What you can claim on a contractor website

The short version

Before anything goes on your website, ask: could I prove this today if someone asked? If not, change it or take it out. That applies to licences and memberships, prices and estimates, reviews and testimonials, photos and any promise about time, quality or results.

This guide explains the rules in plain terms. It is not legal advice; for anything specific to your business, check with a lawyer or the Commerce Commission's own guidance.

The rules in brief

The Fair Trading Act is administered by the Commerce Commission and explained for the public on the government's Consumer Protection site. Three parts of it apply directly to a website.

Misleading conduct. Businesses must not mislead or deceive people about what they sell. The consumer guidance is clear that it does not matter whether the trader intended to mislead, and that fine print cannot correct a misleading overall impression.

False representations. A business must not make false or misleading statements about things like price, quality, standard, origin or endorsements.

Unsubstantiated representations. A trader needs reasonable grounds for a claim at the time the claim is made. A claim made without evidence can breach the Act even if it later turns out to be true, unless a reasonable person would see it as obvious exaggeration. The Commission's message to businesses is short: if you cannot back it up, do not say it.

The Commission can warn traders or take them to court, and consumers can seek remedies through the Disputes Tribunal or the courts.

Licences and qualifications

Restricted building work must be designed or carried out, or supervised, by a Licensed Building Practitioner, and building.govt.nz tells homeowners they can ask to see an LBP's card or check the public register.

On your website:

• state licence classes exactly as the register shows them
• name the person who holds the licence, not the company as a whole
• link to the register so a client can check
• update the page if a licence lapses or a person leaves

Avoid blanket phrases such as fully licensed, fully qualified or certified tradespeople unless every person who will work on a job holds the licence or qualification in question. The same care applies to trade registrations for electricians, plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers.

Memberships, awards and guarantees

Show a membership or award only if you hold it now, and link to the body that issued it. Remove expired logos. If an association offers a guarantee scheme, describe it in the association's words and link to its terms; do not paraphrase it into something broader.

Prices, quotes and estimates

According to the Commerce Commission, a quote is an offer to do the work for a certain price; an estimate is the nearest price or range you can give, and it must be honest and based on reasonable grounds. It also expects limits and conditions on estimates to be stated clearly and any charge for giving a quote to be disclosed before the customer agrees.

On a website that means:

• use "from" prices only if a real job can be done for that price
• say what a price includes and excludes, and whether GST is included
• if you charge for site visits or design consultations, say so before people book
• never advertise a price you do not intend to honour

For residential building work, building.govt.nz explains that a builder must give a client the prescribed disclosure statement and checklist if asked, and for work of $30,000 or more including GST, whether asked or not. Your site can say that you provide these and link to the official checklist.

Reviews and testimonials

Reviews are claims made on your behalf, so the same rules apply:

• use only real feedback from real clients, with their agreement to publish the exact words
• do not edit a review to change its meaning
• do not write reviews yourself or ask staff, family or friends to post them
• do not show only selected stars or ratings in a way that gives a false overall picture
• do not copy reviews from Google or elsewhere onto your site as if they were written there

If you do not have reviews you can use, leave the section out. Your projects are better evidence anyway.

Photos and before and after pairs

A photo is a claim that this is what you did. Make sure:

• the work shown is yours, and your role is described accurately
• before and after pairs are taken from similar positions in similar light
• design renders and mood images are labelled as such
• retouching does not change the work itself

The project photo guide covers taking fair before and after pairs.

Promises about time, quality and results

Phrases like "on time, every time", "no hidden costs" or "the best builders in the region" are claims. If you cannot show they are true for every job, do not use them. Describe what you do instead: "We give a written programme with each quote and update it weekly once work starts" is a fact; "always on time" is a promise you may not keep.

Building.govt.nz also sets out consumer protections that apply after a build, including implied warranties that can protect homeowners for up to ten years and a 12-month period for the builder to fix defects. Avoid wording on your site that suggests clients have fewer rights than the law gives them.

A quick audit of your own site

Open your website and read it as a sceptical client would. For each claim, ask:

1. Is it true today?
2. Could I show evidence if asked?
3. Does the overall impression match the detail?
4. Would a reasonable person read it as a fact or as obvious exaggeration?

Change or remove anything that fails. Keep a note of the evidence behind claims you keep.