A service provider did substandard work. What remedies exist?

What the Law Says

The Consumer Rights Act 2022 sets out clear rights for consumers who receive services that are not performed with reasonable care and skill.

Under Irish law, when a service provider fails to carry out work with reasonable care and skill, the consumer is entitled to specific legal remedies. These apply where the service was provided to an individual (not a business) for personal use.

The main remedies are 'repeat performance' — meaning the service must be redone properly — or a 'price reduction', which may range from a partial refund up to the full amount paid, depending on the seriousness of the failure.

The law requires that repeat performance be carried out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer. If repeat performance is impossible or disproportionate (e.g., too costly or impractical), the consumer is entitled to a price reduction instead.

Statutory Text

Where a trader supplies a service to a consumer and the service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, the consumer has the right to require the trader to perform the service again, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer, so as to bring it into conformity with the contract.

— Consumer Rights Act 2022, s. 79 — Right to repeat performance

Statutory Text

Where the right to repeat performance is not available to the consumer or the consumer has required the trader to perform the service again and the trader has failed to do so within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to the consumer, the consumer has the right to a price reduction.

— Consumer Rights Act 2022, s. 79 — Right to price reduction

What to Do

Sources