Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent cancelled Applicant’s booking on its ferry / Applicant claimed compensation for $3,297.06 for losses which he said resulted from the cancellation / Held: Respondent entitled to vary the service provided but not to terminate the contract altogether/ Respondent wrongfully repudiated the contract by doing so / Service provided by Respondent was not fit for purpose / Applicant had a duty to mitigate loss / Some of the mileage and accommodation costs claimed by the Applicant were not reasonably foreseeable / Compensation of $1,200.00 reasonable, covers reasonable cost of airfares and a contribution towards storage or parking costs / Respondent ordered to pay $1,200.00 / Claim allowed in part.

Supply / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant had a new house built by Company 1 trading under another name / Company 1 was subsequently removed from the Companies Register and Company 2 began trading under the name / Respondent eventually took over Company 2 / In 2015, the Applicant contacted company 2 after all three basins in their home developed cracks / Respondent said it had no liability for homes built by previous companies, but contacted the original building supplier to see if they could assist the Applicant / Applicant claims $1700+GST for cracks in the replacement basin / Respondent claims they did not supply the replacement basins thus are not liable / Held: insufficient evidence Respondent supplied or became a supplier of Applicant’s basins / Claim dismissed.

Tort / Property / Nuisance / Trespass / Fencing Act 1978 / Applicant and Respondent are neighbours and there is no fence between their properties / Applicant would like a fence on part of the boundary between two properties and to build a bank / Applicant claimed Respondent liable to pay cost of retaining bank, legal fees and other costs incurred / Held: Applicant withdrew claim in relation to bank / Applicant and Respondent liable to pay half of additional cost associated with building small retaining wall / Applicant to organise construction of fence near portion of boundary between two properties / Respondent not liable to make any payment for any other costs or damages to Applicant / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $2,688.32 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Damages / Respondent installed ducted heat pump in Applicant's home / Applicant noticed water pooling on carpets / Investigations revealed water coming from condensation drain pipe which had come loose from internal heat pump unit / Applicant claimed $10,879.41 for repair costs / Held: pipe would not have come loose easily if it had been properly glued into place / Respondent liable for damage resulting from leak / Applicant unable to provide satisfactory quotation for repair costs / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $768.70 / Claim allowed in part.

Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Car dealer Applicant paid $2,000 to Respondent for a car / Respondent agreed to deliver car but instead sold the car to someone else / Respondent refunded half of the purchase price only /  Applicant claimed $4,900.00, representing average market value less the $1,000.00 refunded / Held:  no binding settlement agreement / No evidence that Applicant had a resale arranged for the car or had a particular need for car make /  Flexibility for Applicant to find a comparable resaleable car / Applicant provided a valuation showing that the lower end of the market for that particular car was around $4,500.00 / Applicant could source something comparably saleable for around $4,000.00 / Applicant’s loss due to non-delivery was $2,000.00 / Appropriate to add $2,000.00 to the $1,000.00 unpaid balance of the refund / Respondent ordered to pay $3,000.00 to Applicant / Claim allowed.

Settlement order / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $10,000 in full and final settlement of all disputes between parties.

Tenancy / Residential Tenancies Act 1986 / Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 / Respondent rented downstairs premises of Applicant's house / Applicant and Respondent signed a flat/house sharing agreement / Applicant claimed unpaid rent and electricity payment $2,404 / Held: matter falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tenancy Tribunal / Claim struck out.

Contract / Applicant purchased a house owned by the Respondent at auction / Prior to marketing the property, the vendor renovated the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms / Both had identical tiled showers / Applicant noticed cracked tiles in the shower which he discovered were due to a leak / Applicant claims Respondent breached the contract by failing to obtain building consent for the work on the showers and claims reimbursement for the repair work he has done ($53,065.48) / Held: a building consent or exemption is required from Council / Respondent breached the vendors warranty by having work done without consent / Applicant has inflated the work that was required to fix the two leaks / Applicant provided insufficient evidence that any additional costs incurred were necessary to remediate the leak / Applicant is entitled to compensation of $7,889.57 / Claim partially granted.

Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant purchased car from Respondent / Applicant reported engine oil leak, speakers not functioning and petrol smell / Applicant brought car to multiple mechanics for repair / Applicant claimed to reject car and receive refund / Held: car not of acceptable quality / Respondent failed to remedy problems within reasonable time / Applicant entitled to reject car and recover costs for mechanic repairs / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $17,975.06 / Once payment has been made, Applicant ordered to return vehicle to Respondent / Claim allowed.

Contract / Property / Applicant sold property to Respondent / Respondent concerned whether property vacated and cleaned before settlement / Applicant and Respondent agreed Respondent to retain $5,000 from settlement until property vacated and cleaned to an acceptable standard / Applicant claimed $5,422.14 which includes retention amount, interest and penalty, and tribunal filing fee / Held: Respondent unable to claim for accommodation costs / No obligation on Applicant to clean property / Applicant not entitled to interest or penalty payment / Respondent not entitled to compensation for tribunal fee and legal fees / Respondent entitled to retain $200.05 for failure to provide possession in accordance with agreement / Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $4,799.95 / Claim allowed.

Contract / Applicants stayed at holiday park every Summer for over twenty years / Applicants had a preferred waterfront site / Applicants unable to make January 2022 booking and moved it to following year / Applicants’ requested site was rebooked by prior guests / Respondent failed to notify Applicant prior to arrival / Applicants refused to accept alternative site / Applicants claimed $3,284.00 for accommodation and assorted expenses / Respondent counterclaimed $1,709.00 for cancellation fee and related costs / Held: Respondent breached contract with Applicants / Respondent should have notified Applicants in advance / Confirmation did not stipulate that Applicants had been allocated a different site / Applicants not required to meet obligations under contract / Applicants alternative accommodation expenses did not exceed holiday park costs / Applicants awarded $500 general damages / Claim allowed in part and counterclaim dismissed.

Consumer law / Applicant’s family stayed for one night at Respondent’s accommodation / Applicant charged $179 for accommodation and $120 for cleaning / On arrival Applicant noticed ants and a cockroach in the kitchen / Applicant claimed for $120 cleaning charge as she said the property has not been cleaned properly / Held: property was still fit for purpose / Insect infestation was small and limited to one room / Insects did not cause any significant disturbance to Applicant’s stay / Presence of insects did not meant the services were not fit for purpose / Claim dismissed.

Contract law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant inspected Respondent’s swing mooring / Applicant sent Respondent a report of the inspection and an invoice for $1,474.31 / Respondent disputed this amount and paid $579.60 /  Respondent’s boat broke free from the moor and grounded / Applicant seeks payment of balance of its invoice / Respondent counter claims seeking compensation for costs of recovering of the mooring and re floating the boat / Held: Evidence shows amount charged by Applicant for labour and materials was a reasonable price / Several factors that caused headrope to snap / Not proven that Applicants were liable for the boat slipping the mooring / Claim allowed, Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $579.60 / Counter claim dismissed.