By Melissa Higham - 18 Feb 2016
Do you use standard form consumer contracts in your
business? If you have not yet had your contracts reviewed for
compliance with unfair contract terms, we suggest that you get in
touch with us before the Commerce Commission gets in touch with
you.
Unfair contract terms affect every standard form contract
entered into between a business and a consumer. See the blog we did on
the introduction of unfair contract terms last year.
A recent review by the Commission of the telco industry has
shown that even contracts used by telco giants Spark and 2Degrees
contain potentially unfair terms. This is despite both
companies making real efforts to eliminate unfair terms from their
contracts.
Out of the review of the telco industry, the Commission
highlighted terms which are potentially unfair. They include terms
that:
- limit or exclude the liability of the company
- allow the company to unilaterally vary the contract
- make the customer responsible for unauthorised charges
- allow the company to avoid liability for consequential
loss
The full report published by the Commission which details its
review on the telco industry is available here.
This is still a developing area of law, so we are keeping a
close eye on guidance such as that issued by the Commission on
terms that may be unfair.
Contact
Melissa
Higham