Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 Applicant referred to Respondent for washing machine repairs / Applicant not satisfied with Respondent's services / Applicant claimed damages being repair cost, cost of second-hand replacement washing machine, cost of new module and Tribunal's fee / Held: Respondent failed to carry out services with reasonable care and skill / Respondent's technician did not install both of the brushes in the module / Applicant entitled to remedy / Applicant awarded damages being repair cost and cost of second-hand replacement washing machine / Claim allowed in part.
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2238 items matching your search terms
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BD v B Ltd [2024] NZDT 455 (6 June 2024) [PDF, 193 KB] -
DN v BO [2024] NZDT 430 (6 June 2024) [PDF, 184 KB] Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant contracted Respondent to paint his driveway for $2,800.00 / Applicant said the driveway was now slippery when wet / Applicant sought an order that Respondent was liable to pay $1000.00 to reseal driveway / Held: painting of the driveway was not done with reasonable care and skill and was not fit for purpose / Driveway was now slippery and dangerous when wet / Professional painter must be taken to understand that a consumer would like the resulting surface to be as safe as possible / Respondent ordered to pay $299.00, calculated cost of resealing driveway / Claim allowed in part.
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JX v SB [2024] NZDT 379 (6 June 2024) [PDF, 130 KB] Contract / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicant entered contract to purchase second-hand fridge from Respondent / Fridge was working at Respondent’s storage facility, but once in Applicant’s possession it tripped the house fuse box every time Applicant tried to run it / Applicant had fridge tested by an electrician, who found its insulation resistance was too low and put the user at risk of electrical shock / Applicant tried unsuccessfully to resolve issues with Respondent / Held: fridge was unsafe to use / Fridge was not of acceptable quality / Failure was substantial and Applicant would not have purchased fridge if he had known of failure / Applicant entitled to refund of purchase price / Respondent ordered to pay $455.00 / Claim allowed.
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KI v KB [2024] NZDT 467 (5 June 2024) [PDF, 232 KB] Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased a car via private sale from Respondent for $12,750.00 / Respondent advertised the car as a “great vehicle” that was “regularly serviced” / Applicant paid a deposit, then inspected and test-drove the vehicle, identifying no major issues / Within a month of purchase, major mechanical issues were identified / Applicant claimed issues were inconsistent with the vehicle having been “regularly serviced” by the Respondent and sought $7,794.39 for repairs / Held: not proven Respondent made false or misleading representations about the vehicle / Insufficient evidence to establish connection between alleged lack of servicing and problems that arose / Applicant had carried out thorough inspection of vehicle prior to purchase and neither he nor two mechanics noticed any symptoms to alert them of the major issues with car / Claim dismissed.
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D Ltd v G Ltd [2024] NZDT 448 (5 June 2024) [DOCX, 268 KB] Contract / Consumer law / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased food product from Respondent for distribution to staff and customers prior to Christmas / Applicant’s employee saw a media report regarding a recall of Respondent’s product / Article advised product should be returned or disposed of / Applicant immediately contacted as many staff and customers as possible to warn them but most businesses had shut down for the holiday break / Applicant contacted Respondent seeking a refund of $6,054.75 purchase price / Respondent stated that the product must be returned for credit to be issued / Applicant claimed it was unreasonable to expect recipients to retain a tainted and unsafe product indefinitely / Applicant claimed for a refund / Held: food was not fit for human consumption / Food was considered to be perished at point of contract / Refund not dependent on return of goods / Applicant entitled to full refund / Respondent ordered to pay $6,054.75 / Claim allowed.
