7.00Feature
What every service promises by law
Services bought for personal or household use come with consumer guarantees. A service must be provided with acceptable care and skill, be fit for any purpose you told the provider about or that it advertised, and be supplied within a reasonable time when no time was agreed.
A problem is major when the service creates an unsafe situation, has a problem serious enough that you would not have bought it had you known, or cannot do its normal job, or a job you told the seller about, and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time.
A major problem
You can choose to cancel the contract and get a refund, which may be less than you paid because you owe a reasonable amount for work done as expected. Or you can keep the contract and pay a lower price that reflects the problem.
A minor problem
The business must fix it, at the very least by fixing it free of charge.
Where a refund is due, NSW Fair Trading says it should be given in the same form as your original payment.
A “no refunds” policy cannot take these rights away: it is illegal for a business to rely on store policies or terms and conditions that deny them.
7.30Drama
When the guarantees do not give you a refund
NSW Fair Trading lists the times you cannot cancel a service or get a refund: when you changed your mind, when you insisted the service be provided a certain way against the provider’s advice, when you did not clearly explain your needs, or when the problem was outside the provider’s control. You still pay for services you received that worked as expected.
That leaves the ordinary end of a subscription, when nothing is wrong and you have simply had enough, to the contract you agreed to. If the business told you anything false or misleading about the service, its terms or conditions, you can generally end the contract with no charge. The traps that make leaving hard are in Ch 1.
8.00Comedy
Services sold in a bundle
Some services come packaged with goods, the way phone plans are often sold with a handset. The rules run both ways. If you return the goods because of a major problem, you may cancel the services that came with them. If you cancel the services because they were unsatisfactory, you must return the goods connected with them, even if nothing is wrong with the goods, and if you paid for those goods the business must refund you.
8.30Money
Stopping the payments
Ending the agreement does not by itself stop money leaving your account. How you stop it depends on how you pay.
| How you pay | Who to ask | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Direct debit from a bank account | Your bank. Tell it when you want the payments to stop and ask for a letter confirming your request. Writing to the provider as well is a good idea, though you don’t have to. | Once it has your request, the bank has to stop the payments and pass your cancellation to the provider’s bank. |
| Recurring payment on a credit card | The service provider first, then your bank. | Moneysmart’s advice: keep copies of any letters or emails you send. |
Three more things from Moneysmart. Your bank can give you a list of the direct debits and recurring payments on your account. If your account is debited after you asked the bank to cancel, the bank cannot charge you overdraft fees to cover it. And where paying by direct debit is a condition of the service, Moneysmart suggests considering legal advice before cancelling and arranging another way to pay anything you still owe. The Financial Rights Legal Centre has sample letters for cancelling a direct debit, which Moneysmart links to.
9.00Documentary
Chargebacks, when a card charge is wrong
A chargeback is like a refund: your credit or debit card issuer reverses a transaction. You may want one when a service was not supplied or not as described, a charge was duplicated or fraudulent, or a charge was made without your permission.
- Time limits apply, and they can range from 45 to 120 days after the transaction date, so ask your card issuer and claim as soon as you can.
- Contact the business first. Card issuers may ask for proof that you tried, and the claim can take longer if you have not.
- There is no guarantee. Whether it succeeds depends on your reasons, your card’s terms, the card scheme’s rules and the merchant agreement.
- Chargebacks are not available for payments by cash, money transfer, cheque, direct debit or BPAY.
- If you are unhappy with your card issuer’s decision, NSW Fair Trading points to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
9.30Help
The steps, in order
- Tell the provider what is wrong. Speak or write to explain the problem. If it cannot be fixed in a reasonable time, say you want to cancel, and ask for compensation for any loss the problem caused.
- Show what you paid. A receipt or a bank statement is proof of purchase. If the service had started, negotiate a refund for the part that failed and any money paid in advance.
- Stop the payments. Through your bank for a direct debit; through the provider and then your bank for a card.
- Take it to your consumer agency. Every state and territory has one. They can explain your options and may help negotiate a resolution. In New South Wales you can lodge a complaint with NSW Fair Trading online or by post.
- For a card charge, ask about a chargeback, within your card issuer’s time limit.
If the subscription came bundled with a phone or internet plan, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman offers dispute resolution when you have not been able to resolve an issue with a phone or internet provider.