What to do when a service is not provided
If you have paid, or agreed to pay, a business or trader to provide a service, a number of options are available if you do not receive the service as expected or specially agreed.
How quickly must the business provide the service?
The business must provide the service on the date or within the time you have agreed with it. If you didn’t agree a time, it must provide the service within a reasonable time.
If you have entered a contract for a set period to receive a continuous service, such as waste collection or home broadband, the service must be provided for the full period of the contract.
If the service is supposed to be provided more than once, it must be provided each time as agreed.
Extending the time to provide the service
If the service is not provided, either at the time agreed or within a reasonable period, you must generally give the business or trader an additional period to provide the service.
However, you do not need to give additional time – and can instead terminate the service contract immediately – if:
- it was essential to receive a service by a certain time based on all the relevant circumstances when you entered the contract
- you told the business that you needed the service by a specified date (for example catering for a birthday party) and that date has passed
- the business declares it will not provide the service, or it’s clear that they won’t do so.
Terminating the contract
If the business still doesn’t provide a service after you have agreed an additional period – or if it is not practical to agree an additional period – you can terminate the contract for a full refund.
You must tell the business that you are terminating the contract. It should refund any money you have paid ‘without undue delay’ – and at most within 14 days after being informed that you want to cancel.
If the contract is for a continuous service, and there are noticeable or repeated interruptions to that service during the contract, you can request a price reduction or partial refund.
