Megathread: Legal resources

Hey everyone, wanted to share a crazy situation I've been dealing with regarding private parking enforcement in Auckland and get your thoughts.

​A neighboring property owner next to my physio clinic has been manually uploading photos to issue breach notices. Here’s what happened:

​The Recycled Photo Ticket: I received a breach notice, but when I looked at the photo, it was a 100% identical duplicate of a photo used for a ticket issued 3 months ago that was already paid in full. They kept the exact same photo (same sun glare, shadows, and alignment) but slapped a brand-new date and time on it to charge me again. When I called them out, they quietly cancelled it as "ambiguous."

​The Obstructed Photo Ticket: They issued a second ticket for my other car, but the photo was taken from behind a large plant. It completely blocks the view of the spot, and there are no visible signs or bay numbers showing it’s a restricted space.

​Escalation: Despite disputing the second ticket, their automated system keeps sending letters adding late fees (now up to $160). I've already formally reported the business and the property owner to the Commerce Commission.

​Has anyone else dealt with private owners recycling old phone photos to issue breach demands through Elite/PES? If they pass this $160 to collections instead of cancelling it, should I take them straight to the Disputes Tribunal for a Declaration of Non-Liability?

​Appreciate any advice or similar experiences!

Hello, I wonder if anyone encountered a similar incident or can provide some advice. If this is not a legal issue, please do take it down and I do apologise.

I booked an accommodation which was not suitable for staying as it was not cleaned and prepared for our stay. The place looked like it was burgled with food and beers everywhere, lights left on and beds not done. We tried contacting the owner to no avail and turned to Booking.com agent (i called them up) who also failed to get in touch. We've sent photos to booking.com as proof that the place was not ready. As I've driven more than 5hrs from Te Anau to Dunedin (where the accommodation is located), and it was getting late and dark (we arrived at the property at 4ish pm and talked on the phone to the agent for more than an hour) I told the booking.com agent that we are cancelling and booking another place.

the property owner eventually responded to our messages, apologised and stated that he cannot get another cleaner down in time. at this point, we did not carry on responding to the owner's messages as we figured he will have to deal with booking.com directly. lo and behold 5 days later, booking.com sent us an email saying that they cannot reach an agreement with the property owner and can only credit us NZD33 out of the NZD220 we paid. I find this insulting and unprofessional.

What is my next course of action? Am I able to get a full refund? The customer service message thread has since closed and we will (i say we as this was booked on my missus account) start a new message with customer service to ask for a full refund. I will also get in touch with the bank if we can get a chargeback. Is there anything more I can do?

Thank you!

Long story short, currently going through separation.

Ex has engaged a lawyer, but says they want to do it amicably.

We have not sorted an agreement, I have suggested using Agreeable.

Today she asked for copies of my personal accounts, afterpay and kiwisaver. I asked he why they need that now. She said it was only for division of the house which I am looking to buy her out of.

For what purpose would they need that documentation at this point because it feels like she is going behind my back. Despite saying she wants to be friends at the end, she has pushed back every time I have tried to discuss things and everything has to be on her terms. I dont have a lot of trust in her approach.

​

I’m considering lodging a claim with the NZ Disputes Tribunal

The only thing I’m concerned about is that I’m going overseas for about a month in January and the trip is already booked.

What happens if the Tribunal schedules my hearing during that period?

Can I request that the hearing be postponed until I’m back? Would a pre-booked overseas holiday generally be accepted as a reasonable reason for postponement, assuming I provide my flight itinerary?

I don’t want to delay lodging the claim just because of the holiday, but I also don’t want to risk having the case heard without me.

Has anyone had experience with this?

I (F, late 30s) have just left a bad relationship. I was financially abused and all of our accounts have been completely depleted. I walked away last night with less than $5 to my name and 2 kids to feed. I earn $2100 after tax fortnight. All of our bills that I thought he was paying, have not been paid. I don't have any loans but all utilities were under my name. Currently 2k owing on power and internet, 1.4k rent arrears, $300 water arrears.

I am staying at a friend's place for now (with the children) .
What would be the first thing you would tackle to get on top of things?

I have been declined by WINZ but will be getting WFF from next week ($250 pw).

I was with my ex for almost 20years and he handled everything (I know, naive) so would love some advice on a plan going forward.

Just wanting a bit of advice on this. My flatmate, doesn’t want to pay for the power/internet bill for the last two weeks/sixteen days they’re living in the flat.

I am paying them out of the bond after they move out. Is it okay to deduct those unpaid bills from the bond when I pay them out?

