§ 20. When you knew about the fault
You cannot complain about a defect (mangel) that you knew or must have known about at the time of purchase. If you have examined the goods — or, without good reason, failed to examine them even though the seller (selger) asked you to — you cannot complain about faults you should have discovered. Exception: if the seller has been grossly negligent or dishonest.
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)
(1) The buyer (kjøper) may not claim as a defect anything he knew or must have known about at the time of purchase.
(2) If the buyer before the purchase has examined the item or without reasonable cause failed to comply with the seller's request to examine it, the buyer may not claim anything he ought to have discovered during the examination, unless the seller has acted with gross negligence (grov uaktsomhet) or otherwise contrary to honesty and good faith (redelighet og god tro).
(3) The above rules apply correspondingly when the buyer before the purchase has been given the opportunity to examine a sample and the defect concerns a characteristic that should have been apparent from the sample.
What does this mean?
You cannot demand a "new item" because of something you already saw was faulty when you bought it. The law sets out three rules:
You knew or must have known (first paragraph): If you knew about the fault when you bought the item, you cannot complain about it later. "Must have known" is stricter — these are faults so obvious that you must have noticed them.
You examined or should have examined (second paragraph): If you actually checked the goods, or if the seller asked you to check and you did not do so without good reason, you lose the right to complain about faults you should have seen. It is about what an ordinarily attentive person would have discovered.
But: if the seller has been grossly negligent or dishonest, you are back in a position to complain. You should not be penalised because the seller has been unreliable.
Sample or model (third paragraph): If the seller has given you the chance to see a sample, the same rule applies — you cannot complain about what the sample showed.
Comparison: Can you complain?
| Situation | Right to complain? |
|---|---|
| You saw the fault and bought anyway | No |
| You checked the goods and should have seen the fault | No |
| The seller asked you to check, you did not | Usually no |
| You checked but the fault was hidden | Yes |
| The seller knew about the fault and deceived you | Yes, regardless |
| The fault is something a layperson could not have seen | Yes |
Examples
Petter buys a used car from a private individual for NOK 45,000. During the test drive he clearly sees that there is rust under the car. Two months later he complains about the rust. Petter cannot complain about it. He saw the rust at the time of purchase (§ 20 first paragraph). If he had wanted a rust-free car, he would have had to either negotiate the price or choose another car.
Eva buys a used sewing machine. The seller says "feel free to drop by and test it before you decide". Eva is busy, skips it, and buys based on a photo. When she gets the machine home, she discovers that one of the stitch types does not work — something a test run would have revealed immediately. Under § 20 second paragraph, Eva cannot complain. The seller encouraged her to examine it, Eva had no good reason not to, and the fault was something she should have discovered. Unless the seller knew about the fault and still asked Eva to come — then he may have acted contrary to good faith, and Eva can complain after all.
Common mistakes
- Buying in a hurry without checking, and being surprised afterwards
- Thinking you can complain about everything because you are "not an expert" — ordinary attentiveness is expected
- As a seller: not encouraging an inspection — you are in a stronger position if you do
- Forgetting that "gross negligence" on the seller's part puts you back in a position to complain
What should you do?
As a buyer:
- Check the goods before you buy — especially for large purchases, used items and specialist goods
- Bring a knowledgeable friend if you do not know much about it yourself
- Ask for photos, video, a test drive, a demo
- If you are not allowed to examine the item, document that you asked and were refused
As a seller:
- Encourage an inspection — it gives you protection under § 20 (2)
- Be honest — dishonesty removes the protection itself (§ 33)
- Let the buyer test the goods before the sale is completed