Quick answer
Under New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act, kitchen cabinetry must be of acceptable quality and fit for purpose, and installation must be done with reasonable care and skill. If something fails, the remedy ladder runs repair, then replacement, then refund, depending on how serious the failure is. Put problems in writing and give the supplier a reasonable chance to fix them.
Key points
- The CGA applies automatically to a consumer kitchen purchase: goods of acceptable quality and fit for purpose, services carried out with reasonable care and skill.
- The remedy ladder runs repair, then replacement, then refund; a substantial failure moves you up the ladder faster.
- Run the complaint properly: dated photos, a written notification naming the fault, a reasonable chance to fix, and keep every document.
- Wear, misuse and water damage are not defects, and the CGA can be excluded in genuine business-to-business contracts, so landlords and developers should check their terms.
- The Disputes Tribunal is the low-cost backstop for smaller claims; Consumer Protection and Citizens Advice confirm the details free.
The benchtop edge beside your dishwasher started lifting nine weeks after installation. You emailed the installer, who said he would swing past. That was five weeks ago, the edge strip now catches a tea towel every time you walk past, and the replies have stopped. Somewhere between annoyance and the nuclear option there is a process, and it is worth knowing before you write the angry message.
The process is mostly the Consumer Guarantees Act, and it is more useful than most people expect, provided you work it in the right order. What follows is general information rather than legal advice: the two places that will confirm any of it for your specific situation, free, are Consumer Protection (the government consumer agency) and Citizens Advice Bureau. For how this sits alongside the supplier's own promises, what kitchen warranties in NZ actually cover is the companion piece.
What the Consumer Guarantees Act promises on a kitchen
The CGA attaches two sets of guarantees to a kitchen job. You do not sign up for them; they attach automatically to a consumer purchase. The goods, meaning the cabinets, benchtop, hardware and panels, must be of acceptable quality and fit for purpose, and reasonably durable for goods at that price. And the services, meaning the installation, must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.
Acceptable quality is judged the way a reasonable customer would judge it, knowing the price and the nature of the goods. A $6,000 galley in white melamine is not held to the standard of a $30,000 job, but its doors still have to hang square, its edges still have to stay stuck down, and a benchtop is still expected to survive normal kitchen life for years, not months. That expectation of reasonable durability is the part suppliers most often hope you have not heard of.
The remedy ladder: repair, replacement, refund
The CGA does not hand you a refund for every fault. For an ordinary failure, the supplier gets to remedy it, usually by repair, within a reasonable time. If they refuse, or take unreasonably long, the ladder moves up, and Consumer Protection's guidance covers the options from there. Where the failure is substantial, the kind of fault where a reasonable customer would not have bought the kitchen had they known, the options widen to replacement or rejecting the goods for a refund.
| The fault | Where it usually lands | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| One door misaligned, drawer catching | Repair: an adjustment visit | Notify in writing, allow access |
| Edge tape lifting at three months | Repair or replace the affected part | Dated photos, written notice, a date to fix by |
| Same fault failing after repeated fixes | Moves up the ladder | Keep the history, ask for replacement of the part |
| Widespread delamination within months | Substantial-failure territory | Get guidance from Consumer Protection before accepting a patch |
Those placements are how things commonly resolve, not fixed rules; whether a particular failure is substantial depends on the facts, which is exactly the question Consumer Protection's guidance and the Disputes Tribunal exist to answer. The pattern to hold onto is that the ladder rewards people who let it work in order. Demanding a refund for a sticking drawer on day one gets you nowhere. Documenting three failed repairs of the same drawer builds a case that climbs on its own.
How to run the complaint properly
Most kitchen complaints are won or lost on process, not merit. The sequence below is boring, and that is its power: it reads as reasonable to everyone who later looks at it, including a tribunal referee.
- Document first. Photograph every fault twice: a wide shot showing where it sits in the room, and a close-up showing the fault itself. Check the date stamps. Gather the quote, invoice, and any messages about the problem.
- Notify in writing. Email is fine. Name each fault plainly, reference the invoice, say what you want done, and give a specific reasonable date for a response. Ten working days is a fair ask for a reply; a fix can reasonably take longer if parts are involved.
- Give the chance to fix. Provide access, be there or leave clear instructions, and let them do the repair. Note what was done and photograph the result.
- Escalate only after that. If the response is silence or refusal, a short letter noting the CGA guarantees and your next step usually restarts the conversation. After that, the Disputes Tribunal.
The complaint ladder: document, notify, allow the fix, then escalate. Paper beats volume at every step.
Wear, misuse and the lines the CGA will not cross
The Act covers defects. What use does to a kitchen is a different bucket. A hinge that has drifted out of adjustment after four years of daily swings is maintenance. By contrast, a door that never hung square is a defect. Swelling around a benchtop join where water has been left pooling for months is use; edge tape letting go along a dry run at week twelve is a bonding failure. The line is not always obvious, which is why photos and dates matter so much: a fault that appears early, under normal use, argues for defect.
