Paragon New Zealand
Terms and Conditions
Paragon New Zealand.com Limited (“Paragon”, “we”, “us” or “our”)
How These Terms Apply
These Terms are made up of:
- 1. General Terms; and
- 2. the Service-Specific Terms applicable to the instruction.
The service sections are:
- Private Investigation and Tracing Services
- Repossession Services
- Process Serving and Field Attendance Services
Only the General Terms and relevant Service-Specific Terms apply.
By instructing Paragon, continuing an instruction or accepting services, the Client agrees to these Terms together with any quotation, rate schedule, service agreement or other written fee arrangement.
Back to contentsGeneral Terms
1. Application and Priority
These Terms apply to all services provided by Paragon.
Specific written quotations, service agreements and fee arrangements prevail to the extent of inconsistency.
2. Fees and GST
Fees may be hourly, fixed-fee, quoted or otherwise agreed.
All fees and charges are exclusive of GST unless expressly stated otherwise.
3. Payment
Invoices are payable within seven (7) days unless otherwise agreed.
Paragon may require a deposit, advance payment or retainer.
Work may be suspended where invoices are overdue or retainers exhausted.
4. Overdue Accounts and Recovery Costs
Paragon may charge interest on overdue accounts at a rate not exceeding 15% per annum calculated daily.
The Client is liable for reasonable collection and legal costs incurred recovering overdue accounts, to the extent permitted by law.
5. Disbursements and Third-Party Costs
The Client is responsible for reasonable mileage, travel, accommodation, database charges, agents, contractors, process serving and other external costs reasonably incurred.
6. Legal Representatives and External Providers
Paragon may, where authorised, arrange solicitors, barristers, process servers, investigators, expert witnesses, enforcement agents and other external providers.
The Client will be charged the applicable Paragon quoted, agreed or scheduled fee for those services.
The amount charged may include administration, coordination, file management, professional attendance and commercial margin and may therefore differ from or exceed the amount charged to Paragon by the external provider.
An external provider's invoice to Paragon does not determine Paragon's charge to the Client unless expressly agreed.
7. Client Information and Authority
The Client warrants lawful authority to instruct Paragon and that information supplied is accurate, complete, lawful and not misleading.
8. Employees, Agents and Contractors
Paragon may use suitably qualified employees, investigators, contractors, agents and specialist providers.
9. Confidentiality
Information obtained through an instruction will be treated as confidential subject to operational and legal requirements.
10. Privacy
The parties must comply with the Privacy Act 2020 and applicable codes.
11. Reports and Work Product
Reports, photographs, recordings and other work product may be used for the intended purpose of the instruction.
Reports must not be materially altered or presented as Paragon's work after alteration.
12. Third-Party Reliance
Paragon accepts no responsibility to a third party relying on its work without Paragon's written agreement.
13. No Legal Advice
Paragon is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Operational comments regarding legal procedures are not a substitute for independent legal advice.
14. No Guarantee
Paragon will exercise reasonable skill and care but does not guarantee a particular outcome.
15. Cancellation
The Client remains liable for work performed, committed resources, third-party costs and reasonable cancellation charges.
16. Suspension and Termination
Paragon may decline, suspend or terminate instructions that are unlawful, improper, unsafe, unsupported, unpaid or otherwise expose Paragon or its personnel to unreasonable legal, safety or reputational risk.
17. Indemnity
The Client indemnifies Paragon against reasonable losses arising directly from inaccurate information, unlawful instructions or lack of Client authority, except to the extent caused by Paragon's negligence, wilful misconduct or breach of law.
18. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Paragon is not liable for indirect, consequential or special loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or other economic loss.
Where legally permissible and fair and reasonable in a business-to-business engagement, Paragon's aggregate liability is limited to fees paid for the relevant instruction.
19. Consumer Guarantees Act
Where both parties are in trade and it is legally permissible and fair and reasonable, the parties agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 will not apply.
20. Set-Off
Paragon may deduct properly owing fees, disbursements, interest and other charges from monies held or received for the Client to the extent permitted by law.
21. Assignment
The Client may not assign an engagement without Paragon's consent.
Paragon may transfer an engagement within its associated group of companies where reasonably required and where this does not materially prejudice the Client.
22. Non-Reliance
The Client acknowledges that it has not relied on representations not contained in these Terms or another written agreement.
23. Force Majeure
Paragon is not responsible for delay or failure resulting from events reasonably beyond its control.
24. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by New Zealand law.
25. Changes to Terms
The version applying when the instruction is accepted will apply to that instruction unless otherwise agreed.
Private Investigation and Tracing Services
These terms apply together with the General Terms, which apply to every instruction.
1. Scope
Paragon may undertake private investigations, fraud enquiries, surveillance, tracing, intelligence gathering, interviews, field enquiries, evidence gathering and related investigative services.
2. Lawful Purpose
The Client warrants that the instruction is for a lawful and legitimate purpose.
