Act on the right to repent a sale of services after a cooling-off period

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This pamphlet is only valid when you are buying services. In connection with sale of goods, other rules apply. (Look up separate pamphlet)

Publisert: 10.09.2002 14:16

The Act on the right to repent a sale after a cooling-off period gives you a possibility to find a way out of an impulsive agreement without having to state the reason to the seller why you want to withdraw from the sales-agreement.

The Act applies to consumer sale, i.e. purchase of services intended for the buyer’s personal use, his household or acquaintances. The seller has to be a professional seller.

The Act on the right to repent after a cooling-off period applies to all sales-agreements on services entered elsewhere than at the seller’s or the representative’s permanent shop, or through distant sale.

According to the law there is a fortnight’s cooling-off period, but the period may in certain cases be extended to 3 months, in some cases, even 1 year.

The Act on the right to repent does not apply to sale of services at permanent shops or workshop.

The Act applies to

• Purchases made elsewhere than at a permanent shop when the purchase amount exceeds NOK 300 as e.g. door-to-door sales, fair sales, street sales, home parties or at the working place.

• Distant sales as mail-order sales, Internet sales, TV-shop or telephone sales In these cases, the Act applies irrespective of purchase price
• The Act also applies to agreements on insurance and loans, when it is the seller who calls you on his own initiative or when you enter the agreement elsewhere than at a permanent sales outlet

The Act does not apply to

• Erection of reals property

• Insurance- and loan agreements which have been entered into by a different kind of distant sale than telephone sale
• Contracts related to investment services
• Games and lottery services. All the same, the Act applies to games and lottery services when sold by telephone sale.

The seller shall give information

Prior to purchase the seller has an obligation to give information about the service’s most relevant qualities, the total costs with specification of the individual elements of the total price, the right to repent, essential agreement conditions, the seller’s name and address, how long the offer is valid, as well as the costs involved if the service is delivered by distant communication (e.g. Internet) if these expenses are not calculated in accordance with standard estimated value.

At the time of purchase the seller shall give the same information. In addition the seller shall give information about line of action and terms in connection with the right to repent, about guarantee- and service conditions, about terms applying to a possible termination, as well as a confirmation of the order. The information should be in writing on a sheet of paper or other permanent medium (e.g. e-mail).

All this information should be given in a clear and intelligible way. If the marketing is directed to Norwegian consumers, the information shall be given in Norwegian. The seller shall also tell whether the information is available in some other languages.

A repent form shall be available

The seller has an obligation to send or hand over a standard repent form as soon as possible after conclusion of the agreement. This form shall be completed in advance by the seller, and may be employed by the buyer in order to notify the seller that he wants to make use of his right to repent. The buyer does not, however, have to use the repent form. Notification to the seller shall be given in an appropriate way. A standard repent form can be obtained on applying to The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs, or you may download the form from the Ministry’s internet pages (see also details below on the repent form).

The cooling-off period

The cooling-off period takes effect from the day you have received the repent form and all the information that the seller has a legal obligation to give you. If you repent having bought the service, you must notify the seller before expiry of the time-limit.

If expensive services are involved, the repent form should be sent by registered mail.

The Act on the right to repent applies irrespective of what is otherwise agreed upon between you and the seller. Door-to-door salesmen may for instance not use a “contract” which shortens the cooling-off period or deprive you of your right to repent the buy within a fortnight.

When the repent form is not handed over

If the seller has failed to give you all the necessary information or has not sent/procured a repent form, the time limit would be up to 3 months. This rule also applies if the form is incorrectly completed by the seller.

If you all the same receive the form within 3 months after the service was agreed, the 14 days’ cooling-off period starts to run as from that day.

If the seller has failed to give you information about the right to repent, the cooling-off period is in any case 1 year.

Appurtenant credit agreements

Credit agreements which are entered at the same time as the purchase and where the credit is granted by the seller, or others as a result of an agreement between the seller and the credit provider, are discontinued simultaneously with employment of the repent right. Potential credit expenses which are paid, should then be re-allocated. The seller has an obligation to notify the credit provider immediately if you repent.

How to repent

To repent a service
If you make use of the right to repent, your obligation to pay for the service, as well as the seller’s obligation to produce the service will be discontinued. If the service has started, it shall be returned in cases where it is possible to do so. If you have paid part of, or the complete purchase price, the seller has an obligation to return this amount, irrespective of whether the service can be returned or not.

The parties can agree that the service shall start prior to expiry of the cooling-off period. This has to be agreed upon prior to the purchase and after all other information about the service has been given by the seller, hereunder also information about the right to repent. If you make use of the repent right in such cases, you will have to cover the costs of the work already done, as well as the materials employed before you repent. Such up-start cannot be agreed in connection with telephone sale or other kinds of sales arrangements made elsewhere than at permanent shops. In such cases the main rule applies, so that you always may claim the purchase price returned.

Electronically delivered services
If you order a service which is to be electronically delivered (e.g. computing programmes, files or others, which are loaded down from Internet or are delivered by e-mail) , it can be agreed that the repent right is to be discontinued if the service has been made available to you. This must, however, have been clearly and explicitly agreed If the service is a current performance, you will retain the repent right with regard to the part of the service which has not been delivered. It is important to mark that even if it is agreed that the repent right discontinues when you receive the service, you are entitled to complain if the product is defective or faulty.

Commodities received in connection with the service
If you, as part of the service, have received commodities directly from the seller, these commodities must be placed at the seller’s disposal where you first received them. The commodity should not be placed at the seller’s disposal until he has paid you back what you might possibly already have paid.

If you, as part of the service received goods via mail order, you yourself will have to return the article. If the seller has not arranged for suitable return package, it is all the same good enough to place the article at his disposal where you first received it.

If a service is ordered by mail order from a catalogue, the Internet or TV-shop, you must return the commodity before you get your money back from the seller. If the service is ordered through telephone sale, or sale elsewhere than permanent shop, you do not have to return the commodity until you have had the purchase price paid back

The Consumer Council can assist you

The local Consumer Council in your county can assist you if a dispute should arise concerning your rights from the Act on the right to repent after a cooling-off period. You will find the address in the telephone book or on the Consumer Council’s Internet pages (www.forbrukerradet.no).

The Consumer Disputes Commission

If the sellerside is unwilling to accept the solution proposed by the Consumer Council’s county office, most cases may be brought before the Consumer Disputes Commission (CDC), and you can obtain a decision there.

Be familiar with your rights!

If you want to know more about your rights as a consumer, we recommend you to read «Lov og rett for forbrukeren». In addition to what concerns the sales of goods, the book also deals with a number of other relations as for instance bank-, insurance-, transportation- and health services as well as pension- and social security services. You can order it from the local consumer office, the Consumer Council’s secretariat (see address below) or from the bookstore.

Repent form

Sellers of goods and services can order a repent form if they contact the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs, tel. 22 24 24 51/55. You can also download the form directly from their Internet pages and get some guidelines on how to fill in the form.

The Consumer Council
Internet: www.forbrukerradet.no
E-mail: post@forbrukerradet.no
P.O. Box 4595 Nydalen
0404 Oslo
Tel.: 23 40 05 00
Fax: 23 40 50 01