skip navigation
Home >  Consumer Protection >  Consumers >  Buying goods and services >  Consumer Guarantees >  Refund or cancel service

Can I get a refund or cancel the service?

On this page:

Can I get a refund when I change my mind about a service?

A business does not have to give a refund if you simply change your mind about a service, unless they have a policy to offer a refund, replacement or credit note when this happens.

What if I received the service as a gift?

You have the same rights as a person who bought the service directly.

Who has to fix a problem with a service?

The person or business who sold you the service – the ‘supplier’ – guarantees the service.

This means they attempt to put the situation right when the service does not meet a consumer guarantee – they must provide a ‘remedy’. Common remedies are refunds and repairs.

For information about what they guarantee, see our what a business guarantees about their service page.

Am I entitled to a refund or other compensation?

Whether you get a refund or other ‘remedy’ depends on whether the problem is a:

Consumer guarantees apply to both.

When a service does not meet a consumer guarantee, you may also be able to claim for compensation for your costs caused by the problem. This is usually for financial costs but can include other costs, such as lost time or productivity. For more information, see claiming compensation for consequential loss.

Major problems with services

A major problem with services is when:

  • A reasonable consumer would not have bought the services if they had known the nature and extent of the problem. For example, a reasonable consumer would not pay to have acrylic nails attached if they knew the nails would fall off within an hour;
  • 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 purpose but the services, and any resulting product, do not achieve that purpose and cannot easily or within a reasonable time be made to achieve it. For example, a consumer tells a pay TV company they want to watch the Olympics. They sign up to a 24-month contract but the Olympics are over before the company installs the service;
  • The consumer told the supplier they wanted a specific result but the services, and any resulting product, do not achieve that result and cannot easily or within a reasonable time be made to achieve it. For example, a consumer asks a technician to increase the memory capacity of the consumer’s computer. When installing an extra drive, the technician damages the hard drive. Repairs will take six weeks but the consumer needs the computer within a week; or
  • The supply of the services has created an unsafe situation. For example, an electrician incorrectly wires wall sockets in a consumer’s new kitchen, which makes the electrical outlets unsafe.

When there is a major failure with a service, you can choose to:

  • cancel the service contract and get a refund; or
  • keep the contract and get compensation for the difference in the service delivered and what they paid for.

You get to choose, not the supplier.

Example:

A consumer has signed a building contract that sets out the specifications for her new house. When the house is completed, the consumer notices a few windows are not in the right place. Because the builder has not met the standard required by the contract, the consumer is entitled to compensation.

Minor problems with services

For minor problems that can be fixed, you cannot cancel and demand a refund immediately.

You must give the supplier an opportunity to fix the problem. They must do this:

  • free of charge; and
  • within a reasonable time. This depends on the circumstances.

Example:

A reasonable time to fix a problem with a haircut would be much shorter than the reasonable time to fix a problem with a landscaping project.

If the supplier refuses to fix the problem or takes too long, you can:

  • get someone else to deliver the service and ask the supplier to pay reasonable costs; or
  • cancel the contract and get some or all of your money back, if you have already paid. If you have not yet paid, or only partly paid, you can refuse to pay for the defective services at all, or pay less than the agreed price.

A reasonable cost would be within the normal range charged by suppliers, and include:

  • the cost of the repair; and
  • any other associated costs.

‘No refund’ signs are unlawful

A supplier or manufacturer must not tell you that a consumer guarantee:

  • does not exist; 
  • may be excluded; or
  • may not have a particular effect.

This means ‘no refund’ and similar signs are unlawful, because they imply that you cannot get a refund under any circumstances – even when there is a major problem with the service.

Signs that state ‘No refunds will be given if you have simply changed your mind’ are acceptable.

When can’t I claim under consumer guarantees?

A supplier or manufacturer does not have to put a situation right when they did not meet consumer guarantees due to something:

  • someone else said or did, unless it was their agent or employee; or
  • beyond human control that happened after the goods or services were supplied to you.

However, they must always provide a service with due care and skill.

Example:

It takes a qualified painter three weeks to paint a house but the job has taken four weeks. The sole reason for the delay was the weather, which is outside the painter’s control. The consumer would not be entitled to a remedy.