Consumer rules a tree business meets in Ireland: doorstep sales, reviews and small claims

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers sales to consumers, meaning households, in Ireland. The Commission says its own business page is not legal advice either and points to independent legal advice for a firm's exact duties.

The four topics in one table

Topic	What the Commission page says
Doorstep sales	For a service bought on the doorstep, the withdrawal period is 30 days from entering the contract, with no reason needed. The consumer page on changing your mind gives 30 days for a visit the buyer did not arrange. For a service bought online or by phone it is 14 days
Information before a contract	A trader gives the business name, address and phone number, the total price including VAT, and whether there is a legal right to cancel. Doorstep and distance sales need more, including an email address and payment and performance details
Reviews and advertising	Advertising is misleading if it contains false or deceptive information or leaves out important information. Businesses must take reasonable steps to confirm that reviews they display come from real consumers
Disputes and small claims	For a claim of €2,000 or less against an Irish business the small claims procedure is named. Claims of up to €5,000 are named for businesses based elsewhere in the EU

Doorstep sales and the right to cancel

The business guidance says a consumer can cancel a service bought online, by phone or on the doorstep, and calls the period a withdrawal period. It sets the period at 14 days from entering the contract, or 30 days for doorstep sales. Where the consumer cancels before the service is fully performed, the page says the consumer still pays for the period in which it was supplied, so a full refund is not always due. Where the service has been fully performed inside the 14 days, the right to cancel is gone.

The same page lists cases where the right does not apply: contracts agreed in a physical store, customised services, services provided free of charge, contracts where the consumer agreed to lose the right, and urgent repairs or maintenance. It says that a trader who does not tell the consumer about the right to cancel extends the period to 12 months from the original expiry date. The consumer page adds that a trader must refund within 14 days of cancellation, using the original payment method unless agreed otherwise. It also says off-premises contracts under €50 do not need the full set of pre-contract information.

Services that fall short

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022, as the Commission describes it, a service must match the contract and any advertisement, be supplied with reasonable care and use materials that suit the purpose. A consumer has the right to have an issue resolved for up to 6 years. A fix must be free, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. The consumer page lists when a contract can be ended: the business lacks the skills, the service is impossible as agreed, the business is unwilling to resolve the issue in a reasonable time, or the service or materials are unsafe. A refund then follows without undue delay and at most 14 days after the consumer makes contact.

Reviews and advertising

The misleading advertising page says the law covers adverts, catalogues, websites and social media, and covers claims about reviews. Its examples include a false impression about a service, a sale price when the item is not on sale, and false consumer reviews. It says businesses cannot pay for false or misleading reviews or post fake reviews themselves. The page names the Commission as the enforcer and the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland as a body for complaints about adverts. The wider set of country rules is on the page about reviews and advertising rules.

Disputes with tradespeople

The Commission says problems with home improvement services are one of the biggest drivers of calls to its helpline each year, and that it wrote to traders with guidance in 2025. The list of unfair and misleading practices it gives has poor workmanship, deposits paid for work never done, delays and no-shows, and repair promises not met. For consumers it suggests a written record of what was agreed: price, estimated completion date, payment structure and a description of the work. The page names remedies of repair, termination with a refund, or a price reduction. It lists tradespeople as including contractors, handymen, roofers and any business providing a home improvement service, and does not mention tree work by name.

Small claims

The Commission pages name the small claims procedure for claims of €2,000 or less, run in the District Court, and say a claim above that goes through a normal court case that usually needs legal advice. The Courts Service wording is set out on the page about small claims limits. For checking who is behind a business, see checking a company.