§ 3-45. If you withdraw from an agreement made off business premises: repayment and goods

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

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In brief

The service provider (tjenesteyter) must repay no later than 14 days after the notice is received.
The seller bears the costs of returning goods, and the consumer (forbruker) can keep the goods until the money has been paid.
Linked agreements are cancelled at no cost to the consumer.
Credit agreements (kredittavtale) follow § 3-43 instead.

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

§ 3-45. Exercising the right of withdrawal (angrerett) for agreements entered into outside the service provider's permanent business premises

(1) If the right of withdrawal is used to withdraw from an agreement entered into outside the service provider's permanent business premises, the service provider shall repay what the consumer has paid, and any amount to cover return costs, no later than 14 days from the day notice of the exercise of the right of withdrawal is received.

(2) If the consumer has received goods in connection with the service agreement, the following applies:

Return costs are borne by the seller.
The consumer may withhold the goods until he or she has received repayment and any amount corresponding to return costs from the seller.
When the consumer has received what the seller is to pay, the consumer shall send or deliver the goods to the seller within a reasonable time.
If the goods were sent by post or another independent carrier, they shall be returned in a corresponding manner. If the seller has not arranged suitable return packaging, the provision in letter e applies.
If the goods were delivered in another way, they shall be made available to the seller for collection at the place where the goods were received. If, in these cases, the goods were delivered at a place other than the consumer's home, it may be agreed that the goods are to be sent or delivered in another way that does not cause unreasonable inconvenience to the consumer.
The consumer is not obliged to accept or collect goods before they are returned to the seller, but may instead ask the person delivering the goods to return them to the seller.
If the consumer has notified the seller that the goods may be collected under the rules in letter e, and this does not happen within three months of the notice being received, the goods pass to the consumer free of charge.

(3) If the consumer exercises his or her right of withdrawal, all linked agreements are cancelled at no cost to the consumer. After receiving notice of the exercise of the right of withdrawal, the service provider shall immediately inform any third party that has entered into a linked agreement with the consumer.

(4) If the right of withdrawal is used to withdraw from a credit agreement entered into outside the service provider's permanent business premises, § 3-43 applies instead.

Source: Lovdata — Finansavtaleloven (the Financial Contracts Act) § 3-45

What does this mean?

This section deals with the settlement when the consumer uses the right of withdrawal on an agreement entered into outside the service provider's permanent business premises. The service provider must repay everything the consumer has paid, and any amount covering return costs. The deadline is 14 days from when the service provider receives the notice that the right of withdrawal is being used.

If the consumer has received goods together with the service, the rules set out who bears what. The seller pays for the return, and the consumer does not need to accept or collect goods before they are sent back to the seller. The consumer can keep the goods until the money has been repaid. Once the consumer has received the money, the goods must be delivered or sent back within a reasonable time. If they have not been collected within three months after the consumer gave notice that they can be collected, the consumer may keep them without paying. If the seller has not arranged suitable return packaging, a different rule in the Act applies.

All linked agreements are cancelled at no cost to the consumer when the right of withdrawal is used. The service provider must immediately notify any third party that has entered into such a linked agreement with the consumer. If the right of withdrawal concerns a credit agreement, these rules do not apply; § 3-43 does instead.

Compare with § 3-44, which deals with distance selling (fjernsalg). The deadline for the notice itself is in § 3-42, and the right of withdrawal as such in § 3-41. An example using the roles in the Act: a consumer has entered into an agreement outside the business premises and uses the right of withdrawal. The service provider must then repay the amount within 14 days after the notice is received.

Related sections

All sections of the Financial Contracts Act →