Two more boundaries worth knowing. An appliance bought separately is generally a conversation with the store that sold it rather than with your joiner; Consumer Protection's guidance covers that path. And in genuine business-to-business contracts the CGA can be excluded in writing, which is common on commercial and trade work; landlords and developers should read their terms before assuming consumer remedies apply. Rental owners will recognise most disputed faults anyway, because the same items fail everywhere: what fails first in a rental kitchen is a preview of every complaint list.
When does the Disputes Tribunal make sense?
The tribunal is the backstop for claims the letter-writing could not fix. It is designed to run without lawyers, the filing fee is modest, and it handles claims up to a set limit; whether your claim fits under the current limit is a two-minute check on the Disputes Tribunal website. Most single-kitchen faults fit comfortably. You bring the file you built in step one: quote, invoice, photos, the written notice, and the record of what was or was not fixed.
A referee hears both sides and decides, and the decision is binding. In practice, filing is often the event that produces a settlement, because a supplier looking at your dated file knows how it reads. That is the system doing what it was built for: the ladder exists so that the people who used it properly rarely need the top rung.
A complaint in writing with dated photos is not aggression. It is the polite version of keeping your options open.
Why good suppliers fix fast anyway
Here is the trade's open secret: most post-install faults are cheap to fix early. The bulk of genuine callbacks are hinge and runner adjustments and edge lifts, twenty-minute jobs with a van stocked right. A manufacturer with its own workshop can remake a single door in days, because doors are replaceable individually when the carcass is sound: measure width and height, hinge cup positions, overlay, drill to match. Nobody with those capabilities fights a $90 fix and risks a public dispute.
Which points at the real lesson. The CGA is the remedy of last resort, and the cheapest version of this whole article is choosing a supplier who answers the phone after the invoice is paid. How we quality check kitchens shows what prevention looks like from the workshop side, and how to vet a kitchen company is the checklist that keeps you out of the tribunal queue in the first place.
The letter to write today
If you have a live problem, the next step takes twenty minutes. List each fault in one line. Attach two photos per fault, wide and close. Reference the invoice number and date. Ask for the specific remedy, name a reasonable response date, and send it to the email address on the quote. Keep the tone flat and civil, because you are writing for a future reader as much as for the supplier.
Then let the ladder work. Most complaints end at the notification, a good chunk more at the repair visit, and the small remainder are exactly what Consumer Protection guidance and the Disputes Tribunal are for. If the problem surfaced before your final payment, keep that conversation calm and in writing; how deposits and progress payments work explains why a completion-weighted payment tail is the quiet ally of every snag list.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Consumer Guarantees Act cover a new kitchen?
Yes, for consumer purchases. The cabinetry, benchtop and hardware are goods that must be of acceptable quality and fit for purpose, and the installation is a service that must be done with reasonable care and skill. These guarantees attach automatically to a consumer purchase; no paperwork creates them. Consumer Protection publishes plain-language guidance if you want a specific situation confirmed.
How long after installation can I complain about a kitchen fault?
There is no single cut-off number. Goods must be durable for a reasonable time given their price and nature, and a kitchen is reasonably expected to last years, not months. The earlier a fault appears, the stronger the defect argument, so report problems as soon as you notice them, in writing, with dated photos. A supplier's warranty may name a period, but the CGA guarantees sit alongside it regardless.
Can I get a refund on a faulty kitchen?
Sometimes, though usually not as the first step. For ordinary faults the supplier gets to remedy the problem, by repair, within a reasonable time; refund or rejection arrives when a failure is substantial or the fix never comes. Work the ladder in order and keep records; Citizens Advice can tell you where your case sits on it.
What if the kitchen company ignores my complaint?
Put the complaint in writing with dated photos, name the remedy you want, and set a reasonable response date. If silence continues, send a short follow-up noting the Consumer Guarantees Act and that your next step is the Disputes Tribunal. Filing is straightforward, designed for no lawyers, and often prompts a settlement by itself. Citizens Advice will help you prepare the file free of charge.
Does the CGA apply if I bought the kitchen for a rental or through my company?
It can, but genuine business-to-business contracts are allowed to exclude the CGA in writing, and trade terms often do. Landlords and developers should read the supply contract before assuming consumer remedies apply. If nothing was excluded, the guarantees generally still operate. The contract wording decides it, so check your terms, and confirm the position with Consumer Protection or your adviser.
Is wear and tear covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act?
No. The Act covers defects in the goods and the workmanship, judged against reasonable durability rather than the ordinary consequences of use. A hinge drifting out of adjustment after years of service is maintenance; a door misaligned from the start is a defect. Water damage from pooling or misuse sits on the use side of the line. Dated photos from early in the kitchen's life are what make the distinction provable.
Do I need a lawyer for the Disputes Tribunal?
No, the tribunal is deliberately built to run without lawyers. You file the claim, pay a modest fee, and a referee hears both sides informally. Your preparation is the file: quote, invoice, dated photos, the written complaint, and the record of any repair attempts. Check the current claim limit on the tribunal's website to confirm your amount fits before filing.