§ 18. Information from the tradesperson and defects

This section broadens what counts as a defect. Even if the work itself is done properly, there may be a defect if the result does not match information that was given about the qualities or usefulness of the service. This means information that matters for whether the service is good and suitable for the consumer's (forbruker) purpose.

The law takes into account information from several sources. First, information given by the service provider personally, or by someone on their behalf, when the agreement was made or in marketing. Second, information from others acting as a materials supplier or an earlier link in the sales chain. Example: in its marketing, the service provider promises that a result will have a particular quality, and the result lacks it. That may be a defect, even if the job (oppdrag) was otherwise done properly.

There are two limitations. The information must not have been corrected in a clear manner in time. If the service provider clearly corrected it before the agreement was made, the basis for the claim falls away. In addition, it must be reasonable to assume that the information actually affected the consumer's decision to enter into the agreement. Information that nobody gave any weight to does not create a defect.

This section is one of several rules on when there is a defect. The basic rule is in § 17, and § 19 deals with the opposite situation, namely information that was not given. § 20 sets out the point in time at which the defect is assessed. If the consumer has a defect to claim, the available claims are gathered in § 21, with complaints about a defect (reklamasjon) in § 22 and repair of the defect (retting) in § 24. The liability of earlier links, such as the materials supplier, is regulated in § 27, and that section refers back to this one.