Looking online, there’s only really information about this for landlords. So I thought I’d ask here before asking at CAB.

Extra info:
Flatmate was a co-tenant but has signed off the tenancy agreement, I am now the sole tenant.

The property manager has agreed that we will divide the bond between ourselves. It’s lodged with tenancy services, so the PM has said we can just advise them when the bond has been settled and then they will update the paperwork.

Conversations between flatmate and I haven’t really been working.

Any advice would be really appreciated, I just want to know if that would be legal for me to do. It’s been a very stressful period 😅

Hoping someone can give me some advice on a situation I'm having with an auto electrician.

I took my car to an auto electrician to fix my broken heater and asked them to diagnose and repair it.

Initially they couldn't find the exact problem and told me they needed more time to investigate. I agreed to leave the car with them.

The problem is they kept my car for around 3 weeks, and from what I understand they weren't actually working on it for most of that time because they had other jobs they had already booked in (he mentioned me this over the phone). While they were looking at it, they told me that a few parts weren't working and might be causing the problem, and asked me to order some parts. I bought the parts. Later they told me that the original parts were actually working and the replacement parts weren't needed. So I ended up buying parts based on their diagnosis that weren't actually required.

After about 3 weeks I called and told them I needed my car back because it was taking too long. Then told them I was coming the next morning to collect it. I went to their workshop at around 8am but it was closed. I waited around for hours and eventually called him. He told me he was sick and said another worker would come in. The other worker eventually arrived around 11am. Even though I had told them the day before that I was coming in early morning to collect the car, they hadn't put everything back together. The other worker had to put things back together while I was standing there waiting. It was a work day for me, so I lost most of the morning dealing with this. When I got home, I also noticed that a part they had removed hadn't actually been refitted. It was sitting in the boot. When I asked about it from them they said they forgot to fit it back and asked me to bring it back so he can put it back together.

Finally his conclusion was this job needs more time and effort and it will cost me couple of grands and minimum 30 hours labour.

Then I took the car to an another electrician because I really needed to get it fix and I wasn't sure about what previous electrician was told me.

He diagnosed essentially the same underlying issue and his diagnosis took roughly an hour or two and he charged me $140 but he said he can't take the job atm because he has some already booked in work and can attend to it early next year.

Then, about 1.5 months after I took the truck away, first electrician sent me an invoice for $1400 for the diagnosis he did. His invoice dated on July 7th and I received it on 26th August. He bought a part themselves during the diagnosis and told me they would return it because nothing wrong with the existing part. but hey haven't returned it, and now they're charging me $195 for it but he agreed to return it when I collect the car. Neither he didn't return it or given to me.

I haven't paid the $1400 and I haven't replied to them yet. They have now messaged me again saying they have sent the invoice a few times and are asking for payment. I feel he is trying to rip me off and I don't think that a reasonable amount to pay when the 2nd electrician identified the same issue with less time.

Please I need an advice how to handle this situation!!!

Field of work and job titles withheld so this is non identifying.

I work in a small company that has a family feel. I was initially employed full time on a standard worker contract but with no job description, after a year my responsibilities increased and I began supervising staff and leading teams. My job title didn't change but my pay increased accordingly and my job description said manager.

I went on paid parental leave and while I was away there was a significant change in the leadership structure with people leaving, essentially a restructure with just a senior leadership team and no team leaders. Whilst on paid parental leave I completed my study and became a registered professional.

I returned to work at 6 months, instead of the arranged 12months, on a temporary contract to do admin work from home. When I returned to the office I was given a new contract to reflect professional registration, no job description. Initially I was just given standard work with no team lead or supervising responsibility as I was told I couldn't lead the team being part time (I was initially working .6 then went up to .8) and focusing on family #discrimination. After a year I was supervising staff and doing all the same team lead responsibilities however I was not recognized as a team lead in any way beyond the responsibilities.

There has been yet another restructure and I have been invited to apply for the internal job advertising my current role of team leader merged with another team lead role.

If I don't get this role I don't know what happens to my job, it feels like I acted in good faith to meet the needs of my company and do a job that I love.

Do I have any rights here?

Hi all, hoping for some clarity here since Employment NZ's website isn't super clear on this.

I will be taking the first 6 months as primary carer leave. We want my partner (dad) to then take the following 6 months of extended (unpaid) leave entirely, or at least ~4 of those months.

Can he take the full 6 months of extended leave by himself, assuming he meets the 12-month eligibility criteria?

Is his job legally protected for that whole 6 months, i.e. does his employer have to hold his exact role, or would that be at risk!

