§ 16. Purchase with a right of return
If you have bought goods on approval or with a right to return them, you bear the risk (risiko) for the goods while you have them. The risk does not pass back to the seller (selger) until the goods have actually been taken back. If you lose the goods, you must pay for them.
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 goods have been bought and delivered on approval or otherwise with a right of return, the buyer (kjøper) bears the risk under the rules of this chapter until the seller has taken the goods back.
What does this mean?
Some purchases give you the right to return the goods — typically a "trial period" of 14 or 30 days. The law says that during this period you, as the buyer, bear the risk. This means:
- If you lose the goods: you must pay
- If the goods are stolen: you must pay
- If you damage them: you must pay, or the value is reduced (see § 66 on return of goods)
The risk does not pass back to the seller until the goods have been physically taken back. Sending them by post is not enough — they must have arrived and been taken over.
Important: This is not the same as the right of cancellation for a consumer purchase (forbrukerkjøp) under the Cancellation Act (angrerettloven). For online purchases and doorstep sales as a consumer (forbruker), separate rules apply to risk on return.
Examples
Petter gets to try out a racing bike at home for two weeks before he decides. The agreed price is NOK 45,000. During the trial period, the bike is stolen outside a café. Petter bears the risk. He must pay for the bike, even though he never decided to keep it. He can hope that his home contents insurance (innboforsikring) covers it.
Sara has ordered clothes from a niche shop privately (not a consumer purchase) and agreed on a right to try them. She sends two garments back with Posten. The parcel disappears. Sara bears the risk until the seller has taken the clothes back. If Posten does not find the parcel, Sara must cover the amount.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the risk moves when you send the goods back — it moves when the seller receives them
- Confusing this with the consumer right of cancellation — different rules on risk apply there
- Forgetting to insure the goods during the trial period
What should you do?
- Make sure your home contents insurance covers goods you have on approval
- Send returns with tracking and insurance
- Ask the seller for confirmation of receipt — then you know when the risk is no longer yours
- Treat the goods as if they were yours during the trial period — financially, that is exactly what they are