Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicant engaged Respondent to fix draughty door / Applicant paid Respondent $470.35 / Problem later reoccurred / Respondent gave assurances it would resolve problem / Respondent arranged to attend on seven different occasions, but failed to do so / Applicant claimed $531.25 for refund and compensation for Tribunal filing fee / Held: reasonable skill and care was not used when servicing the door / Respondent had not complied with obligations under CGA / Conditions not met to award Tribunal filing fee / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $470.35 / Claim allowed

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 (DTA) / Respondent engaged to replace seized hinges on Applicant’s malfunctioning gate / One month later, gates began to dip and hit ground / Applicant believed hinges were not bolted properly and claimed refund of $819.38 plus filing fee / Respondent counterclaimed costs of site visit, interest, administrative time and filing fee / Held: gates had broader structural issues not caused by Respondent / Respondent could not prove they informed Applicant of issues affecting whether hinge replacement could achieve desired outcome / Respondent’s service not fit for purpose and breached CGA guarantee / Failure of guarantee cannot be remedied as repair undertaken provided no value or benefit / Applicant entitled to full refund of $819.38 / Filing fee not awarded as per DTA / Claim allowed in part / Counterclaim dismissed.   

Contract law / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant accepted accounting quote from Respondent for company closure and tax filing services / Applicant paid $2,500 plus GST in advance as requested / Later Applicant decided not to close company and no longer required some of the services / Applicant claimed partial refund of $650 / Held: Applicant did not prove that value of work completed by Respondent was less than amount paid / No evidence provided by Applicant that firm had not earned the sum retained / Claim dismissed.

Contract / Parking / Car owned by Applicant was parked on private premises / Parks labelled as private property where unauthorised vehicles would be issued infringement notices / Respondent issued infringement notices to Applicant totalling $513.44 / Applicant claimed car not driven by them / Applicant sought declaration she was not liable for $513.44 and reimbursement of $59 filing fee / Respondent counterclaimed $513.44 from Applicant / Respondent claimed Applicant had not proven they were not vehicle’s driver / Held: for person to be held financially liable for another’s actions, reasonable basis was required and none was presented / Unreasonable that Respondent believed driver was agent of Applicant / Respondent’s counterclaim not minor, trivial or unreasonable / Applicant took no action to establish she was not driver / Counterclaim needed to be resolved / Applicant not liable to pay $513.44 to Respondent / Respondent not liable to pay Applicant $59 filing fee / Claim allowed in p…

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 and Respondent were friends / Parties agreed that the Applicant would train Respondent for a body building competition / Applicant said Respondent agreed to be sponsored athlete and receive discounted rates in exchange for promoting Applicant as her trainer and allowing use of her photos / Respondent accepted she was sponsored athlete receiving reduced rate, but felt she had not been adequately informed about her obligations / Applicant invoiced Respondent of $735.00, of which $635.00 was paid / Applicant claimed $1,025.00, and associated Tribunal fees, as non-discounted rate for her services because she had no promotional benefit from arrangement / Held: contract existed between parties / Parties intended to create a legal relationship rather than simply an arrangement between friends / Respondent breached contract by not allowing her photos to be used for promotional purposes / Applicant did not receive benefit of promotional photos exchanged for discounted rates…

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) / Applicants hired rental car from Respondent using online booking platform / Car was damaged by third party / Applicants returned vehicle and provided third party’s details to Respondent / Respondent charged Applicants $5,022.50 for insurance excess, indicated refund available if Applicants contacted booking platform / Booking platform advised insurance policy was with Respondent, Respondent should be contacted for refund / Applicants made numerous attempts to follow up but Respondent had not refunded excess / Applicants claimed $6,322.50 for the excess, credit card surcharge and costs related to resolving dispute / Held: rental contract provided basic insurance coverage with $4900 excess, refundable if hirer not at fault or third party admitted liability / Respondent breached CGA by failing to make reasonable effort to resolve matter in reasonable time / Respondent breached contract by failing to follow up with third party / Filing fee or…

Parking / Contract / Applicant's daughter parked vehicle seven minutes beyond the 180-minute parking limit / Respondent issued Applicant a breach notice / Applicant claimed refund of parking breach and filing fee / Held: Applicant's daughter authorised to park and was not a trespasser / Driver entitled some leeway to enter and exit building / Applicant entitled to refund / Filing fee cannot be recovered by Applicant as exceptional circumstances did not apply / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $65 / Claim allowed.

