§ 19. When the organiser can increase the price of the package holiday
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
In brief
- The price can only be increased if the contract includes, in advance, a reservation (forbehold), a method of calculation and a right to a price reduction.
- The increase must be caused by fuel or energy prices, taxes and charges, or exchange rates.
- Notice on a durable medium (varig medium) must be given no later than 20 days before departure, with a justification and a calculation.
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
§ 19. Price changes
- an express reservation that the price may be increased
- a statement of how the price increase (prisøkning) is to be calculated
- a right for the traveller (reisende) to a corresponding price reduction if costs as mentioned in the second paragraph change after the conclusion of the contract, but before the start of the journey.
- the price of passenger transport (persontransport) as a result of the price of fuel or other sources of energy
- the level of taxes or charges on the travel services (reisetjenester) included in the contract, or
- exchange rates relevant to the package holiday.
What does this mean?
This section sets the limits for when the organiser can increase the price after the contract has been concluded. The starting point is that the price is fixed. An increase is only lawful if the contract includes three things in advance: an express reservation in the contract about the possibility of a price increase, a description of how the increase is calculated, and a right for you to a corresponding price reduction if the costs fall before departure.
The increase must be a direct consequence of specific changes in costs. The law mentions three: the price of fuel or other sources of energy for passenger transport, taxes and charges on the travel services in the contract, and exchange rates relevant to the journey. Other reasons do not give a right to increase the price.
If the organiser wants to increase the price, you must be notified on a durable medium no later than 20 days before departure. The notice must be clear and comprehensible, with a justification and a calculation of the increase. If the notice comes later than this, the requirement in the law has been breached.
The rules work both ways. If the same costs fall after the contract was concluded, but before the journey begins, you are entitled to a corresponding reduction. The organiser can deduct its actual administrative costs from the refund (tilbakebetaling), and must document them if you ask.
This section is connected to the sections around it. § 18 gives the traveller the right to transfer the contract. § 20 governs other changes to the contract terms and itself refers to this section. It states that the organiser cannot unilaterally change the terms, except for the price under § 19.
Example: The contract has a reservation and a method of calculation, and the exchange rate that applies to the journey changes so that the organiser's costs rise. The organiser can then increase the price, but must send a justified notice on a durable medium no later than 20 days before departure. Had the rate moved in the traveller's favour, the traveller could have demanded a corresponding reduction.