Introduction

'Services' covers a wide variety of work from a small repair job on a vehicle with no written details to a new kitchen and beyond to major building work. This advice is basic and general and cannot cover all the issues, but the following principles apply to all contracts for services.

Basic Rights

The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 When work is carried out by a trader you can expect it to be done:

• With reasonable care and skill
• In a reasonable time (if there is no specific time agreed)
• For a reasonable charge (if no fixed price was set in advance)

Any goods or parts fitted as part of the contract must be:

• of satisfactory quality
• fit for their purpose
• as described see "Buying Goods" for more details.

The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

These laws allow you to challenge terms that may be unfair or unreasonable to you as a consumer. The standard terms and conditions used by the retailer should be written in clear language. It is illegal to have a contract term that attempts to restrict a consumer's rights. In some cases your local Trading Standards Department may be able to take action to prevent a company from using unfair terms in their contracts. Any term making you agree to pay all the money in advance before the work is done is likely to be found unfair so you can challenge it.

Before agreeing to work being done:

• Do extensive research before entering into an agreement for expensive work, and get several detailed estimates or quotations. An estimate is usually taken to be a rough guess and a quotation a fixed price for the job - estimates can be changed after they have been agreed to, quotations cannot.
• The price should include VAT (or tell you how much VAT will be added) - make sure the price you have been quoted includes all costs and that there are no hidden 'extras' that will be added in later
• Get a detailed written agreement (and a detailed invoice at the end).
• Consider an insurance backed guarantee for expensive work but investigate it thoroughly first. Some trade associations have such schemes.
• Extended guarantees for domestic equipment and breakdown warranties for cars should be researched carefully. They may not be suitable for you or good value for money.
• Long guarantees are only as good as the company that issues them (see our separate guidance on guarantees and warranties).
• There are very few trades or businesses where the law requires qualifications, but any claims made must be true, and you should check claims of membership of trade associations or approval by official bodies.
• Anyone working with gas must by law be CORGI registered. For safety's sake, check on this.
• Never pay anything in advance unless you have to. Then pay as little as possible. You could lose money paid in advance.

If something goes wrong:

When you find that work carried out is not satisfactory, or costs more than was agreed or takes too long you may be able to claim compensation. Unlike buying goods, it is not so easy to reject the whole job and ask for all your money back (although you should consider this if you can show that the workmanship was so poor that you got no benefit from it at all). You have a number of options:

• Work not done on time
  When work is not completed on time or in a reasonable time you can write to the trader to make time "of the essence of the contract". This means that you set a specific date for the work to be finished, after which you will consider the trader to be in breach of contract and will be free to get other estimates, have the work completed by another trader and hold the original company responsible for the costs. You may have to go to court as a last resort, so a more practical solution may be to agree fair compensation for the delay.

   

  Work not satisfactory

   

  It is usually considered reasonable to give the trader a chance to put things right - the amount of compensation you can claim for shoddy work could be affected if you unreasonably refuse to allow the trader an opportunity to make amends. Inform the trader what you are not happy with straight away and confirm it in writing with a list of the specific problems to be sorted out.

   

   

  Unauthorised work

   

  If you have agreed certain work and the trader goes ahead with additional work without authorisation you do not have to pay for the extra work. However, more practical solutions may be to:

   

  - accept the need for extra work and pay if it seems reasonable. - ask the trader to undo the work. - negotiate a price for the work taking into account the fact it was unauthorised. You may have to pay under protest and take legal action for compensation.

   

   

   

  Withholding payment

   

  If you are not happy with work, you may want to consider withholding some of the payment. You will have to decide whether to pay some of the bill and keep back enough to cover the disputed area or to delay the whole payment. You must tell the trader what you are doing and why. Be reasonable and be prepared to negotiate.

   

   

  What if the dispute is not resolved?

   

  If the dispute is not resolved quickly you will need supporting evidence since it is up to you to prove your case "on the balance of probabilities". Take photos and keep copies of all letters and documents. If you have to pay for an expert report to use in court you should try to get agreement from the trader on which one to use. Write a letter to the trader to suggest this so you can show you have tried, but if he refuses or you cannot agree, you should get a report anyway.

  There are ombudsmen schemes for many services, such as insurance, banking and building societies - find out if the trader is a member of one of these schemes. If you have a complaint, it may be better to go to the ombudsman than to go to court. Gas, Electricity, Telecommunications and Water suppliers are governed by independent regulators you can take complaints to. Advice centres can tell you about these, or they are generally listed in the telephone directory, or the back of your bill.

   

  You will need more advice if the work or a product causes an accident or personal injury and/or damages property. The Trading Standards Service deals with unsafe products and can give basic guidelines on the best thing to do.

   

  Remember:

   

  it is no use spending money or time if you can't find the trader, he appears to have no money or no fixed address, or you can't prove your case.

   

   

  Cancellation

   

  When you enter into an agreement on trade premises or over the telephone you usually have no right to cancel if you change your mind. You are likely to lose your deposit if you do, and the company may try to claim more if it has incurred extra costs, e.g. having bedroom furniture especially made for you.

   

  When you enter into an agreement at home and you sign a credit agreement, you usually have legally binding cancellation rights (see our credit leaflets for more detail).

   

  When a sales person comes to your home uninvited to sell most goods or services costing £35 or more for cash, (including cheques) you have seven days to cancel. These rights also apply if you have agreed to a visit when you have had an unsolicited phone call or visit asking you to make an appointment. You must be given a written notice of the cancellation rights.

  Commonly asked questions

  Q. I've signed a contract for a fitted kitchen, but I've seen one cheaper elsewhere, can I cancel the contract? A. No, you have agreed to have the services at a certain price and cannot complain if you now find them cheaper elsewhere.

  Q. I asked a washing machine repair man to look at my machine - he spent half an hour finding the problem, but the repair will cost more than the machine is worth, so I don't want it. He wants to charge me £50 for coming out to look at it. Do I have to pay? A. You may well have to pay if the trader has used time and skill to diagnose the problem. It is best to ask first if there will be a charge.

  Q. My windows were fitted 4 years ago and are already leaking badly. The trader appears to have gone out of business, what can I do? A. Unfortunately, when a limited company goes out of business you are unlikely to be able to get redress, unless you have bought on credit, but it is best to take further advice on this if it happens. (See our leaflets on insolvency and credit.)

  Q. I am unhappy with my new kitchen, so I have stopped the cheque. The trader has said he will take me to court - can he do this? A. Yes - you cannot stop a trader taking you to court if he doesn't think you have grounds for refusing to pay. You should never stop cheques or payments on credit agreements without taking advice first, as it can have serious consequences.

  Q. I bought my bathroom on credit, and I am unhappy with it. Can I ask the credit company for compensation? A. Yes, for most credit agreements over £100 the credit company is likely to be liable to you as well as the supplier (see our credit leaflets for more detail).

  Q. My car has been serviced and I don't think they've done it properly, but they won't give me my car back until I've paid for it, is this right? A. When the dispute concerns work on goods (e.g. cars), the trader has a legal 'lien' on the goods until agreement is reached about payment, so you may have to pay 'under protest' to get your goods back, then take legal action for compensation. Make sure you put in writing at the time you pay that you are paying under protest.

  Q. I put my car into the local garage for a service - while it was there, one of their employees reversed into it. They say they do not have to pay for the damage, are they right? A. You should claim for the damage to your car. You can expect traders to take good care of your goods while they are in their care and you should claim compensation if they are lost or damaged negligently.