THE SUPPLY OF GOODS AND SERVICES ACT 1982

What is The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982? The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act requires Traders to provide services to a proper standard of workmanship. Furthermore if a definite completion date or a price has not been fixed then the work must be completed within a reasonable time an for a reasonable charge. Also, any material used or goods supplied in providing the service must be of satisfactory quality. The law treats failure to meet these obligations as breach of contract and consumers would be entitled to seek redress, if necessary through the civil courts.

What is reasonable? It can be difficult to know what is deemed as being 'reasonable'. Here are some ways you can find out: To get guidance on reasonable standards of work, contact a trade or professional association. If goods are being installed as part of the service, you could contact the manufacturers. You could also ask an independent expert for an opinion on the work, or to test a repair. But be aware that this can be expensive and you may not always get your money back from the trader, even if the expert supports your case. To get guidance on how long a job should take, ask other traders how long they would take to do the work. If you haven't agreed a price and the trader appears to be charging too much, ask other traders how much they would charge to do the same job.

What should you do if you feel that someone has breached this Act? If you're not happy with a service that has been provided, you should inform the trader straight away explaining what you're not happy with. You should confirm this in writing with a list of the specific problems to be sorted out, giving a deadline for the remedial work to be carried out. If you have agreed certain work, and the trader goes ahead with additional work without your authorisation, you don't have to pay for that extra work. However, a more practical solution may be to accept the need for extra work and pay if it seems reasonable, or ask the trader to undo the work. Or you could try and negotiate a price for the work, taking into account the fact it was unauthorised.

Gather Evidence to Help Your Case If the dispute is not resolved quickly you'll almost certainly need supporting evidence, since it is up to you to prove your case 'on the balance of probabilities'. Depending on the type of work, 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've tried, but if he refuses or you cannot agree, you should get a report anyway. Try and keep the cost of the report below £200, which is the maximum that you can recover for the cost of an expert’s report in the small claims court.

Goods and Services Examples of services provided without goods include: dry cleaning entertainment work done by professionals, such as solicitors, estate agents and accountants leaving a coat in a cloakroom, in return for payment using a parking space in return for payment private health treatment, including cosmetic surgery Examples of services provided with goods include: repairs to goods where parts are replaced, such as car repairs fitted kitchens home improvements involving building and decorating work double glazing

Information Sourced From s_and_Services_Act_ s_and_Services_Act_ rights/regulation/supply-of-goods-and- services-act-1982#link-7 rights/regulation/supply-of-goods-and- services-act-1982#link-7