Making a Complaint and Using the Disputes Tribunal
Consumer Literacy
📝 How to resolve a money dispute
When a business owes you money, sells you something faulty, or bills you unfairly, you have more power than you might think, and most of it costs nothing to use. The trick is to escalate in an orderly way rather than getting stuck in a phone queue or firing off an angry email that goes nowhere. This guide walks you through the ladder step by step: first a clear written complaint to the business, then a free industry dispute resolution scheme if one covers the trader, and finally the Disputes Tribunal, New Zealand's low-cost forum where you present your own case with no lawyers. It also covers the Tenancy Tribunal for rental disputes, which works in a similar way. The single most important thing you can do is put your complaint in writing and keep records, because a calm, evidenced complaint is what gets a problem taken seriously and, if it goes further, what wins your case. Along the way you will see exactly what a strong complaint contains, which free schemes handle banks, insurers, power companies and phone companies, and the current Disputes Tribunal claim limit and fees, which changed in January 2026. Get the process right and you rarely need to go all the way to a hearing to get a fair result.
The escalation ladder
Each rung is cheaper and easier than the one above it, so start at the bottom and only climb if you have to.
| Step | What you do | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Complain to the business | Explain the problem in writing and ask for a specific fix | Free |
| 2. Escalate in writing | Go to head office or the complaints team with a firm deadline | Free |
| 3. Free dispute scheme | Use the banking, insurance, telecommunications or utilities scheme | Free to you |
| 4. Disputes Tribunal | File a claim, present your own case to a referee | $62 to $496 |
What an effective complaint contains
Whether you phone first or not, put your complaint in writing so there is a record. A strong complaint is short, factual, and easy for a busy person to act on. Include:
- What happened. A plain account of the problem, in order, without emotion or insults.
- The dates. When you bought, when the problem appeared, when you first raised it, and who you spoke to.
- The evidence. Receipts, the contract or order confirmation, photos, emails, and any repair quotes. Attach copies, never your only originals.
- The legal or contractual basis. The reason they owe you a remedy, for example that faulty goods breach the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, or that the service is not what your contract promised.
- The specific remedy you want. Repair, replacement, a refund of a stated amount, or the work redone. Name the figure.
- A deadline. A reasonable time to respond, such as 10 to 14 working days, and a line saying you will escalate to a dispute scheme or the Disputes Tribunal if it is not resolved.
Save a copy of every letter and email, and note the date and name for every phone call. A tidy paper trail is worth more than a loud voice. If it ever reaches a referee, the person who calmly documented each step almost always looks more credible than the one who did not.
🤝 Free industry dispute schemes
Before you pay any filing fee, check whether the business belongs to a free dispute resolution scheme. Many industries are required to have one, an independent body that investigates complaints about its members and can order the business to put things right. These schemes are free to you, the consumer, because the industry funds them. They are often faster and less stressful than a tribunal, and using one does not usually stop you going to the Disputes Tribunal later if you are still unhappy.
Financial services: the four approved schemes
Every bank, insurer, lender, and financial adviser in New Zealand must belong to one of the approved financial dispute resolution schemes. If you have a problem with a financial service, you first complain to the provider, and if you cannot resolve it, or the provider reaches deadlock, you take it to their scheme for free. The approved schemes are:
- Banking Ombudsman Scheme, for banks and many lenders.
- Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO), for insurers and other financial service providers.
- Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), a financial ombudsman service covering a wide range of providers.
- Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS), covering members who belong to it.
Each scheme can investigate complaints about its members, and can award compensation up to its own limit, which is well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for most schemes, far above the Disputes Tribunal cap. The provider is bound by the outcome if you accept it.
Phone and internet: Telecommunications Dispute Resolution
Telecommunications Dispute Resolution (TDR) handles complaints about phone and internet providers that are members, covering billing, contracts, faults and service. It is free to consumers. As with the financial schemes, you complain to your provider first and escalate to TDR if it is not sorted out.
Power, gas and water: Utilities Disputes
Utilities Disputes is the free and independent scheme for complaints about electricity and gas providers, and about water where the provider is a member. It can look at billing disputes, supply problems, and disconnections, and can make binding decisions on members up to its limit.
A dispute scheme will usually only step in once you have given the business a fair chance to fix the problem itself, often after it has reached deadlock or a set period has passed. So always lodge a written complaint with the provider first, then escalate to the scheme with your paper trail if the response is unsatisfactory.
Schemes and the Disputes Tribunal have time limits, and your underlying legal rights can expire too. Do not let a complaint drift for months. Raise it promptly, set deadlines in writing, and move up the ladder if the business stalls. Delay is the most common reason a good claim goes cold.
⚖️ The Disputes Tribunal
If a written complaint and any relevant scheme have not fixed things, the Disputes Tribunal is New Zealand's accessible small-claims forum, set up under the Disputes Tribunals Act 1988. It is designed for ordinary people to use without a lawyer, and it hears everyday money disputes: faulty goods and poor services, unpaid debts, damage to property, and many contract disagreements.
