New Zealanders collectively lose around $55 million every year by failing to chase refunds or remedies for faulty or damaged goods, poor service, or buys that weren’t fit for purpose.
The figure has been estimated for The Detail using data from the 2026 NZ Consumer Survey.
The 2026 survey shows that of the 44 percent of people who experienced a problem in the past two years, 68 percent did something about it. Of those people, three quarters achieved a resolution.
For some people though, it was just too hard, they weren’t confident, or didn’t want to go into battle over something that was probably not worth it. They just chalked it up as a lesson learned.
The survey, run every two years by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and the Commerce Commission, also showed that while about half of us think we know our rights, we’re thin on the details. When a specific scenario was put to participants, only 13 percent were able to get seven or more out of 10 correct.
But complaining has become more complex, with online shopping now back to pre-Covid levels and the internet full of AI answers, chatbots, and .nz domain names, where consumers wrongly assume they’re dealing with a New Zealand company.
It’s an area that causes major problems for clients asking the Citizens Advice Bureau for help.
Bureau deputy chief executive Andrew Hubbard says there’s a significantly increased challenge in dealing with retailers based overseas.
“In theory, any purchase you make overseas, if it’s a company that’s trading in New Zealand they’re supposed to comply with New Zealand law, including the Consumer Guarantees Act.
“But the reality is it’s highly variable and can be really challenging to resolve an issue with an offshore retailer, and what we’re seeing is a rise in confusion about which are New Zealand companies as well.
“It’s very easy to get a .nz domain so it’s very easy to set up a website that looks like it’s based in New Zealand but isn’t necessarily. So [there’s a] whole range of issues around those sorts of things … with the rise of AI tools there’s a subsequent rise in scams and scam sellers as well.”
Today on The Detail, Hubbard runs through the various pieces of legislation that govern rights, and tells us which areas are the most problematic.
He and MBIE’s Simon Gallagher agree on the one industry where the number of complaints are “nearly off the charts” – and that’s cars, and more specifically, private sales.
Gallagher, the manager of consumer services, says that’s what sparked the highest number of complaints in this year’s survey. “It’s a major buyer-beware,” he says.
He says a key headline for this year’s survey is that the consumer protection system is working, but there’s a gap between people’s awareness of their rights and their practical understanding of how to use them.
“New Zealanders know that rights exist, but very few feel confident applying those rights when something goes wrong,” he says.
But it’s the sort of information you don’t need to know until you need it. MBIE’s consumer protection website has lots of that information, including a list of the five different categories covered by legislation.
“A lot of it comes down to actual confidence,” he says. “It’s a Kiwi thing – we don’t like to complain or make a bit of a fuss. There’s also an element of being persistent and having your facts in order.”
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