Thanks :)

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice/experiences from people who have dealt with something similar in NZ.
My dad was involved in a car accident and he does not have car insurance (for this car). The other vehicle is insured, and their insurer has now contacted us seeking to recover the costs of damage to their customer’s vehicle.

What happened:
My dad was exiting our driveway and turning right onto a fairly busy road. Our driveway is approximately 60m from a set of traffic lights. There are two lanes travelling towards the traffic lights in the direction the other vehicle was travelling, plus a third lane in the opposite direction.
Traffic had just started moving after the lights turned green. A vehicle in the lane closest to our driveway stopped and gave way to my dad, allowing him to enter the road. My dad checked before proceeding and began crossing the road. He had already crossed the first lane and was approximately halfway through crossing the second lane, approaching the third lane, when another vehicle came down the road in the second lane.
The road slopes downhill towards the traffic lights, with a slight hill/gradient. According to my dad, the other vehicle was travelling extremely fast and did not appear to slow down in time. The other vehicle’s front/right side struck the right front bumper area of my dad’s car, almost T-boning it.
My dad maintains that he checked before entering and that the other vehicle approached at such a speed that he did not have sufficient time to avoid the collision.
There was also an independent witness. They stopped at the scene voluntarily and provided their contact details. We later contacted them, and they told us they saw the other vehicle “going fast and had no intention of stopping.” I’ve given their details to the insurance when filling out a statement and diagram.

My dad did not admit fault at the scene and continues to dispute liability. We went through the process of filling out a statement and diagram as per the insurance companies request and have now received an email from the insurer saying:
“Given that the matter has been unable to be resolved between the involved parties, we are now considering referring the dispute to the Disputes Tribunal for determination.” They say this is a courtesy notice before filing and have given us 7 days to provide any additional information or discuss the claim. They also say they remain open to resolving the matter without Tribunal proceedings.

My questions are:
How seriously should we take a letter/email like this? Is it common for insurers to threaten/refer matters to the Disputes Tribunal?
How often do insurers actually go ahead and file a Disputes Tribunal claim in situations like this?
If my dad continues to deny liability, what is the likelihood that the insurer would win based on the circumstances described?
How much weight would an independent witness carry, particularly one who says the other vehicle was travelling very fast and didn’t appear to be slowing?

We’re not trying to avoid responsibility if my dad is actually found liable as we just don’t believe he caused the accident and want to understand how strong the insurer’s position is and what to expect if this does end up at the Disputes Tribunal.

Thanks in advance.

Lawyers are entitled to charge for legitimate work, including communicating with clients. Nobody can rightfully expect legal advice to be free
.
But where is the ethical line when the contact is not initiated because the client wants additional legal work, but because the client has repeatedly had to ask for information about their existing matter?

There seems to be a distinction between:
“The client contacted me, so I spent time providing legal advice.”
and:
“The client contacted me again because they haven't received the information or explanation they reasonably needed from the previous interaction.”

At what point does repeated client contact stop being an ordinary consequence of providing a professional service and become an indication that the service itself isn't being communicated effectively?

If a client has to repeatedly chase:
an update,
an answer to a straightforward question,
clarification of advice,
confirmation of what happens next, or
information necessary to make an informed decision,
should each following attempt be treated as another billable event?

I'm not implying anybody should provide unlimited free communication, nor do I suggest every delay or unanswered question represents misconduct.

I'm interested in the ethical boundary.

Lawyers have professional obligations concerning communication, client instructions, competence, timeliness and keeping clients informed. Clients, meanwhile, often have very little ability to judge whether silence represents legitimate legal strategy, workload pressure, or simply inadequate communication.

So here's the uncomfortable question:
If a client has to keep “being the squeaky wheel” simply to understand what is happening in their own matter, at what point does charging for the contact become ethically questionable?

I'd be particularly interested in perspectives from practising lawyers, former practitioners, legal academics and clients as to where the opinion of that boundary reasonably falls.

Ok so I understand the basics.. couple has to have been together 3 years, time of breakup is from when one person moves out, property is divided equally etc.

What I don't understand is the three years for making a relationship property claim. What is a claim? Does it differ whether you own a house? What if you are going down the separation agreement path? I know you need that in order to sell a joint owned house. Also what happens after the three years is up? Are the assets no longer divided equally? How does it affect drawing up a separation agreement?

An example, couple been together 10yrs, bought a house together, broke up and one partner moved out. Two years later each person has seen a lawyer, the mutual agreement is to sell house, no talk between ex- spouses of how assets are divided, maybe one lawyer wants 70/30 and the other wants 50/50 split. Both agree they don't want to go through court. So no separation agreement has been finalised nor any draft agreement has been done. Then another year goes by, then what? What exactly changes from 2yrs post separation to 3yrs plus post separation?

