§ 2-14. Objections against the person who takes over the monetary claim

This section protects the person who owes money when the claim is sold on or used as collateral (pant). The debtor (the person who has to pay) can meet the new owner of the claim, or the person holding collateral in it, with the same objections and counterclaims as against the original creditor. An objection is a reason not to pay, or to pay less. A counterclaim is the debtor's own claim, which can be deducted. Only another law can make exceptions.

The second paragraph prohibits the creditor from issuing or accepting a bill of exchange against a debtor who is a consumer. The prohibition also covers other acknowledgements of debt which, in a sale or pledging, could remove or weaken the consumer's right to raise objections or counterclaims arising from the credit agreement or the guarantee agreement. The point is that the consumer's defences should not disappear because the claim changes hands. Such documents could otherwise be used to get around the first paragraph.

This section builds on § 2-13. That section applies when a claim under a credit agreement or guarantee agreement is transferred, and it states that the Act applies correspondingly between the debtor and the new owner. If the creditor is a financial institution or a municipality, the debtor must give specific consent, and the consent cannot be given more than 30 days in advance. The consent requirement does not apply when the claim goes to a state or municipal body, or to a financial institution that can offer equivalent credit to consumers in Norway. The transferor (the person selling the claim) must notify the debtor, unless the transferor continues as creditor on behalf of the acquirer.

The neighbouring sections in the chapter complete the picture. § 2-8 makes terms invalid when, in a guarantee agreement with a consumer, they take away the consumer's right to raise objections or counterclaims arising from the credit agreement, and the same applies to a co-debtor (samskyldner) who is a consumer. § 2-9 and § 2-10 deal with repayment of credit, including early repayment of a fixed-rate loan (fastrentekreditt). § 2-11 and § 2-12 govern what happens when the claim has been paid, so that the debtor receives confirmation and the collateral is deleted or released. § 2-15 and § 2-16 concern gambling and betting, and right of recourse (regress) (the right to claim back money paid out).

Example: a debtor believes the creditor has not fulfilled its part of the credit agreement. The creditor sells the claim on to an acquirer. The debtor can then use the same objection against the acquirer, because the objections follow the claim. § 7-1 has the heading Penalties and refers to this section.