§ 14. When does the risk pass to you?
The risk (risiko) passes to you the second you physically receive the item. Until then, it is the shop's responsibility if the item is smashed, burns up or is stolen. If you deliberately fail to collect the item, you may still end up with the risk.
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)
The risk passes to the consumer (forbruker) when the consumer has taken over the item. If the time for taking over has arrived and the consumer fails to take over an item that has been placed at his or her disposal, the consumer nevertheless bears the risk of loss or damage caused by characteristics of the item itself, for example rotting.
If the consumer is to collect the item at a place other than the seller's (selger) premises, the risk passes when the time for taking over has arrived and the consumer is aware that the item has been placed at his or her disposal at the place of delivery (leveringssted).
The risk does not pass to the consumer until it has been made clear, by marking, transport documents or in some other way, that the item is intended for the consumer.
In the case of purchases involving carriage of the goods, the risk passes to the consumer when the consumer, or a third party designated by the consumer who is not the carrier (fraktfører), has physically taken possession of the goods. The risk nevertheless passes to the consumer when the goods are handed over to the carrier, if it is the consumer who has given the carrier the transport assignment, and it was not the seller who offered this transport option. The second sentence does not affect the consumer's rights against the carrier.
If an item has been bought and delivered on approval or otherwise with a right to return it, the consumer bears the risk for the item until the seller has taken it back over. However, this does not apply when the consumer has the right to return the item under the Cancellation Act (angrerettloven) or a corresponding withdrawal period (angrefrist) under an agreement on a consumer purchase (forbrukerkjøp).
What does this mean?
The shop has the risk for the parcel all the way until you (or the neighbour you asked to receive it) have physically got the parcel in your hands. If a parcel is delivered to a parcel locker, the risk passes to you when you open the door and take the parcel.
If, on your own initiative, you choose an independent courier to collect the item — an option the shop did not offer — the risk passes to you when your courier van picks up the parcel.
If you order fresh food and do not collect it, it is your problem that it rots. The shop can demand full payment.
Example
Sofie orders an iPhone online and chooses delivery to the doormat without a signature. Two hours after the courier left the parcel, someone steals it. Sofie contacts the shop. Since she accepted delivery without a signature, the parcel is considered "taken over" — the risk had passed to her.
Common mistakes
- Online shops claiming that "our responsibility ends when we hand it over to Posten" (this is illegal)
- Believing that a parcel is "yours" to bear the risk for while it is still with the transport company
What should you do?
If the parcel disappears in the post or arrives smashed, you direct your claim straight at the shop. Do not waste time in a phone queue with Bring or PostNord — it was the shop that bore the risk.