§ 5. Definitions of the terms in the Act
§ 5 explains what the words in the Act actually mean. You are a "consumer (forbruker)" when you buy things privately. "Distance selling (fjernsalg)" means online purchases, telephone sales (telefonsalg) and purchases by post or email. "Business premises (faste forretningslokaler)" means the ordinary shop — everything outside it counts as "outside business premises".
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)
In this Act: a. consumer means: a natural person who is not acting mainly in the course of a business, b. distance selling means: a contract concluded under an organised scheme for sales or the provision of services without the trader and the consumer being physically present at the same time, and where the contract is concluded exclusively through the use of means of distance communication, c. business premises means: a place for retail sales where the trader carries on its business on a permanent basis, or movable retail premises where the trader usually carries on its business, d. contract concluded off business premises means: a contract where the consumer concludes the contract or makes an offer in the presence of the trader at a place other than the trader's business premises, as well as a contract concluded at the trader's business premises or through a means of distance communication immediately after a personal and individual approach to the consumer in a situation covered by the first alternative, e. financial service means: a banking service, credit service, insurance service, individual pension service, investment service or payment service, f. durable medium means: any instrument which enables the consumer or the trader to store information in such a way that the information is accessible in the future in unchanged form, g. ancillary contract means: a contract under which the consumer receives goods or services in connection with a distance selling contract or a contract concluded off business premises, and where the goods are delivered or the services are provided by the trader or by a third party on the basis of an arrangement between a third party and the trader, h. public auction means: a method of sale where goods or services are offered by the trader to consumers, where the consumer is personally present or has the possibility to be present, through a transparent, competitive bidding procedure run by an auctioneer, and where the successful bidder is bound to purchase the goods or services, i. digital content means: data which are produced and supplied in digital form, in that they represent physical quantities with discrete signs, j. digital service means: a service that enables the user to create, process, store or access data in digital form, or services that enable the sharing of or any other interaction with such data, k. online marketplace means: any service using software, including a website or an application, operated by or on behalf of a trader, which allows consumers to conclude distance selling contracts with other traders or consumers, l. online marketplace provider means: any trader which provides an online marketplace to consumers, m. compatibility means: the ability of digital content or digital services to function with hardware or software with which digital content or digital services of the same type are normally used, without the need to convert the digital content or the digital service, n. functionality means: the ability of digital content or digital services to perform their functions having regard to their purpose, o. interoperability means: the ability of digital content or digital services to function with hardware or software different from those with which digital content or digital services of the same type are normally used.
What does this mean?
Here are the most important terms in everyday language:
Consumer (a)
That is you as a private individual (privatperson). You are not buying for your company. If you run a sole proprietorship (enkeltpersonforetak) and buy a laptop that will mainly be used for work, you are not a consumer.
Distance selling (b)
These are purchases where you and the seller never stand face to face. Typically: online shops, telephone sales, purchases by email or chat, mail order, and purchases through an app. The seller must have an "organised scheme" for such sales — a company accepting an order by email once a year is not enough.
Business premises (c)
This is the ordinary shop — where the business operates from day to day. It can also be a stall at a market, as long as the seller usually sells from there. But the sales stand that turns up on Karl Johan one Saturday a year is not "business premises".
Contract concluded off business premises (d)
Covers three situations: sales in your home, sales at your workplace, sales at a stand. It also covers cases where the seller approaches you in the street and immediately gets you into their own shop to sign.
Financial service (e)
Banking, loans, insurance, pensions, investment and payment. These are exempt from the Right of Withdrawal Act (§ 2 letter f).
Durable medium (f)
Something where information can be stored without being changed. Examples: email, PDF, text message, paper letter, USB stick. An ordinary web page that the seller can change is not a "durable medium". So when the law requires the seller to give you information on a "durable medium", you must receive it in a form you can store yourself.
Ancillary contract (g)
A contract linked to the main purchase. For example: you buy a mobile phone online, and at the same time you are offered mobile insurance from another company. The insurance is an ancillary contract.
Public auction (h)
A physical auction with an auctioneer — such as at Blomqvist or an art auction. Online auctions do not count as a "public auction" in the legal sense, even though they are called auctions.
Digital content and digital service (i, j)
Digital content is something you download or buy once — a film, an e-book, a game. A digital service is something you use over time — Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft 365.
Online marketplace (k and l)
For example Finn, Amazon, eBay and Etsy — platforms where many sellers sell to many buyers. The "provider" is the platform itself.
Examples
Ingrid runs a sole proprietorship as a hairdresser. She buys a sofa on Komplett.no for NOK 12,000. The sofa will stand in her home, not in the salon. Is she a consumer? Yes. The definition in letter a says that you are a consumer when you are "not acting mainly in the course of a business". The main purpose of the sofa is private use, so she is protected by the Act. Had she bought a hairdressing chair for the salon, she would not have been a consumer — and the Right of Withdrawal Act would not have applied.
Marius is walking along Karl Johans gate in Oslo one summer's day. A seller stops him and talks about a magazine subscription (abonnement). The seller gets him to come up to a nearby hotel, where he signs a contract for a 12-month subscription. Is this "off business premises"? Yes. The seller approached him in the street — outside the seller's business premises — and then took him to another place. Even though the contract was signed inside a hotel, the whole situation counts as "off business premises" under letter d. Marius has a 14-day right of withdrawal (angrerett).
Common mistakes
- You think an "online shop" and an "online marketplace (nettbasert markedsplass)" are the same thing. They are not. An online shop owns the goods it sells. A marketplace only connects buyers and sellers. The difference affects who is responsible if something goes wrong.
- You think that because a contract was signed in the shop, it is not "off business premises". That is not always true. If the seller first approached you out in the street and brought you inside, it still counts as "off".
- You think "durable medium (varig medium)" means something permanent like paper. A durable medium can also be digital — as long as you can store it yourself. Email is a durable medium. A web page that the seller can change is not.
What should you do?
When you read about the right of withdrawal, pay attention to the precise words. "Distance selling" is not the same as "off-premises sale (salg utenom faste forretningslokaler)" — even though both give you a right of withdrawal. "Digital content (digitalt innhold)" and "digital service (digital tjeneste)" have slightly different rules. If in doubt: read the definition in § 5, and see which letter fits your case.
Frequently asked questions
Am I a "consumer" if I buy something for my hobby?
What is the difference between "digital content" and "digital service"?
- § 1Which purchases the Act applies to
- § 2When the Act does not apply after all
- § 8The seller's duty to provide information (opplysningsplikt)
- § 20How to use your right of withdrawal