Can I get my deposit back if I cancel a removal company?

What the advice says about paying up front. The Queensland Office of Fair Trading’s first cost question is whether the removalist requires an upfront payment, and its advice is that upfront payments can be risky: try to find one that does not ask. Access Canberra says to pay when the job is complete and to ask for an itemised invoice. The ACCC’s line is about intention: a business that takes a deposit and does not intend to supply the service breaks the law, and so does one that intends to supply something different from what was promised. If the booking falls over on the company’s side, the ACCC says the business must provide a solution; your first step is to contact it, and it should explain the reason and what it is doing to resolve the issue.

Cancelling when the service fails a guarantee. Consumer Affairs Victoria says there are circumstances in which a consumer is entitled to cancel a contract for services under the Australian Consumer Law, for example when a service fails to meet a consumer guarantee; the cancellation can be made at any time, and it takes effect when the customer tells the supplier, verbally, in writing, or by any other reasonable means if that is not possible. The Act’s own path: if the failure can be remedied and is not a major failure, the consumer may require the supplier to remedy it within a reasonable time, and if the supplier refuses or fails to do so, the consumer may have the failure remedied elsewhere and recover the reasonable costs by action against the supplier, or terminate the contract. If the failure cannot be remedied or is a major failure, the consumer may terminate the contract, or recover compensation for any reduction in the value of the services below the price paid or payable, and can also recover damages for loss or damage that was reasonably foreseeable. These are the guarantees for a consumer’s household move: the transport or storage exclusion is for goods carried for a business, and it does not apply where the consignee of the goods is not carrying on a business in relation to them (s 63).

What a cancellation refunds. The Act’s refund right sits on top of a termination under section 267 of the Australian Consumer Law, which is the section that lets a consumer terminate when a service fails a guarantee: where that applies, the consumer is entitled to recover, by action against the supplier, a refund of any money paid for the services, and an amount equal to the value of any other consideration provided, to the extent the services have not already been consumed at the time the termination takes effect. The termination takes effect when it is made known to the supplier, or, if it is not reasonably practicable to communicate with the supplier, when the consumer indicates the intention by means that are reasonable in the circumstances. Consumer Affairs Victoria adds that the amount of the refund may depend on whether some or all of the services provided were unsatisfactory, or had been provided at the time of cancellation.

When the company cancels, or the money has to come back through the card. If nothing arrives on the day, the ACCC’s first step is to contact the business, which should explain the reason and what it is doing to resolve the issue. Consumer Affairs Victoria says you can contact your bank or credit card provider for a chargeback, which reverses the credit card charge and is similar to a refund: act quickly, because time limits apply. Consumer and Business Services SA says a credit provider may authorise a credit to your account, known as a chargeback, if you have not received goods or services or if there is a breach of a consumer guarantee, and that you can apply for a refund through your card provider even where the business is no longer operating.

The ACCC lists three grounds on which a consumer can generally end a contract with no charge: the business has said anything false or misleading about the goods, services, terms or conditions; a service has not met a consumer guarantee; or the consumer is in a cooling-off period. Whether a particular removal booking carries a cooling-off period depends on the law that applies to how the booking was made; the ACCC page gives the ground, not the bookings it covers. Where one of these grounds applies, the right to end the contract sits alongside the remedies above.