Problems With Services: Resolving a problem with services

The service has not been performed within a reasonable time

If the service has not been provided within a reasonable time, you may be entitled to cancel the contract and/or claim compensation.

The service has not been performed with reasonable care and skill

If the service is not performed with reasonable care and skill, you will need to provide evidence of the failure - You may, for example:-

get a replacement, an exchange, a reduction in purchase price or terminate the contract and get a refund if goods bought on or after 31 March 2003 have not been installed with reasonable care and skill
give the trader an opportunity to put matters right free of charge
stop the service
refuse to pay altogether and claim additional compensation for consequential losses as appropriate, where the faults are major
negotiate a reduction in price where the faults are relatively minor.

You decide to offer a reduced amount in full and final settlement and produce evidence of what is a reasonable price for the work carried out. However, beware even if the trader accepts a smaller sum, agrees it in writing and cashes the cheque, it is not necessarily binding and the trader can, at a later date, seek payment of the rest of the amount due.

Having a service put right

You do not have a statutory consumer right to insist on the service being put right nor are you obliged to accept an offer from a trader to put a service right. However, a court may consider your refusal to have the service put right is unreasonable which may affect any compensation you are claiming. You may however insist on having a service put right if for example:-

there is a term in the contract allowing for this
there has been a breach of contract but you are unable to stop it. If the trader will not agree to put right the services, or s/he tries to put them right but they are still not correct, you could have the services put right by someone else and claim compensation from the trader for the cost of this
if there is a trader's guarantee that allows for the services to be put right free of charge
if there is a trade association code of practice which provides for a service to be put right.

If the service was not carried out with reasonable care and skill and it is agreed that the trader should put it right, this work must be carried out by the trader free of charge.

If the trader has agreed to the work being put right but then does not do the work, you can get the work done by another trader and claim the cost of this from the first trader as compensation. Before taking this course of action you should seek further advice.

Stopping a service which is not carried out with reasonable care and skill

If a service is not being carried out with reasonable care and skill, you can ask the trader to stop providing the services. You will have to pay the trader an amount which is appropriate for the services which have already been provided, but can claim compensation for the cost of having the work put right by another trader.

You should seek further advice if considering taking this action.

An unreasonable charge had been made for the service

You may have been given an estimate of the price when you ordered the services. The final bill for the services may therefore be higher than you were expecting. If a firm price was not agreed at the outset, the trader may charge only a reasonable amount for the services.

Last updated: March 20, 2007