Services
Consumers buying from businesses based in Ireland or the EU have strong consumer rights. These rights are part of the Consumer Rights Act 2022 and apply to services you sell on or after 29 November 2022.
This page covers your key responsibilities under consumer law on:
- your legal obligations to consumers
- resolving service issues where you do not meet your obligations
- providing information to consumers
- consumer right to cancel
This page is not legal advice. To fully understand the legal obligations that apply to your business, you should seek independent legal advice.
Read about your obligations if you provide digital content or digital services to consumers.
Read about your obligations if you sell products to consumers.
Your legal obligations
Subjective obligations
Every time you sell to a consumer, you enter into a contract with them. Consumer law requires that you must supply your service as outlined in the contract. These responsibilities are known as subjective obligations. They include that your service must:
- be supplied in accordance with the terms of the contract
- match any advertisement or verbal/ written information you gave to consumer
- be fit for the purpose the consumer told you they needed it for, that you agreed to
- be delivered as agreed, without recurring or significant service interruptions
- be a reasonable price where the price is not agreed in advance
Objective obligations
Consumer law outlines that you must also provide what a consumer will reasonably expect when you supply the service. They are known as objective obligations. You must:
- have the necessary skill to provide the service and supply it with reasonable care:
- if you say you will provide the service to a higher standard you must do this
- the service must meet the standards of any professional body you say you are a member of
- the service must comply with any code of practice you say you are bound by
- only use materials that are fit for purpose and match any descriptions you gave
- ensure that any goods or digital elements supplied with the service meet the terms of the contract
You must resolve service issues unless you told the consumer that the service did not meet a particular requirement and they accepted
How long do my obligations to consumers last?
A consumer has the right to have their issue resolved for up to 6 years. Generally, the 6 years starts from the date,
- you supply a once-off service
- the consumer has a problem with a service you supply on a continuous basis
Resolving service issues
You must address service issues that occur when you do not meet your legal obligations to consumers. You must do this:
- at no cost to the consumer
- within a reasonable time (the shortest possible time to resolve the issue)
- without significant inconvenience to the consumer
The consumer can ask for a refund or price reduction if an issue is serious. They can also ask for a refund or price reduction if:
- you did not resolve the issue
- you did not resolve the issue within a reasonable time
Depending on the circumstances, the consumer can ask for a refund or price reduction if previous attempts to resolve the issue have failed.
End the contract and get a refund
To end the contract, the consumer must:
- inform you that they want to end the contract
- return any physical items provided as part of service to you, at your expense and without undue delay
- stop using the service they are cancelling
You must refund the consumer for the time you were not providing the service in accordance with the contract by:
- providing the consumer with a refund within 14 days
- using the same payment method used to buy the service, unless they agree otherwise
- cancelling any secondary service the consumer ordered with the main service – for example, the consumer also ordered travel insurance when buying an airline flight
Price reduction
The consumer must inform you that they are seeking a price reduction. The price reduction will be the difference between the price you agreed in the contract and the reduced value of the service due to the issue. Both you and the consumer should agree what an appropriate reduction is.
When the consumer has paid upfront, you must:
- send them the refund for the price reduction within 14 days
- use the same method of payment they used to buy the service unless they agree something different
- not charge the consumer any extra fees
Withhold payment
If the consumer has not fully paid for the service, they can withhold payments that are due to you until you resolve their issue. The amount they withhold must match the reduction in value due to the issue.
