Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act have entered into force on 13 June 2014. The amendments are in line with the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) and mostly concern online shopping and other forms of electronic commerce and distance contracts.
Under the new provisions, the consumer will always explicitly have to inform the company if he/she wants to terminate an agreement during the cooling off period. Returning purchased goods during the cooling off period is by itself not seen as a notice of termination anymore. The consumer is responsible for the costs of returning the goods unless the company has failed to inform the consumer of this obligation, or if the company has undertaken to pay them. The company is obligated to offer the consumer a notice of termination form. Moreover, the new provisions require companies to provide the consumers with more comprehensive information on prices and additional charges, as well as abiding by more detailed rules concerning electronic commerce in general. Furthermore, the new provisions require companies to get the consumer’s explicit approval for additional charges not included in the total price of a product or service and additional charges are not binding for the consumer without such approval. The new provisions also include restrictions for phone call charges for phone calls concerning an agreement between the company and the consumer.
For further information, please contact
Bernt Juthström
Partner