Reel RULES
KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T CATCH BEFORE CASTING AWAY
Acourier delivered your 7kg parcel to your home and left it in front of your cat flap. This meant your cat could not get outside and as a result, she soiled the carpet. You emailed the courier requesting they cover the cost of the carpet cleaning, but they replied they were not responsible for any “consequential loss”. They then suggested you take it up with the company who sent the parcel. You think that’s wrong. What do I think?
I’m on your side. But it may well be that the courier firm has legally contracted out of any “consequential loss”. In my view, it is certainly not the fault of the company who sent the parcel. You could take the courier to the Disputes Tribunal but I think that would be a waste of resources for you and the tribunal. I would be more inclined to send your local newspaper a picture of where the parcel was left and ask them to make up their own minds. You might even send it to Fair Go. Sometimes the only way with these firms is to embarrass them. I think it’s fine for companies to contract out “consequential loss” if it means they’ll be up for hundreds of thousands of dollars because of a tiny mistake. But in this case, they should simply see you right for a cleaning bill.
With summer coming up, you thought you’d teach your kids about sea-fishing. What are the rules regarding taking fish from the sea?
You don’t need a fishing licence to take fish from the sea, as you do rivers. But there are limits as to the size and number of fish you can take recreationally. These limits vary from region to region, so I recommend you visit the Ministry for Primary Industries website. It will tell you about the limits for various fish species in your region. You can also get the fishing rules for your area by installing a free smartphone app − NZ Fishing Rules. If you know what species of fish you’re likely to catch, you can send a free text to 9889, with the name of the species, and you’ll get back a text detailing the size and limit number. Something else to know is that you can’t fish in a Department of Conservation marine reserve. To find out where those reserves are, go to the DoC website.