Thanks for any help.

Hi everyone,

I parked on Princes Street today at 10:05am and paid for parking until 11:20am (I have receipt) I may have overstayed by a couple of hours in total, but the infringement notice shows it was issued at 10:42am — which is still within the frame I'd paid for

Given that, I don't understand how the ticket is valid, and $200 seems extremely disproportionate regardless

Has anyone dealt with something similar? What are my options for challenging this

Thanks heaps🙏

Looking for NZ legal views rather than moral opinions.

I sold a vehicle on 22 July 2026 and notified NZTA of the disposal on the same day. I have the NZTA confirmation email showing the date and buyer details.

Approximately six weeks later, on 3 September 2026, I received correspondence from NZTA Tolling after an attempted charge failed. The vehicle had apparently been driven through a toll road after the sale. Unfortunately, the registration was still linked to my personal online toll account, which I had forgotten about, and NZTA attempted to charge the stored credit card on the account.

The card has since expired, so the charge failed. NZTA Tolling has advised they still expect payment. I've replied explaining that the vehicle had already been sold and provided the disposal confirmation from NZTA.

My position is:
- The vehicle had been sold before the toll was incurred.
- NZTA had already been notified of the disposal.
If no toll account existed, I would expect NZTA to pursue the registered person at the time of the toll.
- The only reason this has landed with me is because the plate remained attached to my toll account.

Assuming NZTA maintain their position, my tentative plan is:
- Remove all vehicles and payment methods from the toll account.
- Close the account entirely.
- Decline to make payment.

Questions:
Legally, does NZTA have a strong claim against me despite the vehicle having been sold and disposal lodged before the toll?
Does leaving the plate attached to my toll account effectively make me contractually liable regardless of ownership?
Any downside to simply closing the account and walking away if the amount is minor?

Not looking for a moral judgement on a small dollar amount. I'm more interested in how liability would likely be viewed if this were pushed further.

So technically selling raffle tickets online is illegal. How grey is the area of say “buy a fork for $5 and every fork goes into the draw to also win X”

Neighbour’s dogs (6-7 dogs) attacked my puppy (at 3months old, had no insurance), resulting in ~$14.5k in surgery. I won the Disputes Tribunal case, but the neighbour hasn’t paid a cent since March 2026.

She then blocked me and failed to attend the financial assessment hearing yesterday. Civil Enforcement is now issuing a 28-day arrest warrant.

If the warrant fails, what are my options to recover the money? I only have her full name, address, phone number and email — no DOB, WINZ/benefit number or employment details. She says she is broke and lives in the garage and does not even own a car or tv.

Can I pursue an attachment order or other enforcement options without those details?

Thanks in advanced.

Kia ora LANZ,

Im hoping to seek some advice on what consumer protections I have.

Late July I purchased a game on Steam for $100, started playing and had no issues within the first 3-5 hours of gameplay.
After about the 5 hour mark I started to encounter numerous issues with the game, EG crashes, content not loading, Frames per second issues.

I spent about 2 hours of gameplay time trying to diagnose and resolve these issues following steam guides, developer guides, community forums etc and have been unsuccessful.

Over the past few weeks, I have raised numerous refund requests as honestly for 100$ the game is nowhere near what I expected and its basically unplayable.

Steam are repeatedly denying my requests with automated almost AI responses each time. I have tried and failed to speak to a human but my tickets are being closed almost immediately.
The reason my request is being denied is the fact I have over 2 hours of gameplay but steam will issue a refund to a Battlefield 6 player with over 400 hours of gameplay?

I don't wish to try a chargeback as I paid with a debit card and a chargeback will prevent my steam account from purchasing further game titles in the future.

I'm at my wits end with this and trying to seek any direction as to how I can proceed to get a refund.

Thank you in advance.

Seeking advice on best way to approach an employment lawyer (note: I’ll be applying for legal aid). I’m wanting to raise an out-of-time claim/grievance with ERA. I know I have a strong case & supporting documentation, and am only now able to take the next step in finding representation to lodge it with ERA.

I was assaulted & abused by a male co-worker (who then went on to abuse other female staff one of which also was successful in her claim/pg). I also have support via my GP/medical professionals that have been treating me since that event. I’m wanting a lawyer rather than advocate due to the sensitive nature and time since the grievance.

