§ 3-39. Offer of a financial service in a telephone call

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

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Summary

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

§ 3-39. Special duty to provide information when a financial service is offered in a telephone call

(1) If a consumer is offered a financial service (finansiell tjeneste) in a telephone call, the service provider (tjenesteyter) shall state the sales purpose as soon as the call has started. Even if the consumer gives express consent to the service provider limiting its otherwise applicable duty to provide information, the service provider shall nevertheless state the name of the person contacting the consumer, that person's relationship to the service provider and the information referred to in § 3-24 letters a and b, and give the consumer information about
  1. the right of withdrawal (angrerett) as referred to in § 3-25 letter h
  2. the main characteristics of the service as referred to in § 3-27 letter a and any special risk referred to in § 3-27 letter c
  3. the total amount as referred to in § 3-28 letter a
  4. costs other than payments to the service provider as referred to in § 3-28 letter f
  5. that any offers made in a telephone call, without the consumer having asked the service provider to make the offer, must be accepted in writing by the consumer for a binding agreement to be concluded. This information shall be given to the consumer in writing before the agreement is concluded.
(2) For agreements under Chapter 5, in addition to the information referred to in the first paragraph, information shall be given about
  1. interest rates and exchange rates as referred to in § 3-28 letter c
  2. the type of credit as referred to in § 3-34 first paragraph letter a
  3. the conditions for use of the credit as referred to in § 3-34 first paragraph letter c
  4. any cash price as referred to in § 3-34 first paragraph letter d
  5. the effective interest rate (effektiv rente) as referred to in § 3-34 first paragraph letter e
  6. any instalments as referred to in § 3-34 first paragraph letter f
  7. any conditions on repayment of the entire credit amount as referred to in § 3-34 second paragraph.
(3) For mortgages, in addition to the information referred to in the first paragraph, relevant information as referred to in § 3-28 and § 3-34 first paragraph letters a, b, c, e, f and j shall be given.
(4) In addition to the information referred to in the first to third paragraphs, the consumer shall be told that other information will be made available if the consumer asks for it, and what type of information this is. This section does not limit the service provider's duty under § 3-22 to provide information before an agreement is concluded with the consumer.
Source: Lovdata — Finansavtaleloven (the Financial Contracts Act) § 3-39

What does this mean?

This section applies when a consumer (a private individual) is offered a financial service in a telephone call. The service provider must state the sales purpose as soon as the call has begun. The rules apply only to consumers, and they come in addition to the general duty in § 3-22 to provide information before the agreement is concluded.

Even if the consumer expressly agrees to limit this duty, there is a core of information that must always be given. The service provider must state the name of the person contacting the consumer, that person's relationship to the service provider and basic information about the business (the first two points in § 3-24). The consumer must also be told about the right of withdrawal, the main characteristics of the service and any special risk (§ 3-27), the total amount and costs other than payments to the service provider (§ 3-28).

The most important practical rule is that an offer the consumer has not asked for does not become binding until the consumer has accepted it in writing. This information must be given in writing before the agreement is concluded. Example: A service provider calls a consumer without the consumer having asked for it and offers a service. The consumer says yes during the call. Without written acceptance, the agreement is not binding.

If the agreement is a credit agreement (kredittavtale) under Chapter 5, further information is required, including interest rates, the effective interest rate and instalments (§ 3-28 and § 3-34). For mortgages, relevant information from the same two sections must also be given. The consumer must also be told that more information is available on request, and what kind of information this is.

The right of withdrawal the consumer must be told about is regulated in § 3-41 and the following sections: the consumer must give notice within 14 calendar days (§ 3-42), and for credit agreements the credit amount must be repaid within 30 days after the notice is sent (§ 3-43). Penalties and administrative fines (overtredelsesgebyr) have their own sections, § 7-1 and § 7-2, which refer to this section.

Related sections
All sections of the Financial Contracts Act →