Five-year complaint deadline still applies

Minister of Children and Family, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (Christian Democrats). Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

Five-year complaint deadline still applies in Norway

Norwegian consumers are allowed to retain a five-year warranty deadline for goods. This is the result of several years of negotiations with the EU, who wanted to reduce the complaint deadline.


“This is a good news for Norwegian and European consumers. After years of negotiations, there is finally an agreement in the EU on new rules for consumer contracts. Norwegian consumers will still have a five-year deadline for complaints on goods – whether they are bought in stores or online,” says Consumer Minister, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF).

For several years, the EU has discussed whether the complaint period in all EU and EEA countries should be completely identical. One of the proposals has been to reduce the deadline for complaints.

EU agrees at last

The EU Parliament and the Council of the European Union have now agreed that the countries themselves should be able to decide how long the complaint period will be, with a minimum of at least two years. The Norwegian complaint deadline of five years will therefore remain.

The new rules will also strengthen consumer protection for digital service agreements, such as social media, movies, apps, games and applications. Here, consumer rights will become clearer in cases where problems arise.

There remains to be a formal confirmation of the EU bodies. This will probably happen in a few months. Once the directives have been adopted, the process of incorporating them into the EEA Agreement will start. The new rules could be in place in the spring of 2021.


© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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