Disputes

If you do end up with goods that fall well short of what was advertised, try to sort things out with the seller first. If that fails, your next step is usually the Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal can only hear claims up to $15,000 (or $20,000 with the agreement of both parties).

If you've bought a car from a motor vehicle dealer, you can take your case to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. It can hear claims up to $100,000.

Whichever tribunal you appear before, you’ll need to be prepared:

• Collect your evidence. Bills, receipts, quotes for repairs, emails, phone messages, photographs, any expert reports – they're all valuable.
• Put together your evidence. Prepare a summary of your case with the key issues clearly stated.
• Make sure any important witnesses can attend the tribunal hearing – if not, see if you can get a new date for the hearing or ask the court staff if it's possible for witnesses to attend by telephone.

If you take a case to the tribunal and win, that's not always the end of the matter. The other party may not pay and you'll have to chase-up payment. You can request enforcement of a Disputes Tribunal order by the courts. This can be a lengthy process and it could well be some time before you get the money that's owed you.

Trade Me

Trade Me says most of the 12.5 million transactions that take place through its site each year complete with no problems. But that's not always the case. During 2010, Trade Me figures show that 439 sales resulted in Disputes Tribunal claims.

If you get duped by a shady seller, let Trade Me know. The site's terms and conditions require sellers to enter listings that are "accurate, current, complete and include all relevant information". Trade Me says around 140 members are banned each month for breaching this condition.

Trade Me has also developed a protocol with the Disputes Tribunal to assist people who want to bring a claim. It provides court registrars with a statutory declaration that claimants complete. When the declaration is filled out, Trade Me will release its formal record of the deal.

Case studies

• A $4300 jet ski listed on Trade Me as in "top condition" broke down the day after purchase. The Disputes Tribunal ordered the seller to pay the buyer $4400 in damages to compensate him for the amount spent repairing the ski.
• A PS3 player listed as being still under warranty sold for $500. When the buyer received the machine, it didn't work and he found the warranty was no longer valid. The tribunal ordered the seller to repay the $500 plus freight.
• A 1995 Toyota Toyace listed as having done 190,000km sold on Trade Me for $6000. The buyer found the truck's actual mileage was 285,000km. The tribunal ordered the seller to pay damages of $1500, the difference between the purchase price and the truck's estimated value.