What are my rights when a service is done badly?

Goods and services are treated differently in consumer law, and the remedies for services are less well known. There is no right to reject a service the way you can reject a product. Instead the law gives you repeat performance first and a price reduction second, which shapes how you should approach the conversation.

Step by step

1. Identify which standard was not met.Reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, at a reasonable price if none was agreed, and in line with anything the trader said about the service that you relied on.
2. Check what was actually agreed.The quote, the written specification, any emails and any verbal statements you relied on. Information a trader gives about the service can form part of the contract.
3. Document the problem properly.Photographs, dates, and specifics — 'the tiles are not level' rather than 'poor job'. Precision is what makes a claim assessable.
4. Ask for repeat performance first.The trader is entitled to the opportunity to put it right at no extra cost. Giving that opportunity, in writing, is what protects your position later.
5. Set a clear deadline.A specific date, and a statement of what you will do if it passes. 'As soon as possible' does not create a deadline anyone acts on.
6. Ask for a price reduction if it cannot be fixed.Where repeat performance is impossible, or not done in a reasonable time, you can claim an appropriate reduction — which can be up to the whole price in severe cases.
7. Get an independent assessment for larger jobs.A surveyor or a second tradesperson's written report is the evidence that decides a dispute about workmanship. It also gives you a figure for the cost of putting it right.
8. Do not pay the final instalment while it is unresolved.Withholding a proportionate amount is a legitimate position, provided you have raised the issue properly and are prepared to justify the amount.
9. Check for a trade body or ADR scheme.Many trades belong to schemes with dispute resolution attached. It is faster and cheaper than court, and membership is often a selling point the trader made.
10. Use the small claims route if needed.For modest amounts the small claims track in England and Wales, the simple procedure in Scotland and the small claims process in Northern Ireland are all designed to be used without a solicitor. Send a letter before action first — it resolves a substantial share of disputes on its own.

Tips

• Give the trader a genuine chance to fix it, in writing. Refusing that opportunity weakens an otherwise strong position.
• Pay any deposit by credit card. Section 75 then gives you a claim against the card provider as well as the trader.
• A written report from an independent tradesperson costs a fraction of the dispute and usually settles it.

Common mistakes

• Getting someone else to fix it without notice — The original trader is generally entitled to the chance to put it right. Bringing in someone else first makes recovering the cost much harder.
• Withholding the entire balance for a partial problem — It hands the trader an argument. Withhold an amount proportionate to the defect and say how you calculated it.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask