892.50 for legal work conducted / Claim granted in part.

Contract / Applicant took out $1.1 million loan with Respondent secured over property / Property damaged by landslip and sold / Loan became unsecured / Parties entered contract for repayment / All payments made on time but Respondent credited some payments to wrong account and referred loan to credit agency / Further contract entered that balance be paid off by lump sum with remainder due being written off by Respondent / Applicant claimed Respondent’s actions breached contractual and other obligations / Applicant claimed $30,000.00 compensation for loss / Held: insufficient time to conclude hearing / Parties needed opportunity to file further evidence in support of claim / Hearing adjourned.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicants contracted with respondents to make a 3D model of their newborn baby / Respondents agreed and many camera shots were taken in order to create the model of the baby in exchange for $2,4800.00 / Applicants had several complaints about the model and claim they should not have to pay the remaining $1,240.00 / Applicants claim that the model does not meet the standard in the CGA section 6 / Respondents claim that all due care and skill was taken in light of the available technology / Held: The applicants are to pay the respondents the remaining $1,240.00 /  The 3D printed baby was made with all due care and skill given the available technology / Claim dismissed

Contract / Damages / Applicants lived in hall of residence / Applicants caused damage to glass doors (separate doors for each Applicant) / Applicants claim that these glass doors were too fragile, therefore damage was general wear and tear / Applicant 1 claims refund for invoice paid / Applicant 2 claims declaration that he's not liable to pay / Respondent claims damage caused by Applicants and was not wear and tear / Respondents include evidence from door replacement company stating door was within the "New Zealand Safety Standards for a door panel of this size" / Held: Applicants caused damage to doors / Damage is not result of wear and tear or fragile glass / Applicants to pay cost of repair / Claim dismissed / Applicant 2 to pay cost of repairing damaged door, $645.64.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicants purchased tickets to do a mountain walk form the respondents / The Department of Conservation (DOC) had restrictions on where these mountain walks could go / Tickets purchased by the applicants were non-refundable / Parties claim they are entitled to a refund of the tickets / Applicants claim that the DOC restrictions were unknown at the time they purchased the tickets / Respondents claim that the DOC restrictions were common knowledge / Respondents claim that they have discharged their duty under CGA / Held: Insufficient evidence to show that the applicants knew of the restrictions / Tickets are ordered refunded / Booking fee not refunded / Claim partially upheld

Property / Applicants purchased property from Respondents pursuant to Sale and Purchase Agreement / Speaker system included in list of chattels / After moving in Applicant tried to install television and discovered various issues meaning television could not connect to speaker system / Applicants claimed $4,256.99 being $2,799.00 for amplifier, $399.00 for HDMI Balun, $60.00 for data cable and $998.99 for subwoofer / Held: television connecting to speaker system not warranted by terms of contract / No evidence HDMI cable connector damaged prior to settlement / Applicants had opportunity to identify damage at pre-settlement inspection / Applicants’ claim did not represent actual loss / Claim dismissed.