Goods and services that went wrong

Consumer claims

If you bought something that does not work, or paid for a service that was not done properly, you have rights that do not depend on a warranty card or on what the shop’s policy says.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Who this page is for

You have more rights than the sign says

A great many consumer disputes end because somebody is told no refunds, or you are outside warranty, and believes it. Consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law are not a shop policy. They are rights created by legislation, they apply automatically to the supply of goods and services to consumers, and a business cannot take them away by putting a sign up or a clause in its terms.

The practical question is usually whether the problem is major or minor, because that decides who gets to choose the remedy. If it is minor, the supplier may choose to repair it within a reasonable time. If it is major — the goods are unsafe, or so defective you would not have bought them had you known, or they cannot be fixed within a reasonable time — the choice is yours: a refund, a replacement, or keeping them and being compensated for the reduction in value. Knowing which category you are in changes the conversation completely.

Where the supplier will not fix it, most claims in New South Wales go to NCAT rather than to a court. Its Consumer and Commercial Division deals with disputes about the supply of goods and services under Part 6A of the Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) and the Australian Consumer Law. It is designed to be used without a lawyer: the procedure is simpler, the fees are lower, and most people represent themselves.

That is worth saying plainly. For many consumer claims, the sensible advice is that you do not need to pay anyone to run it for you. Where legal help earns its cost is in the harder cases: a large amount, a business on the other side that is represented, a dispute about whether a problem is major, a building or motor vehicle claim with technical evidence in it, or a claim that has to be pursued as a court proceeding instead.

How we help

What the work actually is

Telling you whether you need us

Many consumer claims are best run by the consumer at NCAT, and we will say so. Where the amount is small and the issue is clear, the useful help is often a short conversation about how to frame the claim rather than an engagement.

Working out which guarantee applies

Acceptable quality, fitness for a purpose you made known, matching the description or the sample, due care and skill in a service. Which guarantee you rely on changes what you have to establish and what evidence is worth gathering.

Major or minor

This is where most disputes actually turn, because it decides who chooses the remedy. It is a question about the goods or the service and about what you were told before you bought, and it is usually answered with evidence rather than argument.

Choosing the forum

NCAT’s Consumer and Commercial Division for most consumer claims, a court where the claim is outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction or where other causes of action are involved. Filing in the wrong place costs time you may not have.

Preparing the application and the evidence

The order you are asking for, the facts that support it, and the documents that prove them: the receipt, the advertisement, the correspondence, the independent report. A tidy bundle is worth more at a hearing than a long story.

Acting for a business on the other side

Where a claim is made against a supplier, working out what the guarantees actually require, whether the problem is major, and whether the claim is within time under the limits NCAT applies.

Questions

Questions people ask first

The shop says no refunds. Is that allowed?

A blanket no refunds sign does not remove consumer guarantees. Those guarantees come from the Australian Consumer Law, which is Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and they apply whatever the store policy says. A business may decline a refund for change of mind, which is different, but it cannot decline one for goods that fail a consumer guarantee.

My warranty has expired. Does that end it?

Not necessarily. A manufacturer’s warranty is an extra promise and sits alongside the consumer guarantees rather than replacing them. The guarantee of acceptable quality takes into account what a reasonable consumer would expect given the price, the nature of the goods and what was said about them. An expensive appliance failing shortly after a short warranty ends may still fail that guarantee.

Do I go to NCAT or to court?

Most consumer claims about goods and services in New South Wales go to NCAT’s Consumer and Commercial Division, under Part 6A of the Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) and the Australian Consumer Law. A court is the right place where the claim is outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, or where it forms part of a larger dispute. Our guide to which court hears your claim explains the court structure.

How long do I have?

NCAT states that an application about goods or services must be made within three years from when the problem arose, and that the supply must have occurred within the previous ten years. Separate limitation periods under the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) apply to claims brought in a court. Check the current position on NCAT’s own page and raise any date you are worried about early.

Can I take a lawyer to NCAT?

NCAT is designed so that most people represent themselves, and representation is not automatic. Whether a party may be represented is a matter for the Tribunal, so ask about it before assuming either way. That is one reason the cost of legal help has to be weighed carefully against the size of the claim.

The business has closed down. Can I still claim?

It depends on what happened to it. A claim against a company that has been deregistered or is in liquidation is a different exercise, and sometimes the manufacturer can be pursued instead, because some guarantees apply to manufacturers. It is worth checking the entity’s status before filing anything.

Is it worth claiming for a small amount?

Often yes, because NCAT is set up for exactly that and the fees are modest. Whether it is worth paying a lawyer for is a separate question, and for a small claim the answer is frequently no. We will tell you honestly which of those two situations you are in.

What to bring

Consumer claims are won on the receipt, the advertisement and the correspondence. Gather those before anything else.

Proof of purchase: the receipt, the invoice, the bank or card statement.
What you were told before you bought: the advertisement, the listing, the sales email, the specification.
What went wrong, when it went wrong, and how often.
Photographs or video of the fault, and any independent report or quote to repair it.
Every message to and from the supplier, including what they offered and what they refused.
The manufacturer's warranty, if there is one, and whether it has been used.
The supplier's full legal name, from the receipt rather than from the shopfront.
What you want: a refund, a replacement, a repair, or compensation.