§ 56. What happens if the shop goes bankrupt?
If the shop goes bankrupt (konkurs), the bankruptcy estate (konkursbo) decides. If you have paid in advance, the money is often lost — unless you paid by credit card. If you have handed in the item for repair, you still own it and can demand to have it handed back.
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)
If one of the parties becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, the provisions of the Creditors Recovery Act (dekningsloven) chapter 7 apply.
What does this mean?
In a bankruptcy, you as a customer end up at the back of the queue — behind the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), the banks and the employees. If you have paid in advance, the money is often lost.
What you safely own: Things you have handed in to them. You can demand to have your machine in the back room for guarantee (garanti) repair handed back — it is your property, not the estate's.
Always use a credit card for large advance payments. If the shop goes bankrupt, you send a card complaint to the bank — they refund the money.
Example
Kari buys a fridge for NOK 8,000, paying at the till. The next day the company goes bankrupt. The fridge is never delivered. Since she did not receive the fridge, the money is an unsecured claim in the bankruptcy estate — most likely lost, unless she paid by credit card and can complain to the bank.
Common mistakes
- Paying in advance with Vipps/debit card to a shop that signals financial problems
What should you do?
Always use a credit card for large advance payments — goods that are not in your hands. Then you are covered through the Financial Contracts Act (finansavtaleloven) regardless of whether the shop goes bankrupt.
Frequently asked questions
What if the bankruptcy estate says it will deliver the sofa anyway?
- § 35Direct claim (direktekrav) against the importer (importør)
- § 55Anticipated breach of contract (forventet kontraktsbrudd)
- The shop demands a 50 percent advance payment on the sofa – is that allowed?
- The heat pump company is bankrupt – who handles the complaint about a defect (reklamasjon) now?
- The solar panel company is bankrupt – who covers the guarantee on the panels?
- The shop went bankrupt before the kitchen was delivered – what now?