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SM v BN & NN [2024] NZDT 387 (5 June 2024) [PDF, 192 KB] Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased vehicle from Respondent / Car did not have a WOF, but advertisement stated it would “have a fresh warrant” upon sale / After a test drive, Applicant agreed to purchase car without WOF for reduced price / Applicant took vehicle to mechanic, found repair would require removal of gearbox / Applicant claimed $3,000.00 refund of purchase price and $375.82 for cost to investigate issue / Held: no misrepresentation regarding WOF / More likely than not that faulty odometer had under-counted kilometers car had travelled / Representation that car had travelled 104,506km was therefore misrepresentation, which induced Applicant into the purchase / Insufficient evidence about extent of undercounting or effect it would have had on price / Respondent ordered to pay $500.00 for misrepresentation / Claim allowed in part.
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IH v QM [2024] NZDT 389 (5 June 2024) [PDF, 101 KB] Contract / Unconscionability / Applicant bid on Respondent’s car in online auction / Two highest bids were removed shortly before auction ended, leaving Applicant winner of auction / Respondent claimed highest bid had been removed at bidder’s request, and second highest bid had been removed accidentally / Applicant later discovered second highest bidder was a company whose address for service was Respondent’s residential address / Applicant claimed $12,000.00 on basis that shill bidding had pushed auction price up / Held: contract was unconscionable because process was carried out in unfair and unprincipled manner / Respondent claimed his brother was director of company, and was bidding on car as any other member of public / Viewed objectively, a seller’s family member being involved in increasing sale price before being removed at end of auction was unconscionable / Appropriate to vary sale price from $37,900.00 to $25,952.00, being last legitimate bid / Respondent ordered to pay Appl…
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BC v BQ [2024] NZDT 390 (5 June 2024) [PDF, 142 KB] Contract / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant paid $12,000.00 deposit to secure purchase of horse from Respondent / Horse remained with Respondent, apart from a period when it was leased to Applicant for a horse camp / When Respondent retrieved horse after camp, she claimed it was lame / Applicant decided not to proceed with purchase, requested refund / Applicant claimed $12,250.00 for purchase price and filing fee / Respondent counter-claimed $8,000.00 for reduced value of horse / Held: Applicant entitled to cancel contract and obtain full refund until final payment was made, according to agreement / Respondent failed to prove horse suffered laminitis caused during time she was under Applicant’s responsibility / Respondent breached agreement by failing to refund Applicant / Filing fee not recoverable / Respondent ordered to pay $12,000.00 / Claim allowed in part and counter-claim dismissed.
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TX v CD [2024] NZDT 375 (5 June 2024) [PDF, 96 KB] Negligence / Parties were involved in vehicle collision / Respondent was attempting to merge into Applicant’s lane / Respondent’s vehicle came into contact with Applicant’s passing vehicle / Both vehicles suffered damage / Applicant and his insurer claimed $5,143.95 for repair costs / Respondent denied liability, claiming Applicant caused accident because he was speeding / Held: suggestion that Applicant was speeding was speculation / Although Respondent did take care for most of the manoeuvre, in a brief moment she failed to see Applicant’s oncoming vehicle / Location of damage to cars was consistent with Applicant’s account of how the accident happened / Respondent ordered to pay $5,143.95 repair costs / Claim allowed.
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TI & NI v HJ Ltd [2024] NZDT 487 (4 June 2024) [PDF, 280 KB] Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent painted roof of Applicants’ home / Applicants claimed paint started bubbling within weeks / Applicants claimed $24,856.39 for cost of roof strip and repaint and reimbursement of coating specialist advice costs / Held: photos clearly showed blistering paint across all roof surfaces, plus several areas where paint work did not appear to have uniform finish / Respondent did not provide services with reasonable care and skill / Expert witnesses did not agree on cause of blistering, but on either explanation Respondent failed to exercise reasonable care and skill / $24,856.39 reasonable compensation / Applicants gave Respondent opportunity to put issue right but it had not done so in reasonable period of time / Applicants entitled to cost of someone else doing the work / Reasonably foreseeable Applicants would need to seek independence advice as to cause of issues / Respondent ordered to pay $24,856.39 / Claim allowed.
