Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Tenancy / Residential Tenancies Act 1986 / Applicant entered into agreement to rent studio accommodation with Respondent / Applicant described premises as a commercial operation that does not provide residential accommodation / First claim filed by Respondent adjourned so that Respondent could file claim in the Tenancy Tribunal to determine whether Respondent's claim was a residential tenancy / Respondent did not provide information before deadline / Held: order from Tenancy Tribunal has not been received and Respondent has not given any details of its progress with Tenancy Tribunal claim / Claim struck out.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased fender and lockset from Respondent for $429.00 / Applicant claimed car parts were not of acceptable quality / Applicant claimed fender had dents and was scrap quality while lockset was missing parts / Applicant sought refund / Held: fender was acceptable quality but lockset was not / Reasonable consumer would expect fender to have defects given its age and that it was being wrecked / Lockset was not as it was missing parts / 50 percent of parts’ purchase price ordered / Respondent liable to refund Applicant $214.50 / Applicant to return lockset on receipt of refund / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Warranties / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant bought lawn mower from Respondent / Mower covered by a 5-year or 6000 hours guarantee / Mower malfunctioned when a slug damaged circuit board / Respondent told Applicant damage was outside the warranty and Applicant would have to pay cost of repair / Applicant claimed declaration from Tribunal that she is not liable for Respondent’s invoice of $428.16 / Held: contractual warranty applies therefore Respondents were required to repair the damaged circuit board at no cost to the Applicant / Claim allowed.

Negligence / Applicant and Respondent were involved in a car accident in a car park / Parties disagreed about circumstances of the collision / Applicant claimed $18,910.72 for vehicle repair costs / Held: both accounts were credible and both consistent with the evidence of the pattern of damages to the vehicles / Claim not proven to standard of “more likely than not” / Claim dismissed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased a rifle from Respondent / Applicant claimed rifle had a faulty safety mechanism / Respondent refused to give a refund but offered a replacement rifle instead / Applicant claimed $1284.95 for refund of purchase price / Held: rifle was not of acceptable quality / Defects were of substantial character / Applicant entitled to reject rifle and choose a refund or a replacement / / Respondent ordered to pay $1,284.95 / Claim allowed.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent engaged Applicant to do gardening work / Respondent accepted $1,200.00 quote provided by Applicant / Respondent paid $300 deposit / Garden work was undertaken / Respondent refused to pay remaining $900.00 on grounds work was not completed as she wanted / Applicant claimed for outstanding $900.00 / Held: garden work provided with reasonable care and skill and fit for purpose / Respondent ordered to pay $900.00 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Respondent booked a wedding venue from Applicant / Venue hire agreement was signed by Respondent / Terms of agreement include hire time for venue and venue to be left in a “good, clean and tidy condition” / Respondent paid contract price / After event Applicant invoiced an additional $1987.47 for additional cleaning hours and rug doctor hire cost / Respondent disputed additional charges / Held: Applicant contractually entitled to charge for additional cleaning and sufficient evidence to justify charge / Venue was not left in a clean and tidy condition / Breach as a result of the band staying past 12am deadline / Breach did not attract the “unauthorised overstay” charges as booking did not end until 10am the day after the wedding / Respondent liable to pay Applicant’s staff overtime costs / Evidence indicated Rug doctor was necessary / Respondent ordered to pay $1040.56 / Claim allowed

Contract / Respondent opened credit account with Applicant / Clause 7 of contract gave Applicant right to charge 18% per annum interest on overdue accounts and made Respondent liable for all legal and other fees incidental to recovery / Respondent purchased roofing supplies from Applicant on credit but failed to pay purchase price on due date / Applicant claimed for debt collection commission and other debt collection costs / Held: sum claimed is demonstrably unreasonable for a letter of demand, a few phone calls and a statutory demand / Party in breach only has to pay amount it would have cost to take those reasonable steps / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $700 / Claim allowed in part.

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) / Applicant engaged Respondents’ plumbing services for renovation / Parties agreed work would be overseen by LPB plumber / During renovation, bathroom failed two council inspections, was flooded due to incorrect pipe connections, and there were issues with trench / Respondent’s LPB supervisor was only notified of job after issues arose, advised Applicant not to allow Respondents back on site / Applicant claimed $10,800 for remedial costs and reduction in value / Held: Respondents did not provide services with reasonable care and skill / Respondents’ failure to put LPB supervision in place, after saying they would, was substantial failure under CGA, and misleading conduct / Applicant entitled to remedial costs offset by additional contract costs / Respondents ordered to pay Applicant $5850 / Claim allowed.    

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Respondents engaged Applicant for tiling work / No prior quote was supplied to or sought by Respondents / Applicant invoiced Respondents $2,471.35 for work / Respondents disputed price, Applicant reduced invoice to $2,050.45, crediting for unused tiles / Respondents still disputed invoice, paid $1,150 which they believed was fair price / Applicant claimed $900.45 for balance of outstanding invoice / Held: Applicant’s charge was reasonable, in line with requirements of CGA / Respondents ordered to pay Applicant $900.45 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant accepted quote from Respondent for materials and labour for interior painting / Whether Respondent failed to exercise reasonable care and skill / Applicant claimed $12,660.35 to remedy painting and associate damage caused by Respondent / Held: Respondent's painting work fell short of the standard of reasonable care and skill / Overall outcome was not reasonably fit for purpose / Failure of substantial character and entitled Applicant to cancel contract / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $6941.29 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased motorhome from Respondent for $83,000 / Pre-purchase inspection identified issue with heating system / Respondent advised issue would be resolved by replacing stepper motor, offered replacement / Heating issues continued after replacement / Applicant claimed $3,120.99 cost of repairs to resolve problem / Held: Respondent’s claim that replacement stepper motor would remedy issue was misrepresentation, but ‘innocent’ / Respondent still liable to compensate Applicant for costs incurred rectifying problem / Costs claimed included normal maintenance costs, not Respondent’s responsibility / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $2,504.59 / Claim allowed.

Rehearing / Applicant had been unable to enforce previous order against Respondent / Applicant applied for rehearing / Held: Applicant has an enforceable order against Respondent / Applicant cannot obtain an order against another company when the company he contracted with has been identified and ordered to pay / Rehearing refused / Claim dismissed.