Assistance with Complaints

Tourism New Zealand is the marketing body responsible for promoting international holiday travel to New Zealand. We would like all visitors in New Zealand to experience the highest levels of customer service, and the best standard of products, from any of New Zealand's tourism businesses.

We work with government agencies, Regional Tourism Organisations, industry associations and operators to ensure quality experiences for all international visitors.

Tourism New Zealand endorses and recommends Qualmark, New Zealand's official tourism mark of quality for visitor accommodation, attractions, activities and transport.

We hope your New Zealand experience is outstanding, and we are always interested to hear from visitors to New Zealand. You are welcome to send us an email via the form below and we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.

Please note that Tourism New Zealand has no mandate to investigate individual consumer complaints, or jurisdiction over individual operators, industry bodies, government agencies or regional tourism organisations regarding services or products.

We can assist by forwarding your complaint on to the relevant parties and asking that they respond, and you may wish to consider the information below which explains how you can pursue the matter further with other agencies able to assist. Please note complaints regarding Qualmark-assured products are sent directly to Qualmark for their attention.

Contacting the Business Concerned

If you have a complaint about your experience with a tourism business, the first step is to contact that business directly to clearly explain your concerns. Most businesses understand that customer complaints are a valuable source of information to help them improve the service they provide.

Trader chargeback

You can contact your bank's complaints service or credit card provider to enquire about a trader chargeback for goods or services that you did not receive or for a contractual breach.

You will need to provide various details, including proof that you've returned the goods, or in the case of a service, you will need to supply a copy of your letter to the retailer stating that the service was not received and requesting a refund. In the case of a contractual breach, you will need to supply a copy of the contract, and proof that there was a breach of the contract.

You'll also need to provide the date and amount of purchase, and a description of the goods or services ordered. There is a time limit within which a banking complaints service can act. In New Zealand, banks usually give two months from the date of the transaction to apply for a chargeback.

Consumer Rights

New Zealand has legislation enacted to protect consumer rights. If you do not get a satisfactory outcome by contacting the business concerned directly, you can get advice on the next steps you might take from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website.

This includes information on your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 for rights and remedies relating to faulty goods, service failures and consequential loss. Also information on your rights under the Fair Trading Act, which prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct, false representations, and unfair practices by people in trade.

Disputes Tribunal

If you think that your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act or Fair Trading Act have been breached, you can seek compensation by taking a civil action through the Disputes Tribunal.

The Disputes Tribunal has been set up to resolve disputes simply and quickly. A fee ranging from NZ$30 to NZ$100, depending on the amount of the claim, is required to lodge the claim.

Any ruling made by the Tribunal is binding and will, if necessary, be enforced by the Courts. For further information about the Disputes Tribunal process, click here.

Other Information

You may also want to find out more about the Commerce Commission, who are responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act, or The Citizens’ Advice Bureaux.

The trained volunteers at Citizens Advice Bureaux (Nga Pokapu Whakahoki Patai mai i te Iwi Whanui), provide free, confidential and impartial information, advice, advocacy and support to individuals, on almost any issue including consumer rights and can be contacted via www.cab.org.nz

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