§ 11. What the contract must contain for home sales
When a seller has come to your home, to your workplace or approached you at a stand, you must get the contract in writing. It must contain all the information in § 8 — price, right of withdrawal (angrerett), the seller's contact details and more — in simple and understandable Norwegian. You must get a physical copy or a confirmation by email.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
Contracts concluded as an off-premises sale (salg utenom faste forretningslokaler) shall contain the information set out in § 8 first paragraph. The information shall be regarded as part of the contract and shall not be changed, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise. The information shall be easily legible and in simple and understandable language. If the information is given in Norwegian, the contract shall be drawn up in Norwegian.
The trader (næringsdrivende) shall give the consumer (forbruker) a copy of the signed contract or confirmation of the contract on paper or, if the consumer consents, on another durable medium (varig medium). If the consumer has consented to the downloading of digital content (digitalt innhold) and acknowledged that the right of withdrawal is thereby lost, cf. § 22 letter n, this shall also appear in the contract or the confirmation.
What does this mean?
§ 11 applies to purchases made outside the seller's permanent shop — typically home sales, sales at a stand or sales at the workplace.
The contract must contain everything from § 8. Price, right of withdrawal, contact details, return costs (returkostnader), guarantees (garanti) and so on. The seller cannot call it "additional terms" and hide it away. The information is part of the contract.
Clear language. The terms must be "easily legible" and in "simple and understandable language". Small print and legal jargon do not meet the requirement.
Norwegian language. If the information is given in Norwegian, the whole contract must be in Norwegian. A seller cannot give information orally in Norwegian and then hand over a contract in English.
You must get a copy. The main rule is paper. If you consent, the seller can send it by email or on another durable medium. You are entitled to either a signed copy or a formal confirmation of the contract.
Special rule for digital content. If you have consented to downloading digital content (for example an e-book or film), and have thereby lost the right of withdrawal under § 22 letter n, this must appear clearly in the contract.
Examples
Lars gets a home visit from an alarm company. The seller explains the subscription (abonnement) orally, and Lars signs on a tablet. The seller says: "The contract is in our system, you can log in later and see it." That is not enough. Under § 11, Lars is entitled to either a physical paper copy or an email with the full contract and all terms. The seller has broken the law. Lars can demand that the contract is sent on a durable medium — and if it never arrives, he can argue that the contract was not validly concluded or use the extended withdrawal period (angrefrist) under § 21.
Sara is at a shopping centre when a seller shows her a vacuum cleaner for NOK 6,500. She decides to buy it. The seller gives her a contract in English and explains things orally in Norwegian. Under § 11, this breaches the requirement that the contract must be in Norwegian when the information is given in Norwegian. Sara can ask for a Norwegian version. If the seller does not provide one, she can complain to the Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet) and possibly use the extended withdrawal period.
Common mistakes
- You sign without getting anything in your hand. Many sellers use tablets without sending anything afterwards. Always ask for the contract to be sent to you by email or on paper before you leave.
- You accept the contract in English and sign. If the seller approached you in Norwegian, you are entitled to a Norwegian contract. Do not accept anything else.
- You think you have to log in to "my page" to see the contract. The contract must be delivered on a durable medium — typically email or paper. A login page that the seller can change does not meet the requirement.
What should you do?
When the seller comes to your home or is at a stand:
- Ask to read through the contract before you sign
- Demand a paper copy or a copy by email immediately
- Check that the right of withdrawal information and the withdrawal form (angreskjema) are included
- If the seller does not have this available, do not sign — it is a sign that the company does not follow the rules
- § 8What the seller must tell you before the purchase
- § 10Unsolicited telephone sales
- § 12If you want the service to start before the withdrawal period ends
- § 22When the right of withdrawal does not apply
- How to spot dishonest doorstep sellers of tradesman services
- With doorstep selling (dørsalg) of electricity, I am entitled to a written offer
- An alarm contract signed at the door gives a 14-day right of withdrawal.
- A membership signed up for on the street gives a 14-day right of withdrawal, like doorstep selling.