Buying services
When you buy a service, you enter a service contract with the business or trader providing it. You can enter a service contract just by paying, or agreeing to pay, for a service, even if you don’t sign anything.
The service you receive must be ‘in conformity with’, or meet the standards of, your service contract. In other words, it must meet the contract’s general and specific terms, which are explained below.
What are general terms in a service contract?
All service contracts should contain ‘general terms’. These are terms that outline the basic rules of the contract and the standard of service you can reasonably expect.
Under the general terms, the business or trader must have the skills to supply the service you have requested. The business must also provide the service:
- in accordance with the law
- with reasonable care and skill
- in line with any standards set by a professional body (if the business or trader is or claims to be a member of the professional body)
- in line with any code of practice for that type of service
- in line with any claims about the quality of the service that the business knew about, that were not later corrected and that influenced you to receive the service
- with materials that are fit for purpose and match the description you agreed when you entered the service contract.
In accordance with the law
Reasonable care and skill
To the accepted standard
In line with statements made
Materials fit for purpose and matching description provided
What are specific terms in a service contract?
In addition to meeting the general terms of a service contract, a service must also meet any specific terms that you have agreed with the trader. These might include, for example, that the service is fit for a particular purpose or can achieve a particular result that you told the business and that the business accepted before you entered the contract.
Example
Your dog has a skin condition, so you take it to a local groomer who says they can use hypoallergenic shampoo. The dog grooming service should not only include a wash and trim under the general terms of their service, but also use the shampoo your dog can tolerate, under the specific terms your agreed.
Specific terms also include any claims that you relied on when you decided to enter the service contract or made any decision about the service after you entered.
Example
You want to get some garden paving before the summer. A local paving company tells you it can install the paving before the end of May, which influences your decision to engage them to do the work. When they return to confirm the type of paving slabs, you settle on a stone that the company claims is more durable than the rest. The business should complete the work by the end of May and use the durable slabs as agreed.
When the service is not supplied as agreed
If the service doesn’t meet a general or specific term of the contract, you are entitled to seek a ‘remedy’ from the business. This might be a repair of the service, a proportionate reduction (or partial refund) of the service fee or a full refund if you decide to terminate the service contract.
If the service you received must meet standards that are set by a professional body, you can also complain to the professional body if there are problems.
