§ 60. You must take care of the item, even if you have rejected it
If you reject an item that is delivered to you, you still have a duty to take it inside and protect it until the shop can collect it. You cannot put a TV out on the pavement in the rain because it was the wrong brand.
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 the consumer (forbruker) does not collect or accept the item at the right time, or circumstances otherwise on the consumer's side have meant that it has not been handed over to him or her, the seller (selger) shall, at the consumer's expense, take such care of the item as is reasonable in the circumstances, if the seller has the item in its custody or can otherwise take care of it.
If the consumer wishes to reject an item that he or she has taken over, the consumer shall, at the seller's expense, take such care of it as is reasonable in the circumstances. If the consumer wishes to reject an item that has been sent to him or her and placed at his or her disposal at the place of destination, the consumer shall take care of it at the seller's expense, if the consumer can do this without paying the purchase price (kjøpesum) or incurring unreasonable cost or inconvenience. However, this does not apply if the seller or someone on the seller's behalf can take care of the item at the place of destination.
A party who is obliged to take care of the item may let a third party store it in accordance with the rules in the Act of 13 May 1988 No. 27 relating to the sale of goods § 74. Sections 75, 76, 77 and 78 of the same Act on a party's right to compensation (erstatning) and right to withhold payment (tilbakeholdsrett), on the sale of or other disposal of the item, and on accounting and crediting of proceeds apply correspondingly.
What does this mean?
You and the shop must make sure the item is not ruined while the dispute is ongoing. If you have rejected an item, carry it into the garage or under a roof. The shop pays any storage costs ("at the seller's expense").
If it costs you an unreasonable amount to take care of it, you can say no. Then it is the shop's problem to arrange collection.
Example
Marius receives a pallet of parquet flooring with the wrong lacquer in his driveway. He demands a replacement (omlevering). He is so angry that he leaves the pallet out in the rain, even though he has an empty double garage. The rain ruins the parquet. The shop demands that Marius pay for the ruined parquet — he breached his duty of care.
Common mistakes
- Throwing wrongly sent items straight in the bin — you MUST store them for the shop (and they still own the item)
What should you do?
Reject the item, put it safely aside, and email the shop straight away: "I am rejecting the item. It is safe in my storage room. I expect it to be collected as soon as possible."