§ 27. Ancillary contracts are cancelled automatically
When you withdraw from a purchase, all ancillary contracts (tilknyttede avtaler) are cancelled automatically at no extra cost to you. This means that if, for example, you bought a phone and mobile phone insurance at the same time, the insurance is cancelled when you withdraw from the phone purchase. The seller must notify the third party that provided the insurance.
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)
If the consumer (forbrukeren) exercises their right of withdrawal (angrerett), all ancillary contracts are cancelled at no cost to the consumer. §§ 24 to 26 apply correspondingly.
After receiving the consumer's notice of exercise of the right of withdrawal, the trader (næringsdrivende) shall immediately inform any third party that has entered into an ancillary contract with the consumer.
What does this mean?
§ 27 prevents you from being left with "half" contracts after you have withdrawn. If there are other contracts that were entered into together with the main purchase, they are also cancelled automatically.
What is an ancillary contract? It is defined in § 5 letter g: a contract under which you receive goods or services in connection with a main purchase, where the goods or services are supplied by the seller or by a third party in cooperation with the seller.
Typical examples:
- Mobile phone + mobile phone insurance from another company
- Car + service agreement through the dealer
- TV + extended guarantee (garanti) from a third party
- Software + annual update subscription (abonnement)
The contracts are cancelled at no cost to you. You do not have to pay a "termination fee" or "processing fee" on the ancillary contracts. That is exactly the point — the right of withdrawal on the main purchase must have a practical effect.
The seller must notify the third party. After receiving your notice of withdrawal (angremelding), the seller must "immediately" inform the third party with whom you have an ancillary contract. You do not need to contact the third party yourself.
§§ 24 to 26 apply correspondingly. This means that the refund (tilbakebetaling) must be made within 14 days (§ 24), you must return any goods (§ 25), and proportionate payment may apply to partially delivered services (§ 26).
Examples
Anne buys a new iPhone online for NOK 12,990. At the same time, she is offered "phone insurance from Tryg" for NOK 89 a month — an ancillary contract arranged by the retailer. She ticks both. After eight days, she withdraws from the phone purchase. She does not need to contact Tryg separately — the insurance is an ancillary contract and is cancelled automatically under § 27. The retailer must notify Tryg of the withdrawal. Anne gets a refund of both the price of the phone and any insurance premium she has paid.
Lars buys a dishwasher and an extended guarantee for NOK 1,500 from a separate company that the retailer cooperates with. He withdraws from the dishwasher purchase. The extended guarantee is an ancillary contract. Under § 27, it is cancelled automatically. Lars is entitled to a refund of the full NOK 1,500 for the guarantee, and he does not need to contact the guarantee company himself — the retailer must notify them.
Common mistakes
- You think you have to cancel ancillary contracts separately. You do not. They are cancelled automatically.
- You pay a "termination fee" on an ancillary contract because the seller asks you to. That is not lawful. Ancillary contracts are cancelled at no cost.
- You think this applies to all parallel contracts. It does not. The contract must be "ancillary" within the meaning of the law — that is, established in connection with the main purchase and by the seller or the seller's partner.
What should you do?
When you withdraw from a main purchase:
- Think about whether there were any ancillary contracts — insurance policies, subscriptions, service agreements
- Mention them in the notice of withdrawal: "I also withdraw from the ancillary mobile phone insurance from X"
- Check that the ancillary contract is actually ended — check your account for future deductions
- If the third party has not been informed within a reasonable time, contact them and refer to § 27
Frequently asked questions
Is bank credit used to pay for a purchase an "ancillary contract"?
What about independent insurance I took out on my own after the purchase?
- § 20How to use your right of withdrawal
- § 23What happens when you withdraw
- § 5The definition of ancillary contract
- § 24The seller's obligations regarding refunds
- What happens if I withdraw from an ancillary contract on its own?
- What happens to the subscription if I withdraw from the main contract?
- What happens to ancillary contracts when I use my right of withdrawal?
- What can the Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet) do about breaches of the Right of Withdrawal Act?