The new $60,000 limit
The biggest recent change is the claim limit. From 24 January 2026, the Disputes Tribunal can hear claims up to $60,000, double the previous $30,000 cap. The increase was made by the Disputes Tribunal Amendment Act 2025 and opens the Tribunal to larger disputes, for example over renovations or vehicles, that people previously had to either shrink to fit or take to the more expensive District Court. If your claim is above $60,000 you can still use the Tribunal by giving up the amount over the cap.
The filing fee, tiered by claim size
You pay a modest filing fee when you lodge a claim, and it rises with the size of the claim. As at July 2026 the fees are:
| Claim amount | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Less than $2,000 | $62 |
| $2,000 to less than $5,000 | $124 |
| $5,000 to $30,000 | $248 |
| $30,001 to $60,000 | $496 |
If you win, you can ask the referee to order the other side to pay your filing fee back, though that is at the referee's discretion.
How a hearing works
- No lawyers. You present your own case. Lawyers are not allowed to represent you, which keeps things fair and cheap for everyone.
- A referee decides. There are no judges. An experienced referee runs the hearing, often around a table, encourages the two sides to agree, and if they cannot, makes the decision.
- Decisions are binding. The referee's order is legally binding and enforceable like a court order, so the losing side must comply.
- Limited appeal. You can appeal to the District Court within 20 working days, but only on the ground that the hearing was conducted in a way that was unfair and affected the result. You cannot appeal just because you dislike the outcome. If genuinely new evidence emerges, you can apply for a rehearing, usually within 28 days.
You file online at disputestribunal.govt.nz. Bring your evidence in order: the receipt or contract, photos, your written complaint and any replies, quotes, and a short statement of exactly what you are claiming and why.
Rental disputes go to the Tenancy Tribunal
If your dispute is with a landlord or tenant, it is heard by the Tenancy Tribunal, not the Disputes Tribunal. The Tenancy Tribunal deals with bond refunds, rent arrears, repairs, and other tenancy problems, and it can make orders up to $100,000. You apply through Tenancy Services at tenancy.govt.nz. Like the Disputes Tribunal, it is designed to be used without a lawyer.
Claim against the correct legal entity: the company name on your receipt or contract, not a brand or a shop assistant. Check the New Zealand Companies Register for the exact registered name. A claim against the wrong party can be delayed or dismissed, so a two-minute check before you file is time well spent.
🔢 Four New Zealand examples
These examples show the ladder in action with real figures. The amounts are illustrative, and the fees, limits and rules are current for July 2026.
Situation: Hana paid $1,450 for a clothes dryer that failed at 15 months. The retailer refuses to help because the 12-month manufacturer warranty has expired. She believes the Consumer Guarantees Act still applies, because a $1,450 dryer should last well beyond 15 months.
Her path and the numbers:
Many retailers back down once a clear Consumer Guarantees Act complaint with a deadline arrives, because they know the Tribunal is cheap and easy for you to use. The $62 filing fee and a well-ordered folder of evidence are all it takes to make the threat credible.
Situation: Rewi disputes a $3,200 charge his bank will not reverse after a payment mix-up. The bank's internal complaints team does not resolve it to his satisfaction, and it confirms it has reached deadlock.
Why the scheme wins here:
Situation: Priya and Tom are left with $58,000 of defective work after a bathroom and kitchen renovation goes wrong. The builder will not fix it. This dispute happens in early 2026.
Why the timing matters:
The jump from $30,000 to $60,000 brings many renovation, vehicle and contract disputes within reach of the Tribunal for the first time. For a $496 fee and your own preparation, you can now pursue the whole of a mid-sized claim that used to be uneconomic to fight.
Situation: A phone repair shop charged Leilani $680 to fix her screen, but the touch response has failed again within a week. She wants the repair redone or her money back, and drafts a written complaint.
The six-part letter she sends:
A complaint that only describes the problem invites a vague reply. Name the remedy and the amount, attach the evidence, and set a clear deadline with a stated next step. That structure is what moves a complaint from ignored to actioned, and it becomes your evidence if you do file.
Related guides and tools
- Consumer Guarantees Act guide, for your rights to repair, replace or refund faulty goods.
- The Fair Trading Act: surcharges and misleading claims, for problems with misleading prices and conduct.
- Recovering money after a scam guide, for chasing money lost to fraud.
- Debt collection guide, for your rights when money is owed or claimed from you.
Verified against the Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand (disputestribunal.govt.nz) forms and fees page, last updated 13 July 2026, giving fees of $62, $124, $248 and $496 by claim band, and its guidance on no lawyers, referees, binding decisions and appeals; the Ministry of Justice (justice.govt.nz) on the increase to $60,000 from 24 January 2026 under the Disputes Tribunal Amendment Act 2025; Consumer Protection (consumerprotection.govt.nz) and Community Law on the approved financial dispute resolution schemes, Telecommunications Dispute Resolution and Utilities Disputes, all free to consumers; and Tenancy Services (tenancy.govt.nz) on the Tenancy Tribunal $100,000 limit. Figures current for July 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
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