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QN v CI & EN [2024] NZDT 472 (4 June 2024) [PDF, 198 KB] Contract / Property (Relationships) Act 1976 / Applicant lent Second Respondent, her son, $5,000.00 to purchase a car / Applicant and Second Respondent signed contract stating Applicant would repossess car if repayments not made / Car was purchased and registered in the name of the First Respondent, the Second Respondent’s partner / First and Second Respondent later separated, and First Respondent retained possession of car / No repayment of loaned amount had been made / Applicant brought claim requesting return of car or repayment of loan / Held: First Respondent was not party to the contract between Applicant and Second Respondent / Second Respondent repudiated contract by failing to make any repayments of loaned amount / No legal relationship between Applicant and First Respondent that could allow an order for First Respondent to give vehicle to Applicant / Second Respondent ordered to pay Applicant $4,999.00 / Claim partially allowed.
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DZ v LU & IW Ltd [2024] NZDT 469 (4 June 2024) [PDF, 200 KB] Contract / Respondent leased commercial premises from Applicant / Respondent sold its business, and the lease was assigned to the new business owner / The parties’ solicitors reconciled outstanding rent arrears, which were deducted from the bond paid under the lease, leaving a small balance for Respondent to pay / Applicant later became aware of some unpaid rates outstanding from when Respondent occupied premises / Applicant claimed $3,674.10 as outgoings payable by Respondent under the lease, being $3,071.55 in unpaid rates and $568.55 in late payment fees charged by Council / Respondent claimed that the reconciliation done when the lease was assigned to the new business owner was a full and final settlement / Held: the reconciliation recording rent arrears and legal fees to be offset against the bond amount did not constitute a full and final settlement, as there was no clear statement to that effect or consideration on either side / Respondent ordered to pay outstanding rates of $3,…
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LD v TP [2024] NZDT 368 (4 June 2024) [PDF, 236 KB] Contract / Applicant provided educational advocacy services for the Respondent / Respondent did not receive invoice but paid Applicant $431.28, understood to be consultation fee / Applicant suggested Respondent required decluttering assistance at her home / Respondent said she was happy to pay Applicant’s friend $30 an hour for decluttering / Applicant and her friend attended Respondent’s home to perform decluttering services to mixed results / Respondent received invoice for $1,717.74, less the $431.27 paid, for educational advocacy and decluttering services / Respondent paid for Applicant’s friend’s services but declined to pay Applicant’s charges for decluttering / Applicant claimed $1,286.46 from Respondent for balance of invoice / Held: Applicant did not explain her charging structure or seek Respondent’s agreement / No contract of service was entered into at the time / Applicant did not appropriately and effectively contract the Respondent into de-cluttering services / Charges re…
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TU v GX [2024] NZDT 373 (4 June 2024) [PDF, 122 KB] Contract / Misrepresentation / Respondent sold her cell phone to Applicant for $700.00 / Prior to sale, Respondent represented by text that a camera lens had a crack but camera still worked “perfectly fine” / When Applicant picked up phone she discovered camera did not work / Applicant contacted Respondent to cancel contract and request refund, but Respondent refused / Subsequent professional diagnosis, costing $60.00, identified phone was in need of significant repair / Applicant traded phone in for credit of $521.00 / Held: Respondent misrepresented condition of phone / Phone was not fit for purpose / Applicant entitled to be reimbursed for her loss, being $700.00 purchase price plus diagnosis charge of $60.00, less $521.00 credit / Respondent ordered to pay $239.00 / Claim allowed.
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CN v B Ltd & ors [2024] NZDT 471 (31 May 2024) [PDF, 191 KB] Contract / Carriage of goods / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / First Respondent transported three dogs (a mature dog, and two pups) belonging to the Applicant / Days later, the puppies contracted a virus / Applicant contended puppies contracted the virus when they were transported in the Respondent’s bus / Applicant contended Respondents did not provide a service of reasonable skill and care / Applicant sought compensation for vet bill and related costs / Held: not clear that the Applicant’s puppies contracted the virus whilst in the care of the First Respondent, and being transported / Unable to establish that it was more likely than not that there was a causal link between the transportation of the puppies and the puppies’ infection / Claim dismissed.
