§ 3-14. Passive consent to changes in contract terms

The Financial Contracts Act (Finansavtaleloven)·LOV-2020-12-18-146

Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська

In brief

It can be agreed that the customer (kunde) accepts changes by remaining passive.
The customer must give notice by the date the changes take effect in order to reject the proposal.
The notice must explain how the customer can avoid being bound and, where relevant, the right to terminate immediately.

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

§ 3-14. Passive consent to changes in contract terms

(1) On the conditions that otherwise apply under § 3-13, it may be agreed that the customer can consent to a proposed change in the contract terms by remaining passive, and that the customer, in order not to be bound, must notify the service provider (tjenesteyter) that the proposed change is rejected. A notice that the proposal is rejected must be communicated to the service provider no later than the proposed date on which the new terms are to take effect. If the service provider has not been notified within this deadline, the proposed terms are binding on the parties.

(2) In the notice of a proposed change in the contract terms, the service provider shall provide information on how the customer can avoid being bound by the proposed changes through passive consent. If the customer's lack of consent gives the service provider the right to terminate the agreement, cf. §§ 4-43 and 5-14, the notice shall state that the customer has the right to terminate the agreement immediately and free of charge before the date on which the new contract terms take effect.

Source: Lovdata — Finansavtaleloven (the Financial Contracts Act) § 3-14

What does this mean?

This section makes it possible to agree that silence from the customer counts as consent to changed terms. The service provider proposes a change and states a date when the new terms will apply. The customer must speak up before that date to reject the proposal. If the customer does not respond, the new terms become binding on both parties. The condition is that this has been agreed and that the requirements in § 3-13 are met.

The second subsection sets requirements for the notice. The service provider must explain how the customer can avoid being bound by passive consent. If the service provider can give notice of termination of the agreement when the customer does not consent, the notice must also state that the customer has the right to terminate immediately and at no cost before the new terms take effect. Here the law refers to § 4-43 and § 5-14.

These two sections concern notice of termination (oppsigelse). § 4-43 allows the payment service provider (betalingstjenesteyter) to terminate an account agreement (kontoavtale) of indefinite duration, or block access, if the agreement allows it and there are objective grounds. The payment service provider can end the agreement no earlier than two months after written notice stating the reasons, except in certain serious cases such as unlawful use of the account or incorrect information from the customer. § 5-14 gives the lender (kredittyter) the right to terminate a credit agreement (kredittavtale) of indefinite duration, with objective grounds and if the agreement says so, and with at least two months' notice for consumers (forbrukere).

How it fits with the neighbouring sections: § 3-13 sets the framework for changes, including that changes to the customer's disadvantage can take effect no earlier than two months after notice, and that proposals to change interest rates, fees or costs must be justified. § 3-15 makes an exception for changes that follow a public reference interest rate or reference exchange rate, which can be implemented without the notice under § 3-14 second subsection.

Related sections

All sections of the Financial Contracts Act →