Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out the new statutory framework for contracts between a trader and a consumer for the supply of a service. Contracts of employment and apprenticeships are expressly excluded from the scope of Chapter 4.
As with contracts for the supply of goods, the Act provides both statutory rights and statutory remedies for contracts for the supply of services. In summary, the statutory rights for consumers are:
Section 49 - the service is to be performed with reasonable skill and care;
Section 50 - certain information provided about the trader or the service is to be binding;
Section 51 - a reasonable price is to be paid if the price has not been fixed;
Section 52 - the service is to be performed within a reasonable time, if not expressly fixed by the contract.
In addition to other remedies which might be available, a consumer will have statutory remedies in certain situations if the service does not conform to the contract, namely:
Section 55 - a right to repeat performance of the service;
Section 56 - a right to a price reduction by an appropriate amount.
The statutory rights cannot be excluded and a trader cannot limit its liability for breach of the statutory rights to less than the contract price. There are further provisions relating to restrictions on liability and unfair terms.