Put a clear consumer promise policy in place

Terms and conditions often deal with the overall customer relationship, but they may not explain in a practical way how your business handles faulty products, service problems, repairs, replacements or refund requests. A separate policy can help staff apply a consistent process and can make customer-facing information easier to follow. That is especially useful if you sell across multiple channels or deal with repeat claims. The policy should still align with your broader contract documents, but it serves a different purpose from general sale terms.

It will usually address when a customer may be entitled to a repair, replacement or refund, how claims are raised, what information your team may need to assess a claim, and how outcomes are communicated. It may also explain how the process differs for goods versus services, online versus in-store sales, or damaged versus faulty items. The wording needs to be careful because overstatements, blanket exclusions or oversimplified rules can create problems if they do not match the legal position or your actual business practices.

The drafting depends on what you sell, how you sell it, and the claim patterns your team actually sees. For example, a retailer selling physical goods may need different wording from a service provider, subscription business or mixed online and in-person operation. We will usually look at your sales channels, fulfilment model, returns handling, customer communications and any existing policy wording. If your business uses promotions, special offers or bundled deals, the terms need to reflect the actual promotion mechanics and prize structure where relevant.

It can be. Templates often use broad statements that sound simple but do not fit the way your business handles claims in practice. That can create inconsistency between what your website says, what staff say, and what your internal process actually allows. A generic template may also miss channel-specific issues such as online fulfilment, service bookings or third-party sellers. A tailored policy is particularly helpful if you have multiple product lines, mixed service offerings or customer complaints that tend to arise in recurring patterns.

Timing depends on the condition of your current document and how complex your sales model is. If you already have a draft policy, a review can often move faster than starting from scratch. Once we have the key details, a lawyer prepares the draft or mark-up, then you can comment on the wording and raise practical questions about how the policy should read for your team and customers. This service covers the policy document and related amendments, not broader staff training, marketing review or ongoing legal management.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Consumer Guarantees Policy service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.