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EI & OI v UX [2024] NZDT 432 (31 May 2024) [PDF, 169 KB] Contract / Applicants contracted with Respondent to buy a puppy advertised online / $800 was agreed price / Applicants deposited $400 initially and then paid balance prior to pickup / Subsequent events suggested the transaction was a scam / After full payment was made, further money was requested by Respondent to cover insurance and vet costs / Applicants queried additional costs / Respondent replied that she would cancel the contract and refund the money as she did not wish to sell to buyers who “could not afford puppy insurance” / No refund eventuated / Held: transaction appeared to be a scam / Possible, even probable, that Respondent’s name was fake and address was unrelated to actual sellers / Applicants entitled to a refund / Respondent ordered to pay $800.00 / Claim allowed.
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KT & NT v N Ltd [2024] NZDT 374 (31 May 2024) [PDF, 178 KB] Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Applicants contracted Respondent to lay concrete at their home / Whilst laying concrete on the driveway concrete was splashed on to Applicants’ new garage door / Applicants attempted to remove splashes unsuccessfully / Respondent then attempted to remove splashes but left extensive swirls over the door / Applicants claimed for cost of replacing all the panels on the garage door / Held: Respondent liable to repair the door / Allowing concrete to splash on to the door was a breach of contractor’s duty of care to carry out service with reasonable care and skill / Applicants’ efforts to remove splashes were reasonable and did not detract from Respondent’s liability for allowing splashes to occur in the first place / Respondent ordered to meet entire replacement cost of the panels because the door was new / Respondent ordered to pay $2,587.50 / Claim allowed.
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XX v SU [2024] NZDT 401 (31 May 2024) [PDF, 178 KB] Contract / Trespass / Applicant engaged Respondent to retrofit windows in his home to reduce noise / Applicant accepted Respondent’s quote and paid $1,042.00 deposit / Respondent installed windows and sent invoice for $860.00 balance / Applicant was not happy with degree of noise reduction and also complained that sealant was not dry after a couple of days / Respondent asked to come check the windows / Applicant agreed / Respondent arrived and took the retrofit windows away / Applicant claimed $1,900.00 for deposit refund and compensation for “mental damage” / Held: Respondent removed windows without contractual right to do so / Applicant entitled to full refund / “Mental damages” not generally available in contract law / However, Respondent gained access to property on false pretext, then removed windows without permission / Respondent’s actions constituted trespass to land / Further $100.00 in nominal damages awarded for trespass / Respondent ordered to pay $1,142.00 / Claim allowed …
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ES v D Ltd [2024] NZDT 370 (31 May 2024) [PDF, 176 KB] Contract / Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 / Applicant purchased a massage chair from Respondent for $4,090.00 / Purchase was made through credit card financing with an initial deposit of $690.00 / Later that evening, Applicant realised chair would not fit into his house / Next day, Applicant asked to cancel purchase / Respondent refused to allow him to cancel, relying on its terms and conditions, and offered a store credit / Applicant claimed $1,000.00 from Respondent, comprising a refund of his deposit and damages for his time and stress dealing with dispute / Held: Applicant gave written notice to cancel contract day after purchasing chair / Contract therefore cancelled and Respondent must return deposit / Respondent not proven that it incurred any expenses in connection with contract / Applicant cannot recover damages for time and stress in dealing with dispute / Respondent ordered to pay $690.00 / Claim allowed in part.
