The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act

Four conditions must be met:
1. You have tried to reach an agreement with the trader;
2. The purchase has been made on credit;
3. You have purchased the good or service from a professional trader; and
4. There is a lack of conformity between the contract and the product

1. You have tried to reach an agreement with the trader
Before you can advance your claim to the credit provider, you need to notify the trader that the good or service is not in conformity with the contract. It is primarily the trader who is liable for any lack of conformity.

Your claim must be made within reasonable time. ECC Norway recommends that you send a written complaint as soon as you are aware of the default.

If the seller does not settle your claim, we recommend that you, in your written complaint, inform the seller that you will consider advancing the claim to your credit provider.

If you do not reach an agreement with the seller, e.g. if you do not receive a response, your claim is not accepted or the seller is bankrupt, you can assert your claim to the credit provider.

2. The purchase has been made on credit
A credit purchase is a purchase made with borrowed money and not your own saved funds. You have purchased a product on credit if you use a credit card or if the trader arranges a loan to cover the costs.

A credit card is not directly linked to an account. You receive a pre-agreed credit limit and an invoice is sent to you regularly. You have the choice of paying the whole amount or dividing the payments up in instalments. You have to pay interest on the borrowed money if you do not pay the whole sum at the date of payment. In Norway you normally receive a credit card through an agreement with a bank or finance institution. The card is usually part of an international payment network, e.g. Mastercard or Visa.

A payment card linked to your bank account is a debit card. When you use the card, money is withdrawn immediately from your account. Some debit cards does give you additional credit by allowing overdrafts up to an agreed amount. If you make a purchase using only the overdraft, then Section 8 of The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act applies. It will, however, not apply if you pay with your own funds in your debit card account.

If you borrow funds from a bank or other financial institutions and subsequently use these funds to purchase consumer products, Section 8 of The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act does not apply. When borrowed funds are only indirectly used to purchase a consumer product, either by using a debit card or paying in cash, this is not deemed a credit purchase pursuant to The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act.

3. You have purchased the good or service from a professional trader
You must have purchased the good or service as a private individual from a professional trader. Section 8 of The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act does not apply if the contract is entered into between two private persons or between two traders.

4. There is a lack of conformity between the contract and the product
You must have a genuine claim. A genuine claim can be based on for instance a defective performance of contract, i.e. delay of delivery, non-delivery or defective good/service. Section 8 of The Sale of Goods and Services on Credit Act also applies provided that the content of the contract or the way the contract was entered into is unfair or the seller does not allow cancellation according to the applicable cooling-off period.

If the trader does not respond to your written complaint, or responds negatively, you can assert a claim for payment to your credit provider. The credit provider must be as soon as possible.

Your claim to the credit provider must be identical to the claim against the seller, and it can only be a monetary claim. The liability of the credit provider is limited to the amount he received from the buyer with respect to the purchase.

You should advance your claim in writing and attach necessary documentation. Necessary documentation is for example copies of receipts and previous correspondence with the trader.

Who is responsible?
Your credit provider is liable and must reimburse your claim provided the above-mentioned conditions are fulfilled. In most cases the credit provider is the company that issued your credit card. The credit card normally states which company provided the card and issued the credit.