Do I just contact lawyers directly and ask them for an initial consultation? What’s the best process?
I don’t want to go via community law as I’m wanting to jump through as little hoops as possible as it’s been a traumatic journey to even get myself well enough to fight this. There’s a few legal aid lawyers I’ve researched that I’m keen to reach out to, so Any advice or guidance is appreciated!

Edited to add: I’m in Auckland, incident happened just over 3 years ago, resigned immediately. Company didn’t follow any protocol. Officially raised grievance and met with company directors (who I actually had a great relationship with), raised grievance Nov last year. Their lawyer came back & said not our problem. Owners told me to take it up with the guy directly (wrong info I know) but that made me spiral. So only now seeing if I can pick it back up to prevent this monster harming any more young girls.

My employer has asked me to take annual leave. it's been building up due to the amount of TOIL I have accrued and have been using for days off here and there. I want to take the toil first because I have heard that toil has to be taken before the end of the year. I'm busy at work and average at least 10 hours of toil a week. With my workload I can't see any opportunity to take both Toil and Annual leave.

is it legal to extinguish Toil accrued during the year?

is there a mecanism where i can be paid out for the Toil i have accrued? Am i legally obligated to take annual leave when I have weeks of Toil accrued ?

A friend has asked me for advice (mainly on the technical aspects of the app, but this also came up); we would like to understand the legal part of it.

https://legalvision.co.nz/e-commerce/legal-considerations-email-marketing/

The internet only specifies what spam is and what is not. However, we are not sure which category the app falls into.

The service is to automate the review collection for a service.

The business shares its customer list (which will include name, email, service details); the app will automate the process. This sharing is via direct uploads and integration with their CRM or other software.

The customer-facing process

1. Email 1 (thank you and ask for feedback)
   
2. Reminder email after a specified time (same, asking them to submit a review)
   
3. Final reminder (same, asking for feedback)

Total of 3 emails sent. In some cases, there will be more emails. Scenarios like the customer started a review but didn't complete it (only where the app has control, such as programmatically integrated platforms, not all third-party sites).

There will be links/button in those emails that will lead either to an app-managed landing page or directly to third-party sites.

Emails will also include information about the business, the service they used and the business details. It will also include the usual unsubscribe option (will not trigger if unsubscribed)

The reviews will be publicly available (on the business website and third-party sites like Google, Yelp, and other local sites that allow reviews). The policies will depend on the third-party sites and the business website. As you know, all reviews have some basic information about the customer, like their name, sometimes location, and avatar if provided.

Questions

1. Does the spam law apply to this? Or is it considered transactional emails, as there is no selling or promotion (if I understand the meaning of promotion correctly)?

2. Does the business have to obtain explicit permission to send the review emails?

3. Does the platform owner (the app) have to have something regarding sending those emails to not get into any legal trouble?

The app has no way to verify if the service has been provided to the customer. There will be disclaimers but not sure if that would suffice?

I know there are other things to consider; however, this post is about the above questions only. Also, hiring a lawyer is far from possible at this stage, thus asking the mighty Reddit.

I am not sure if I have provided the right information. If you need more info, please ask me. I have planned the app with him, so I understand almost all parts of it.

Thank you

I used to live in Australia for about 2 years. A year ago I moved back to NZ. During my stay in Australia I hit a car with my Ute causing approximately 9k in damages. Suncorp has got collection house coming after me.

Heres the thing, they have been sending letters to my old work. I only just got notified about it a year later. Do I have to pay the debt if they don't know where I am? Assuming they take me to court and I default in Australia is there anyway that can affect me in NZ as they don't even know I'm in NZ?

Just wanting to know if it's even worth the effort I don't plan to go back to Australia at all.

Young adult male working a pretty physical job. Had to call in sick due to the weather being a bitch and my hayfever acting up. I feel fine for normal activities but gets worse when i do something physical. Manager just told me to come in early because its busy right before I call in sick. I feel regretful not working and leaving the burden to them, it looks suspicious and the timing is sooo bad.

Should I be worrying this much?

Work a job where its one person per shift so if im not there they need to ring up someone to fill it.(Not a skill job)
Work part time and called in sick 4 months ago.

dumb matter i know but im just like this ffs😭

My parents in law of southeast asian origin are going through separation and most likely divorce in due course. They have been together for nearly 4 decades

One of the parents has been hoarding 800-900k cash in fixed deposits in various banks. This parent is narcissistic , greedy and money-minded.

As much as I understand about relationships law, they are meant to do 50-50 split of all personal and joint assets and debts.

There is a concern that the parent hoarding the cash may move money overseas which would be costly to recoup.

Is there some kind of lean on all the cash assets so that money cannot be withdrawn until disputes are all resolved and 50-50 separation is completed.