When you buy products and services they come with automatic guarantees that they will work and do what you asked for. If you buy something that isn’t right, you have consumer rights. Generally, the consumer guarantees only apply to the supply of goods and services to a consumer in ‘trade and commerce’. Remedies can be sought against the supplier and/or, in some cases, the manufacturer.

If a business fails to deliver any of these guarantees, you have consumer rights for:

• repair, replacement or refund
• cancelling a service
• compensation for damages & loss.

You can claim a remedy from the retailer if the products do not meet any one or more of the consumer guarantees, with the exception of availability of spare parts and repair facilities.

The remedies you can seek from the retailer who sold you the product include a repair, replacement, or refund and in some cases compensation for damages and loss.

The retailer can’t refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer.

You can claim a remedy directly from the manufacturer or importer if the goods do not meet one or more of the following consumer guarantees:

• acceptable quality
• matching description
• any extra promises made about such things like performance, condition and quality
• repairs and spare parts – the manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that spare parts and repair facilities (a place that can fix the consumer’s goods) are available for a reasonable time after purchase unless you were told otherwise. How long is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the type of product.

You are only entitled to recover costs from a manufacturer or importer, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss.