What to do when a service is poor quality
When you enter a service contract, the service provided should be ‘in conformity with’ the contract. In other words, it should be provided as agreed with the business or trader.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received, your first step is to contact the business to request that they fix the problem and bring the service up to the agreed standard. How the business does this depends on the type of service.
Proving that something is wrong
In most cases, it is easy to show that a service has not been provided properly, for example by showing photos or a video. However, you might sometimes need to request a professional to write a report on the issue, for example in the case of continuing engine trouble after a car is serviced.
When you notice something is wrong, you should act immediately. You can seek a remedy for up to six years after you received the service, but the more time that passes, the more difficult is to show that any issue with the service is the fault of the service provider.
Once you raise your concerns about a service, it is up to the business to prove whether the issue is minor.
What the business should do
Once it’s clear that something is wrong with the service, the business should offer a remedy.
If the business offers to fix the problem, you must generally give it a chance to do so. It must fix the issue within a reasonable time, free of charge and without significant inconvenience to you.
If an issue is serious and the business is unable or unwilling to fix it within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience, you can request a proportionate reduction in price, or a partial refund, or terminate the service contract and request a full refund.
If the business doesn’t have the skills to fix the service, you can terminate your service contract immediately for a refund without first giving a chance to bring the service in line with the service contract.
What if the business doesn’t fix the problem after the first attempt?
You are not obliged to allow a set number of attempts to fix a faulty service. The number of attempted fixes you can accept depends on:
- the type and value of the service
- the severity of the problem
- whether you can still be expected to have confidence in the business or trader’s ability to fix the problem, especially if an issue occurs more than once.
What happens if a problem with a service cannot be fixed?
Sometimes an issue with a service cannot be fixed, no matter how many attempts are made. If the business or trader is unable to fix the issue, you are entitled to a proportionate price reduction (partial refund). In some cases, you may have a right to terminate the contract for a full refund.
If the business or trader does not resolve the issue and you can’t find any other solution, you may need to make a formal complaint, for example through the small claims procedure.
