As I mentioned in chapter 2, consumer guarantees define the rights and responsibilities of both the consumer and the supplier in the event something goes wrong with a service. There are 3 guarantees on services, which I'll now take you through.
The supplier guarantees that services are going to be supplied with due care and skill. For example, if a consumer hires a plumber to install plumbing in their new house, the plumber should be able to do so. As a licensed trade person, the plumber is expected to work with a certain level of skill and exercise appropriate care while carrying out the service.
The supplier guarantees that the service will be fit for the specified purpose. For example, if the consumer asks the handyman to build a wall-mounted shelf, capable of holding a heavy vase, but the shelf collapses when the vase is placed on it, the service has not achieved the desired result.
The supplier guarantees that the service will be supplied within a reasonable time frame if the completion date has not been stated. A contract or agreement for the supply of a service usually includes a completion date, but if it does not, the service must be completed within a reasonable time. Again, what is reasonable depends on the service being performed.
Sometimes a service that a consumer buys won't be completely right. The service might have to be repeated. So what happens then?
When a consumer guarantee on a service is not met, the consumer has the right to a remedy, that is to have the problem put right. The type of remedy will depend on whether the problem is classed as either a major or minor failure, but usually it will be a repeat of the service.
So what qualifies as a major failure? A major failure with a service guarantee is when the consumer wouldn't have acquired the services if they had known the nature and extent of the problem. For example, they would not have had a jacket dry cleaned if they knew the dye would run. The services are substantially unfit for their normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit within a reasonable time.
For example, a carpet cleaning service changes the colour of the consumer's carpet in some places. The consumer told the supplier they wanted a specific result, but the services and any resulting product do not achieve that result, nor can the result be rectified easily or within a reasonable time.
The consumer told the supplier that they wanted the service for a specific purpose, but the services and any resulting product do not achieve that purpose, nor can it be fixed easily or within a reasonable time. For example, a consumer tells a pay-TV company they’re signing up specifically to watch a sporting event, but the package the company installs doesn't contain the sports channel and the new package can't be delivered before the event starts.
The supplier of services has created an unsafe situation. For example, an electrician incorrectly wires downlights in a consumer's new kitchen, which creates a fire risk.
A minor failure with a service guarantee is anything not classed as major. In a major failure situation, the consumer has the right to choose the remedy, while in a minor failure situation, the supplier chooses the remedy. It's important to remember the consumer has a right to a remedy either way – it's just a matter of who chooses the type of remedy.
So, for a major failure, the consumer can cancel the service contract with the business and claim a refund or keep the contract and claim compensation for the difference in the value of the service delivered and what was paid.
And for a minor failure, the supplier can fix the problem free of charge and within a reasonable time or arrange another supplier to fix the problem free of charge.
So, to summarise, consumer guarantees on services boil down to a couple of pretty simple ideas.
- The service will do what the consumer needs it to do.
- It will be completed within a reasonable time.
- If something goes wrong, the supplier must make it right by providing a remedy such as a repeat service.