Consumer right to information
Under consumer law you must give certain information to the consumer before they buy. The information you have to provide will depend on whether you agreed the contract:
- in a physical store
- on the consumer’s doorstep
- at a distance, for example, online, mail order, by phone
Information for all sales
For every sale, you must provide some key information to consumers. You must present it in a way that is easy for them to understand. You should provide it before they agree the contract to use your service. If there is a dispute about what information was provided, it is up to you to show you gave the information to the consumer. This information includes:
- your name, address, phone number
- details of the service – if not already clear
- the total price (inc. VAT), or where it cannot be calculated in advance, you must inform the consumer how the price will be calculated
- other information – when it applies:
- length of the contract
- any additional charges
- if the consumer has a legal right to cancel
Information for doorstep and distance sales
When you sell a service on a consumer’s doorstep or at a distance, you must also provide the following information:
- your email address and your other online communication channels
- details on payment and performance
- details on delivery
- how to cancel the contract when it does not have a fixed length or automatically renews
- that the price is calculated based on a customer’s profile or online behaviour – when it applies
- the conditions that apply to deposits – when it applies
After you agree the contract you must:
- give the consumer a copy of the signed contract or send confirmation within a reasonable timeframe
- give this information to the consumer on paper unless they agree otherwise
Information for online sales
When you sell your services online you must also make sure that the consumer:
- always knows when they are making a payment. This means that when they order by clicking a button, it must be clearly labelled with words indicating ‘obligation to pay’ or similar
- can clearly indicate that they want any other services you offer. This means you cannot use pre-ticked boxes for additional payments
Information for online marketplace platforms
An online marketplace is a platform where businesses and/or consumers sell to consumers. If you operate one, you must tell consumers:
- how you rank the results for their online search
- whether the seller on your platform is a business or consumer
- that the consumer is not protected by consumer law when the seller is also a consumer
- how consumer law obligations are shared between you and the seller/ business
The information should be in simple language and easy to find. It should also be accessible from where the service is offered for sale. For example, a link is provided to the information.
Situations that are not covered by the right to information
In a physical store a business does not have to provide the above information for everyday, low value items or where the information is already clear.
Contracts with a value less than €50 that you agree with the consumer at a distance are exempt.
Consumer right to cancel
Consumers have a withdrawal period when a service is bought online, over the phone or on the doorstep. This means they can withdraw from the contract and get a full refund up to 14 days from when the contract was agreed. This right extends to 30 days for doorstep sales. When a consumer uses this right, they do not have to give you a reason for cancelling.
Your obligations
Where the right to cancel exists you must:
- inform the consumer of their right to cancel and:
-
- how they can exercise this right
- what the timescales are
- that they have to pay for any services they use before they cancel
- provide the consumer with a cancellation form. It should be on paper unless they agree otherwise
- provide a refund, when applicable:
- no later than 14 days after the consumer cancelled the contract
- using the same payment method they paid with, unless you agree otherwise
- cancel any secondary service the consumer ordered with the main service – for example, the consumer also ordered travel insurance when buying an airline flight
When you do not inform the consumer of their right to cancel:
- the cancellation period extends to 12 months from the date it was due to expire if you had provided the information
- if you provide the information within this 12-month period, the withdrawal period expires:
- 14 days from the date the consumer receives the information for distance sales
- 30 days from the date the consumer receives the information for doorstep sales
Consumer obligations
When a consumer has the option to cancel their service, they must:
- let you know within the withdrawal timescale
- inform you in writing, if possible, where they don’t have to use your cancellation form
- return to you any equipment provided with the service
- pay for any services they used during the cancellation period
- revert back to a previous contract – when it applies
If there is a dispute about a cancellation, it is up to the consumer to show that they used their right to cancel.
When the right to cancel does not apply
The right to cancel does not apply in certain circumstances, for example where:
- you agreed the contract with the consumer in a physical store
- you customised the service to suit a consumer’s requirements
- you have fully provided what the consumer has paid for. You provided the service with the consumers consent and agreement that they would lose the right to cancel
- the service was already provided free of charge to the consumer
- you are carrying out urgent repairs or maintenance
The right to cancel does not apply in some sectors:
- passenger transport services (for example, air, rail, boat, bus)
- contracts for accommodation, transport of goods, car rental services, catering or leisure activities when they are for a set date or period
Contract terms
Consumer law sets out requirements for transparency in contracts as well as a legal framework on unfair terms. This is to ensure that the terms in your contract do not cause harm to consumers.
Read our guide to unfair terms
