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\u2019t sign anything. <\/p>\n
The service you receive must be \u2018in conformity with\u2019, or meet the standards of, your service contract. In other words, it must meet the contract\u2019s general and specific terms, which are explained below. <\/p>\n
All service contracts should contain \u2018general terms\u2019. These are terms that outline the basic rules of the contract and the standard of service you can reasonably expect. <\/p>\n
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: <\/p>\n
Some services must meet specific legal requirements.<\/p>\n
Example<\/strong>: Gas boilers can only be installed by registered gas installers.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t What is reasonable depends on the situation. The service should meet any industry standards that apply. You use a cleaning service for your home. Reasonable care and skill for this service includes, for example, using the correct cleaning agents for different surfaces and avoiding damage to your property. <\/div><\/div> You hire someone to fit wall-mounted shelves in your home. Reasonable care and skill for that type of service is for the shelves to be mounted perfectly straight. \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Some services have standards that are set out by professional or trade bodies. For example, the Law Society sets standards for solicitors and Safe Electric sets standards for electricians. The service you receive should be of a standard that is set by a professional body and\/or any code of practice.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t If the business or trader makes any claims about the quality of the service it provides, the service should live up to those claims.<\/p>\n Some businesses advertise that their services are provided with greater skill, or to a higher standard, than those of their competitors. They might use words like \u2018luxury\u2019, \u2018top of the range\u2019, \u2018expert\u2019 or \u2018sustainable\u2019. <\/p>\n When entering a contract for this type of service, you should reasonably expect that it\u2019s provided with these extra features if the business knew about those claims, if the claims were not later corrected and the claims influenced you pay for the service. You book a \u2018luxury suite\u2019 in a hotel, paying 20 per cent more than the price for standard rooms. The suite you have booked should be clearly superior to a standard hotel room.<\/div><\/p>\n <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t The business must make sure that any materials for the service are suitable for the job. If the business claims that any materials are especially long-lasting or easy to clean, for example, they must use the same materials when providing the service. <\/p>\n If you have agreed for a decorator to paint the outside of your home, they should use masonry paint and not indoor emulsion. If the decorator claims their paint is weather resistant, they must use weather resistant paint for the job.<\/div><\/p>\n <\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.<\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n If the service doesn’t meet a general or specific term of the contract<\/a>, you are entitled to seek a \u2018remedy\u2019 from the business. This might be a repair of the service, a proportionate reduction<\/a> (or partial refund) of the service fee or a full refund if you decide to terminate the service contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You have\u00a0rights\u00a0when you buy or use a service but every case is different and the solution to a problem will depend on the service. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"parent":12678,"menu_order":29,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-756","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-contracts-and-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n\n\t\t\t\tReasonable care and skill\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nExample<\/h4>\n
\n<\/div><\/p>\n
\nExample<\/h4>\n
\n<\/div>
\n<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\tTo the accepted standard\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tIn line with statements made\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nExample<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\tMaterials fit for purpose and matching description provided\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
Example<\/h4>\n
What are specific terms in a service contract?<\/h2>\n
Example<\/h4>\n
Example<\/h4>\n
When the service is not supplied as agreed<\/h2>\n