§ 16. What counts as a defect?
An item has a "defect" (mangel) if it is not in the condition you agreed on, if the seller (selger) held back important information, or if the advertising gave incorrect information. A defect gives you the right to complain.
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 item has a defect if a. it does not comply with one or more of the requirements in § 15, unless exceptions from the requirements have been agreed in accordance with § 15 second paragraph b. the seller, at the time of the purchase, has failed to provide information about circumstances concerning the item or its use which he or she ought to have known about, and which the consumer (forbruker) had reason to expect to receive, if the omission can be assumed to have affected the purchase c. it does not correspond to information that the seller has given about the item or its use in its marketing or otherwise, unless the seller shows that the information was corrected before the purchase in the same or a corresponding manner as it was presented, or that it cannot have affected the purchase d. the use of the item is prevented or restricted as a result of the infringement of a third party's right in the item, for example ownership, a right of lien or an intellectual property right, unless otherwise agreed.
The first paragraph letter c applies correspondingly to information given by someone other than the seller on the item's packaging, in an advertisement or in other marketing on behalf of the seller or an earlier link in the sales chain (tidligere salgsledd). However, this does not apply if the seller shows that he or she neither knew nor could reasonably have known of the information.
The consumer cannot claim as a defect anything that is caused by materials supplied by the consumer. However, this does not apply if the seller, because of the unsuitability of the materials, ought to have advised against their use.
What does this mean?
A "defect" is your ticket to making a claim against the seller. There are three common types:
The item fails — the shoes come apart, the TV screen is black. See § 15.
The seller keeps quiet about something important. If you buy a used car and the dealer knows the gearbox is worn out without saying so, that is a defect.
False advertising. If the box says the vacuum cleaner has 60 minutes of battery life, but it dies after 20, that is a defect — even if it was the manufacturer (produsent) who printed the wrong information.
Example
Kari sees a Facebook advert for a smartwatch that can measure blood pressure. She buys it in the shop. The feature does not exist. The shop says the manufacturer removed it just before the launch. Kari can stand firm with § 16 — the item does not match the marketing. She can cancel the purchase.
Common mistakes
- Believing that any fault gives you the right to a new item — faults you have caused yourself are not a defect
- Accepting the shop saying "it was the manufacturer who wrote the wrong thing on the box, not us" — the shop is responsible regardless
What should you do?
If you discover a fault: take screenshots of the online advert, keep the box, and write down what the seller promised verbally. Do not open up the product, and do not wait to speak up.
Frequently asked questions
Can the shop get off the hook if they manage to correct the error in the advert?
- § 15The item's characteristics
- § 27Complaint about a defect (reklamasjon)
- § 18The time for assessing a defect