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Problems with services and cancelling contracts

Can you terminate a contract if you are unhappy with a product or service?

Sometimes a service you receive falls short of what you agreed with the business or what you would normally expect. If something has gone wrong that the business is unable or unwilling to fix, there are a few remedies available to you, including cancelling (terminating) the contract.

Can you cancel a contract if the service is not provided?

The service must be provided as agreed between you and the business. This includes any agreement you made about when the service should be provided. If no specific time was agreed, the service must be provided within a reasonable time.

If the service is not provided during that time, you must contact the business to let them know and, in most cases, give them further time to provide the service.

You don't need to give a business additional time if it was clear that you needed to get the service on time. For example, if you booked a bouncy castle for a birthday party.

When you contact the business, do so in writing, or at least keep a written record of your contact if you talk to them in person or over the phone. If you are giving the business more time to provide a service, the time extension should be reasonable under the circumstances.

If the additional period passes and you still have not received the service, you can cancel. This is called terminating the service contract. You must tell the business in writing that you are terminating the contract.

Once you tell the business you are terminating the service, they must refund any payment you have made ‘without undue delay’ – at most no more than 14 days after you contact them.

Cancelling a contract if the service is not supplied

You have paid a deposit to a moving company to transport your belongings to your family home. The company failed to turn up on the first date you agreed with them, so you schedule another pick-up for a week later. You agreed another date with the moving company to collect your belongings, but they have again failed to turn up. You email the company to say that you wish to terminate your contract as they have failed to supply the service and want them to return your deposit.

Can you cancel a contract if a service is poor or only partially provided?

If there is a  problem with a service, always contact the business to try to fix the problem first. In most cases, you can resolve problems related to the quality of a service without needing to cancel or as consumer law puts it "terminate the contract".

The business must try to fix whatever is wrong with the service free of charge, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you.

The business should fix the issue with the service at no cost to you

You have paid for your car to get a paint touch-up to cover a scratch on a side door. Two weeks later, you notice that the scratch is showing through as it seems to have been covered only with wax. You contact the garage and agree that they will touch up the paint at no extra cost within the next week.

You can terminate the contract if the issue is serious and cannot be fixed, if for example:

  • The business lacks the skills needed to provide the service
  • It is impossible to provide the service as agreed
  • The business is unwilling to resolve the issue within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you
  • The service, or any materials used, are unsafe
Getting a refund if a service is not provided

You paid to have your washing machine repaired but notice during the next wash that it still doesn’t automatically spin at the end of the cycle. When you call the business who repaired the machine, they say that they cannot send someone else to look at it for another three weeks. It’s too inconvenient and unreasonable to wait this long, so you ask to terminate the contract and get a refund of the repair fee.

If the business can’t or won’t resolve the problem, but the issue is minor, you can request a proportionate reduction in price or partial refund.

Can you immediately cancel a contract if you are unhappy with a product or service?

In some situations, you can cancel a service contract immediately, without accepting another solution. This is called terminating a service contract.

This applies where the issue is serious enough to severely impact your ability to use the service, especially, for example, if the poor quality or inadequate service – or any materials used in the service – would be considered unsafe.

Cancelling a service or contract

You move into your new home at the top of a hill and arrange for a waste disposal company to collect your bins. At first the bin company collects them as scheduled, but then it stops. When you contact the company, they tell you that some of their new drivers are not confident driving up the hill to your house. They ask you to bring the bins to the bottom of the hill instead. Because this decision severely affects your ability to use the waste collection service, you terminate your contract and request a refund of your quarterly service fee.

Can you cancel a contract for an ongoing service?

Ongoing services include things like gym memberships, TV contracts, electricity supply and other utilities. Usually, you sign up for these ongoing services for a fixed period, such as 12 or 24 months.

You can exit a contract for an ongoing service early if you have told the company about repeated and noticeable interruptions and it can’t or won’t restore the service to the expected or agreed standard.

Cancelling an ongoing service contract

A few months after entering a 24-month contract for TV services, you start seeing an error message  on your TV screen every couple of weeks. The issue persists even after the TV service provider gives you a new set-top box, and, later, sends out an engineer to fix it. Because you have not been able to enjoy an acceptable standard of TV service consistently, you contact the provider with a detailed record of the unsuccessful efforts to restore the service and ask to be released from your contract.

Other options for repeated, and noticeable, interruptions in service are to withhold payment until the business restores the service or request a proportionate reduction in the price of the service based on its reduced value during the interruptions.

Can you cancel a contract if you change your mind about a service or product you have purchased?

You only have a legal right to terminate a service contract due to a change of mind where you have ordered a service online or on your doorstep. In these limited situations, consumer law allows a ‘cooling off period’ during which you can change your mind about the service and end the contract.

If you wish to cancel any other service contract due to a change of mind, you will need to check the terms and conditions of the contract and contact the business about its cancellation policies. For example, you may have to pay cancellation charges if you exit early from certain fixed-term contracts, such as for gym membership or a TV service.

Next steps to resolve your consumer rights issue

  • Contact the business informally first, explain the problem and try to work it out.
  • Keep a record of all contact and communications in case you need to escalate your complaint later.
  • If the problem is not resolved, make a formal written complaint to the business. You can use the CCPC complaint letter templates which outline your consumer rights to help you.
  • If you paid by card, you may have the option to request a chargeback from your bank or financial services provider.
  • If your claim is for €2,000 or less, you can use the small claims procedure.
  • If the problem is not easily resolved, we encourage you to also report the business to the CCPC. Your report will inform our advocacy and enforcement activities.
  • For more guidance, please visit our how to resolve an issue section.

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