Trespass / Contract / Land Transport Act 1998 / Vehicle registered in Applicant's name parked in private carpark without authority / Respondent sent Applicant a breach notice which Applicant disputed and asked for evidence proving breach / Respondent said registered owner of vehicle liable per New Zealand Transport Authority and provided one photo that did not evidence illegal parking / Applicant said lack of contract with Respondent meant Applicant had no liability / Respondent lodged debt for collection with debt collection agency and Applicant filed claim with Tribunal / Applicant claimed for order that she is not liable to pay Respondent for breach notice, collection costs and sought reimbursement of filing fee / Respondent counterclaimed for payment of breach notice, collection costs and interest / Held: Applicant is not liable for breach fee as she was not driving vehicle at the time / No provisions applicable in tort that mean a registered owner can be liable for another's tresp…

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Fair Trading Act 1986 /  Two families made a booking to stay at a property owned by the Respondent / On arrival they were unhappy with the state of the premises, including cleanliness and safety / Respondent offered to send people to remedy the issues, but the families decided not to stay / Families asked for a full refund, which was refused / Applicant, on behalf of the parties, claimed $1,642.50 from Respondent, representing a full refund together with $100.00 for travel expenses and $59.00 for filing fee / Held: property was not reasonably fit for a short holiday / Failure was of a substantial nature and could not easily be remedied within a reasonable time period / Offer to send contractors to remedy the issues was not acceptable given the purpose was for a three-day holiday / Applicant entitled to cancel without providing an opportunity to the supplier to remedy the problems / Since the families left the accommodation within a short ti…

Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased a second-hand mattress from Respondent for $1,280.00 / Mattress was advertised as used but “practically new” / The first time Applicant went to make the bed, she noticed a corner pulled away exposing the inside of the mattress / Applicant contacted Respondent to return the mattress / Respondent collected the bed and offered to resell it on Applicant’s behalf, less a $250 fee / Applicant stated she paid $1,280.00 for the bed and $45.00 for the Tribunal filing fee and was refunded $750.00 by Respondent / Applicant claimed the difference of $575.00 / Respondent claimed the mattress was not damaged when it was delivered / Held: evidence indicated mattress was not of acceptable quality / Applicant entitled to reject the mattress and be refunded what she was paid, less what the Respondent had already refunded / Respondent ordered to pay $530 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicant moved into a flat rented by First Respondent / Applicant paid First Respondent a bond / When Applicant moved out, First Respondent retained an amount equivalent to one week’s rent from Applicant’s bond as Applicant had only given two weeks’ notice / Applicant brought claim for recovery of balance of bond / Applicant also claimed $45 additional rent he was asked to pay when another flatmate left, plus cost of filing claim / Held: notice period was not discussed when Applicant moved in / Three months later, First Respondent asked all flatmates to sign a flatmate sharing agreement containing a provision requiring four weeks’ notice to vacate / Applicant did not sign agreement / Applicant not bound by the agreement / Two weeks’ notice given by Applicant was reasonable / Applicant entitled to a refund of $215 balance of bond / Additional $45 was paid following agreement reached by all flatmates, not recoverable / Filing fee not recoverable in circumstances / First Respo…

Contract / Loan / Limitation Act 1950 / Applicant provided financial support to husband as loan by agreement / Husband acknowledged debt owed to Applicant after separation from Applicant / Ex-husband signed property agreement referring to debt and repayment obligation following separation from Applicant / Ex-husband provided $6000 cheque as part payment of debt / Loan quantum unclear as Applicant provided various lists of expenses with differing amounts / Applicant claimed amount owing from ex-husband at about $100,000 / Held: Agreement existed between Applicant and ex-husband that Applicant was owed $30,000 by ex-husband and this was to be repaid / Evidence that ex-husband referred to needing a loan and acknowledged debt owed to Applicant / Evidence from ex-husband's accountant showed debt quantum around $100,000 / No advances made after July 2017, so Applicant filing claim in November 2023 was technically outside 6 year limitation period / Cheque and property agreement taken as writt…