Paragon will not accept instructions for harassment, intimidation, stalking, circumvention of protection or non-contact orders or another unlawful purpose.
3. No Guarantee
Investigative work is inherently uncertain.
Paragon does not guarantee that a person will be located, surveillance will identify relevant activity, information will be obtained or any particular evidence or outcome will result.
4. Evidence and Admissibility
Paragon will use reasonable care when obtaining and documenting evidence but cannot guarantee admissibility or the weight ultimately given to that evidence by a Court, Tribunal, insurer, regulator or other decision-maker.
5. Surveillance
Surveillance is subject to operational, legal, privacy, safety, environmental and practical constraints.
Investigators may alter, suspend or discontinue surveillance where continuing would be unsafe, unlawful, disproportionate or likely to compromise the operation.
6. Tracing
Tracing is based on information lawfully available when enquiries are undertaken.
No particular trace result is guaranteed.
7. Client Restrictions
The Client must immediately notify Paragon of any Court order, protection order, non-contact arrangement, statutory restriction or other limitation affecting the instruction.
8. Use of Information
The Client is responsible for ensuring information obtained through the investigation is used for a lawful and proper purpose.
9. Scheduling and Cancellation
Cancellation charges may apply where investigators or other personnel have been specifically allocated and the instruction is cancelled or materially changed at short notice.
Repossession Services
These terms apply together with the General Terms, which apply to every instruction.
1. Scope
Paragon may undertake repossession, asset recovery, voluntary surrender, asset location and related services.
2. Client's Right to Repossess
The Client warrants that it has a lawful and enforceable right to repossess or recover the relevant asset and that all creditor-side contractual and statutory prerequisites have been satisfied.
3. Asset Identification
The Client is responsible for providing accurate information identifying the asset.
4. Changes Affecting Repossession
The Client must immediately advise Paragon of any payment, settlement, repayment arrangement, dispute, complaint, hardship application, Court proceeding, injunction, stay, insolvency event or other circumstance affecting the right to repossess.
5. Compliance
Paragon will undertake repossession activity only where it considers the action lawful and appropriate.
Nothing requires an agent, employee or contractor to breach a statutory or regulatory obligation applying directly to that person.
6. Access and Safety
An attendance may be declined, postponed or discontinued due to safety, breach-of-peace concerns, access, authority, ownership, asset identification, competing interests or another legal or operational concern.
7. No Guarantee
Paragon does not guarantee that an asset will be located, accessible or successfully recovered or that it will be in any particular condition.
8. Fees and Costs
The Client is responsible for the agreed fee together with applicable mileage, travel, additional agents, towing, transport, locksmiths, storage, waiting time, after-hours attendance and other costs.
9. Unsuccessful Repossessions
Attempted, unsuccessful or aborted repossessions remain chargeable where work, resources or expenditure have been committed.
10. Third-Party Property
Paragon may rely on asset identification information supplied by the Client while taking reasonable care to confirm the relevant asset.
11. Post-Repossession Obligations
Unless separately instructed and accepted, the Client remains responsible for post-repossession notices, valuations, sale, disposal, proceeds, accounting and other creditor obligations.
12. Cancellation
Fees and committed costs remain payable where a repossession is cancelled after work, allocation or expenditure has commenced.
Process Serving and Field Attendance Services
These terms apply together with the General Terms, which apply to every instruction.
1. Scope
Paragon may undertake process serving, document delivery, field calls, address attendances, occupancy enquiries, demand delivery and related services.
2. Client Instructions
The Client must provide complete and accurate documents and notify Paragon of relevant deadlines, Court requirements, personal-service requirements, special methods and known safety concerns.
3. No Guarantee
Paragon does not guarantee location, contact, access, cooperation or successful service.
4. Service Requirements
The Client is responsible for determining the legally required method and timing of service and obtaining legal advice where necessary.
5. Reports, Affidavits and Certificates
Reports, affidavits and certificates will record facts actually observed or properly verified by the attending person.
6. Validity of Service
Paragon does not guarantee that a particular service attempt or method will ultimately be accepted as valid by a Court, Tribunal or other authority.
7. Field Calls
A field call is limited to attendance, attempted contact, agreed enquiries, conveying a message or documents and reporting observations.
A field call does not guarantee payment, acknowledgment, cooperation or any other outcome.
Unless expressly instructed and reported as formal service, delivery or leaving of documents during a field call does not constitute confirmation of legal service.
8. Additional Attempts and Addresses
Additional attempts, addresses, urgent attendance, after-hours work, mileage, travel, waiting time and other disbursements may be charged separately unless expressly included.
9. Safety
An attendance may be postponed or discontinued where there is a reasonable safety, legal, identification or operational concern.
10. Cancellation
Fees and costs reasonably incurred remain payable where work has commenced or personnel have been allocated.
Acceptance
By instructing Paragon or continuing to instruct Paragon after being provided with access to these Terms, the Client agrees to these Terms.
Version: 15 September 2026