Can I cancel a contract I have entered in Norway?
Yes — if the contract was made online, by phone, at your door or at a stand, you have a 14-day cooling-off right. It covers services and subscriptions too, not just goods. The distinction is finer than people think: a contract you signed at a stand has a cooling-off right — the one you signed inside fixed retail premises does not. There a binding period and notice rules apply instead, though a gym usually cannot bind you for longer than about 12 months. You should have been given a standard withdrawal form; if you were not, the deadline extends to up to 12 months. If you asked for the service to start within the cooling-off period, you may owe for what has already been delivered — but you can still cancel.
📋 The rules
- Online/phone/door/stand: 14-day cooling-off right
- Also covers services and subscriptions
- No withdrawal form: the deadline becomes up to 12 months
- Contract signed in a shop/gym: no cooling-off
- There a binding period and notice apply instead
🔓 Exceptions
- A contract made inside a fixed retail premises has no cooling-off right
- An urgent repair you specifically requested can be exempt
- A gym usually cannot bind you longer than about 12 months
⚠️ Penalties & fines
A contract you have validly withdrawn from is void, and anything you have paid must be refunded within 14 days. Disputes you can take free to the Consumer Council or the relevant complaints board, so the threshold for challenging a contract is low. The big trap runs the other way: if you signed inside fixed retail premises, there is no cooling-off right to invoke, and then the binding period and the notice period in the contract are what hold you — often for many months. A missing withdrawal form is the seller's problem, not yours: your deadline then stretches to up to 12 months.
📎 Official sources
- Consumer Authority · Withdrawal Act →
- Withdrawal Act · Lovdata →
- Consumer Council · If you regret a purchase →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I cancel a phone sale?
Yes. Contracts made by phone have a 14-day cooling-off right, counted from the day after the contract was concluded, and it covers subscriptions and services too. If you were given no withdrawal form, the deadline extends to up to 12 months.
Do I have cooling-off at the gym?
No, not if you signed inside the gym — then the contract was made at fixed retail premises. There the binding period and notice rules govern instead, though a gym usually cannot bind you for longer than about 12 months.
What is a withdrawal form?
A standard form the seller has a duty to give you along with the contract. If it is missing, the cooling-off deadline extends from 14 days to up to 12 months — the missing information is the seller's problem, not yours.
Must I pay if the service already started?
You may owe for what has actually been delivered, if you yourself asked for it to start within the cooling-off period. But you can still cancel the contract — the service being under way does not remove your cooling-off right.
Can I cancel a contract I signed in the shop?
No. A contract made at fixed retail premises has no statutory cooling-off right. If you signed at a stand, at your door, by phone or online, the 14 days do apply — it is where the contract was made that decides.
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