Consumer resource
If you’re unhappy about poor service
Published 4 May 2026 · Reviewed for England and Wales, May 2026
Where you paid a trader for work or a service — a haircut, a cake, removals, tutoring, repairs and countless other everyday examples — it must normally be supplied with reasonable care and skill. If it was not, you are usually entitled under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to ask for it to be put right or for a proportionate refund.
About this guidance
This page is general information only, not legal advice. We are not a law firm. It is written for England and Wales. Parallel consumer rights exist in Scotland and Northern Ireland but the statute book and time limits are not identical — take local guidance if you are outside England and Wales.
Reviewed by Resolutor Legal Support for England and Wales in May 2026.
When this guide helps
It is aimed at typical consumer complaints: you paid someone in the course of their trade to perform a service, and the outcome was substandard — careless, half‑finished, late without excuse, or plainly below what a reasonable person would expect for the price and description.
It assumes you are within the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Rights differ if you contract as a business, buy from a casual private seller or the agreement is outside the Act’s scope; check the position if any of that might apply.
The core rule: reasonable care and skill
For services, the Act implies that the trader must perform with reasonable care and skill. Where that standard is missed, the Act sets out remedies aimed at putting you back where you should have been — ordinarily a repeat of the faulty part of the work and/or an appropriate price reduction.
Official explanatory material and court guidance flesh out how “reasonable care and skill” is judged by sector; collecting comparable quotes, photographs, independent opinions and contemporaneous notes all helps if opinions differ later.
Redo the service or accept a refund in the shape of money off
In broad terms the law expects you to give the business a fair chance to put the fault right where that is still practical — a repeat performance of the defective element of the contract.
Alongside that route (or instead of it in the situations below) you can seek a price reduction so the price you pay matches what you actually received. The reduction can in appropriate cases go all the way to 100% of the price attributable to the bad work if nothing of value remains.
When many consumers go straight to a price reduction
Commentators often highlight that repeat performance does not have to be offered first if, for example:
- redoing the work is impossible (perhaps because the trader has vanished, refuses, or damage cannot be undone);
- a redo could only happen after an unreasonable delay that causes you needless inconvenience;
- a repeat visit would cause you significant inconvenience balanced against what is at stake.
Traders frequently prefer to agree money off voluntarily; politely ask if that is commercially easier for both sides once you have spelled out why you consider the statutory standard missed.
If you told them the job was satisfactory when they finished
Signing off verbally or paying without protest can weaken a later complaint, depending on facts. Where you plainly affirmed acceptance despite knowing of a defect, you may struggle to reopen the same point under consumer remedies.
Hidden or non‑obvious shortcomings you could not reasonably have spotted on the day are a different conversation from an issue you saw and overlooked.
Discovering the fault only later
Sometimes poor workmanship surfaces only after you have used the result for a while. How long you have to pursue a civil remedy is a limitation / prescription question and depends on the legal basis of your claim; commentaries often refer to windows of up to six years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland for some contract claims, but you should not treat any figure as automatic — early advice pays if the facts are old or complicated.
What to put in writing
A clear letter or email that states the legal hook, the factual shortfall and the remedy you want is usually more effective than a vague rant. You might adapt wording along these lines (edit to your situation):
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a service must be performed with reasonable care and skill. In my view the [describe service] you supplied on [date] did not meet that standard because [short factual bullets].
I ask you either to remedy the deficiency by [proposed redo / deadline] or agree a permanent price reduction of [£ / %]. If you disagree, please explain why in writing within [reasonable period].
Keep proofs: photographs, adverts, quotations, transcripts of calls and names of anyone who inspected the problem.
How quickly must a redo happen?
Where repeat performance remains appropriate, statute refers to completing it inside a reasonable time without significant inconvenience — there is no single calendar rule. Gauging similar lead times elsewhere in your area or trade body guidance can lend perspective if the trader stalls.
Discussing numbers for a reduction
A price reduction is often negotiated. Opening with a rational figure (£ or percentage tied to unfinished or defective elements), supported by comparator prices or invoices, invites a pragmatic reply; escalate if deadlock persists.
If the dispute is closer to something else
Other pages on this site touch adjacent problems — for example lost or ruined clothes after dry cleaning, items that fail as goods, or disputes after card payments. Building work and motor repairing sit under the same broad statutory idea of care and skill but often need sector‑specific evidence and sometimes insurance or warranty layers.
If correspondence fails
Alternatives frequently mentioned include accredited alternative dispute resolution schemes, regulators or ombudsmen where membership exists for that industry, notifying Trading Standards about unfair behaviour, pursuing chargeback or section 75 protections if payment was eligible, or (for suitably sized sums) the small claims court process.
Nothing here is tailored legal advice about your dispute; see a solicitor, approved regulator helpline or other specialist where stakes are high.