29-09-2022, 06:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-10-2022, 09:04 AM by king1.
Edit Reason: anonymize email address
)
This is what I wrote to the Ministry after loosing a sum of money to Air NZ.
On 2/04/2020 4:46 p.m., "*******@gmail.com" wrote:
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have had overseas travel plans disrupted by the Government closing the borders.
This has negated our rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act for those who have purchased cruises, flights and accommodation (here and overseas) from New Zealand agents.
Many New Zealanders face large financial losses. There appears to be a conspiracy of silence over this issue. No public information is forthcoming.
Is the Ministry addressing this issue? And what recommendations is it making to the Government to address the problem to provide a resolution for this large group of New Zealanders so as to mitigate their losses?
And the reply:-
cpinfo@mbie.govt.nz
3 Apr 2020, 09:18
Good Morning Don,
Thank you for your email.
MBIE’s role is to ensure consumers and businesses are aware of their rights, obligations and remedies with respect to the Consumer Guarantees Act, Fair Trading Act and other consumer law. The CGA is self-enforced and requires negotiation between the consumer and the retailer/manufacturer, and the Ministry has no enforcement or investigative rights.
As COVID 19 is outside the control of the service provider, they may not have to provide a full refund for a cancellation as this is considered Force Majeure. You will need to rely on the terms and conditions of their return policy to establish if you can cancel the booking, you may need to contact the company for more information on their return policy and to see if they will assist you in resolving this. We have some information on COVID 19 and the impact it can have on consumer contracts for goods or services at our website below.
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/n...-affected/
A business doesn’t have to allow you to cancel a booking if your circumstances have changed. However, some businesses have their own company policy to offer a refund, exchange or credit for ‘change-of-circumstance’ purchases and bookings, these may be seen as a gesture of good will. You can find more information on a business’s obligations with ‘change of circumstance’ purchases at our website via the following link:
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/g...umstances/
The business must ensure they honour the terms and conditions set or this may be considered a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
If you are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution with the trader, you may wish to file a claim in the Disputes Tribunal. The Disputes Tribunal offers an independent, relatively inexpensive and informal avenue for parties to resolve disputes of up to $30,000. For further information about the Tribunal or to access its online application from, please refer to the following link: http://justice.govt.nz/tribunals/disputes-tribunal or on 0800 268 787. You will need to contact them directly if you are making an application from overseas.
If you believe the company has been misleading or deceptive in its business practices and they are either located in New Zealand or selling into New Zealand, you may also want to consider making a complaint to the Commerce Commission. The Commission is responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act. Although the Commission does not take up cases on behalf of individuals, they will record your complaint to assist current or future investigations. Their website address is http://www.comcom.govt.nz/ they can be contacted by email: contact@comcom.govt.nz.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call the freephone number listed below. Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm & Friday 9am to 5pm.
Feedback on our service? Fill in our two minute customer satisfaction survey
Kind regards,
Lucy
CLIENT SERVICE ADVISOR
Service Centre
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Meant "lose" not "loose". Our deliberately deficient consumer legislation made me lose focus because of my financial loss to Air NZ.
On 2/04/2020 4:46 p.m., "*******@gmail.com" wrote:
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have had overseas travel plans disrupted by the Government closing the borders.
This has negated our rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act for those who have purchased cruises, flights and accommodation (here and overseas) from New Zealand agents.
Many New Zealanders face large financial losses. There appears to be a conspiracy of silence over this issue. No public information is forthcoming.
Is the Ministry addressing this issue? And what recommendations is it making to the Government to address the problem to provide a resolution for this large group of New Zealanders so as to mitigate their losses?
And the reply:-
cpinfo@mbie.govt.nz
3 Apr 2020, 09:18
Good Morning Don,
Thank you for your email.
MBIE’s role is to ensure consumers and businesses are aware of their rights, obligations and remedies with respect to the Consumer Guarantees Act, Fair Trading Act and other consumer law. The CGA is self-enforced and requires negotiation between the consumer and the retailer/manufacturer, and the Ministry has no enforcement or investigative rights.
As COVID 19 is outside the control of the service provider, they may not have to provide a full refund for a cancellation as this is considered Force Majeure. You will need to rely on the terms and conditions of their return policy to establish if you can cancel the booking, you may need to contact the company for more information on their return policy and to see if they will assist you in resolving this. We have some information on COVID 19 and the impact it can have on consumer contracts for goods or services at our website below.
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/n...-affected/
A business doesn’t have to allow you to cancel a booking if your circumstances have changed. However, some businesses have their own company policy to offer a refund, exchange or credit for ‘change-of-circumstance’ purchases and bookings, these may be seen as a gesture of good will. You can find more information on a business’s obligations with ‘change of circumstance’ purchases at our website via the following link:
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/g...umstances/
The business must ensure they honour the terms and conditions set or this may be considered a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
If you are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution with the trader, you may wish to file a claim in the Disputes Tribunal. The Disputes Tribunal offers an independent, relatively inexpensive and informal avenue for parties to resolve disputes of up to $30,000. For further information about the Tribunal or to access its online application from, please refer to the following link: http://justice.govt.nz/tribunals/disputes-tribunal or on 0800 268 787. You will need to contact them directly if you are making an application from overseas.
If you believe the company has been misleading or deceptive in its business practices and they are either located in New Zealand or selling into New Zealand, you may also want to consider making a complaint to the Commerce Commission. The Commission is responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act. Although the Commission does not take up cases on behalf of individuals, they will record your complaint to assist current or future investigations. Their website address is http://www.comcom.govt.nz/ they can be contacted by email: contact@comcom.govt.nz.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call the freephone number listed below. Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm & Friday 9am to 5pm.
Feedback on our service? Fill in our two minute customer satisfaction survey
Kind regards,
Lucy
CLIENT SERVICE ADVISOR
Service Centre
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Meant "lose" not "loose". Our deliberately deficient consumer legislation made me lose focus because of my financial loss to Air NZ.