§ 44. Can the shop force you to pay?
Yes — if you have entered into a binding agreement, the shop can demand that you pay. They can send the claim to debt collection (inkasso) and to the enforcement officer (namsmannen) for recovery. The exception is situations of total crisis in society (a bank strike or similar).
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 seller (selger) may uphold the purchase and demand that the consumer (forbruker) pays the purchase price (kjøpesum). However, this does not apply as long as payment is prevented by a stoppage in transport and communications or in payment services, or by another circumstance beyond the consumer's control and which the consumer cannot overcome.
If the item has not yet been delivered, the seller loses the right to demand performance of the contract if he waits unreasonably long before making the claim.
§ 21 applies correspondingly to the seller's right to demand performance of the consumer's duty to cooperate (medvirkningsplikt) in the purchase (cf. § 40).
What does this mean?
An agreement is an agreement. Changed your mind? The seller does not have to let you off. They can point to the contract and send the claim to debt collection and finally to the enforcement officer.
The exception is force majeure (force majeure) affecting the very possibility of paying — if all online banks in the country are down because of a national crisis. Your private finances are not force majeure.
Example
Sara orders custom-made wedding rings for NOK 30,000. The wedding is called off. The goldsmith refuses cancellation of the purchase (heving) — the rings are engraved with names and a date and are useless to anyone else. Sara is legally obliged to pay the NOK 30,000.
Common mistakes
- Ordering and thinking you can "change your mind" by never turning up to pay — this is a breach of contract (kontraktsbrudd) and the claim can be recovered
What should you do?
If you do not have the money to pay: Call the shop or the invoicing company. Tell them honestly. They often agree to cancel the purchase in return for a cancellation fee (avbestillingsgebyr), or give you a repayment plan.