Whatever the service you have paid for,
you have certain legal rights. These are laid out in the Supply
of Goods and Services Act 1982. This Act covers all work
that is carried out by traders who provide a service.
This can be services provided:
- in the home,
for example, a plumber
- in other premises,
for example, a hairdresser.
When you pay for a service you should
expect a certain standard of work. You may have agreed the
timescale and the cost in advance. Even if you haven't, the
law states that the service should be carried out:
- with reasonable
care and skill
- within a reasonable
time scale
- at a reasonable
cost
- any goods supplied
should be as described under the Sale of Goods Act.
Care and skill
In law, the standard by which reasonable can
be judged is by comparing the
quality of work with that carried
out
by an average tradesman. For example,
if you have work carried out
on a car, is it any different to
that
carried
out
by
an average mechanic?
Time
If time is important to you then you need to let the trader
know by agreeing a timescale. Ideally, this should be put
in writing in case of future disputes.
Price
If you have not agreed a price in advance then you do not
have to accept a bill that is unreasonably big.
What is reasonable?
For some services you will know what is reasonable through
your own experience.
If you go to a hairdresser who charges top prices, you will
be expecting a better cut than at the local, cheaper hairdresser.
You will also know what the reasonable price for both is.
But if you have your hair dyed, you wouldn't expect your hair
to fall out at either hairdresser.
For other services you might need to find out what is reasonable.
If you want to build an extension to your house you would
carry out some research before deciding on a builder. You
might:
- find out what other builders charge
for the same work
- talk to other people who have used
the builder
- use recommendations.
If a provider of the service breaks these
conditions then you can claim damages.
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