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EQ & KQ v D Ltd [2024] NZDT 431 (30 May 2024) [PDF, 176 KB] Consumer law / Applicants contacted Respondent for plumbing work / Applicants said they informed Respondent that they owned neighbouring houses, and Respondent needed to ensure it attended the correct one / Applicants received an invoice for Respondent’s attendance at different address / Different address was also owned by the Applicants / Applicants said Respondent went to the wrong house which did not have a plumbing issue / Respondent stated Applicant supplied the address they attended / Respondent’s plumber carried out requested plumbing work at that property / Applicants disputed payment of $211.38 invoice / Applicant sought a ruling on their liability / Held: Respondent receptionist’s evidence was credible regarding supplied address information / Respondent’s plumber carried out actions consistent with the instructions given by Applicants / Applicants ordered to pay $211.38 / Late payment and debt collector charges made by the Respondent were not permitted / Claim allowed in part…
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BE v B Ltd [2024] NZDT 364 (30 May 2024) [PDF, 168 KB] Consumer law / Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 / Respondent completed house plans for the Applicant / Plans failed to achieve Council consent, as part of the property was designed over a storm water easement which could not be built over / Applicant sought a refund of design fees paid ($11,861.56) and engineering costs ($5,405.00) / Held: Respondent accepted it had made an error in not researching the limitations presented by the easement / Respondent breached requirement to act with reasonable care and skill and ensure plans were fit for purpose / Applicant entitled to a refund of fees paid and consequential engineering fees, totalling $17,266.56 / Claim allowed.
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KH v BG [2024] NZDT 464 (29 May 2024) [PDF, 181 KB] Contract / Company / Property Law Act 2007 / Applicant had a pre-existing personal guarantee to pay rent / Applicant claimed Respondent agreed to guarantee the rent liability under the sale and purchase agreement when she became director of the company / Company went into liquidation / Applicant as the guarantor had to pay his share of rental arrears and incurred legal costs / Applicant sought to recover $12,458.74 in rent and $2,326.66 in legal costs from Respondent / Respondent claimed she did not agree to accept any liability or to be a personal guarantor / Held: any contract of guarantee must be in writing and signed by the guarantor / Clause in agreement was not a personal guarantee / Respondent was not a personal guarantor and did not owe Applicant rent or legal costs / Claim dismissed.
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P Ltd v UC [2024] NZDT 384 (29 May 2024) [PDF, 93 KB] Contract / Applicant completed repair work on Respondent's boat / Applicant invoiced Respondent but he did not pay / Account referred to Applicant's debt collectors but they were unsuccessful / Applicant claimed $4,748.54 made up of principle amount ($1,829.06) together with contractual interest amounting to $2,919.48 / Held: Respondent breached the contract / Respondent required to pay invoiced sum of $1,829.06 / Respondent not required to pay claimed interest / Respondent had no opportunity to accept or reject the terms, so not an agreed part of the contract / Discretion to award interest / Interest calculated as $329.45 / Respondent required to pay $2,158.51 in total / Claim granted in part.
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TU v EN & C Ltd [2024] NZDT 479 (28 May 2024) [PDF, 108 KB] Contract / Building / Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) / Applicant engaged First Respondent’s business to renovate a bathroom and ensuite at her house, to undertake remedial work on a sagging roof line, and to build a retaining wall / Total contract price was $123,276.85 / Partway through job, First Respondent sold business to Second Respondent / Ensuite was never completed / Claim in relation to ensuite resolved by settlement / Applicant claimed $25,400.00, being in part a refund of $21,424.50 paid for the retaining wall on the basis the work was unnecessary, plus cost for remedial work to the soffits / Held: Applicant’s evidence did not prove retaining wall was unnecessary / No dispute about quality of retaining wall itself / No breach of FTA by First Respondent / Insufficient evidence for claim regarding soffits / Claim dismissed.
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TE v OL [2024] NZDT 458 (28 May 2024) [PDF, 114 KB] Contract / Misrepresentation / Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 / Applicant purchased vehicle from Respondent / Engine failed shortly after purchase / Applicant claimed $19,000 purchase price plus costs / Held: vehicle had regular servicing / Not clear that the chain was rattling as assumed by Applicant / Chain failure could be unrelated to any servicing history / No warranty in private sales that allows a buyer to recover if a vehicle was later found to be defective / No misrepresentation by Respondent / No loss for Applicant / Claim dismissed.