Legislative Acts which establish boundaries of massage practice in New Zealand/Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

The following sections of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 are particularly relevant to CAM products:

Section 6:	the guarantee as to acceptable quality (reference to safety)
Section 7:	the meaning of ‘acceptable quality’
Section 8:	guarantees as to fitness for a particular purpose
Section 9:	the guarantee that goods comply with their description.

Consumers’ rights

Massage therapy services and CAM products sold to a client are required to be fit for the purpose they are sold. In other words the service provided, and the benefits of this service must be consistent with what is described in the advertising of the service.

Massage therapists are responsible for ensuring that the quality and standard of their professional services are acceptable to their clients. In particular, the consumer has the right to expect:

• Reasonable care and skill – the work must be at least as good as the work of a competent therapist with average skills and experience
• The service must be fit for the purpose – i.e. meet the client’s aims of treatment
• The service must be completed within reasonable time, except if there are special circumstances

If the service failed to meet any of the above expectations, the consumer can resort to one or more of these remedies:

• Ask for the problem to be fixed.
• Get the problem fixed by someone else if you refuse to fix it or take more than a reasonable time to do so.
• Claim the cost of getting the problem fixed.
• Cancel the contract the consumer has with you.
• Refuse payment for the work done or pay less than the agreed amount for the service.
• Ask for a refund of some or all the monies already paid to you depending on the circumstances.
• Claim for consequential damage if the work you do causes damage.