The Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts

You generally have the right to cancel when you enter into a contract at a distance or outside a fixed business premises.

Distance contract

A distance contract means that you, as a private individual, purchase something from a company remotely, that is, without meeting the company. Distance purchases include, among other things, purchases via the internet and telephone.

For you to have the right to withdraw, it is required that you have entered into the agreement exclusively at a distance and that the company has an organized system.

What does “exclusively at a distance” mean?

A contract entered into exclusively at a distance means prior to the contract being entered into you have not physically been to the company’s premises. An example of this is when you buy something online via the Internet.

Have you at any point met the company to, for example, discuss the terms of the purchase? In that case, it is not considered that you have entered into the contract at a distance.

What is an “organised system” in this context?

An organised system means that the company has made arrangements to be able to sell goods or services via a distance sale. For example, the company may have an online ordering system. It may also mean that the company invites its prospective customers to contact them by e-mail or telephone to enter into a contract.

If the company only occasionally enters into a contract by e-mail or telephone, this may not be regarded as an organised system for selling goods or services at a distance.

Outside of Business Premises

You have the right of withdrawal when you purchase something outside of the company’s fixed business premises, for example in your home. Another example is when a company temporarily sells phone subscriptions outside a grocery store or on a pedestrian street.

If you have been contacted by a salesperson outside of a business premises, for example, on the street, and then followed them into the store and made a purchase, it is still considered an agreement outside of business premises. In this case, the purchase is covered by the right to withdraw.

When you buy something outside of the company’s business premises, the price you pay must exceed SEK 400 for you to have the right of withdrawal. If the amount is lower, you do not have the right of withdrawal.

When sales are made in open spaces and in shopping malls, markets, fairs and similar venues, your right to rescind the purchase depends upon whether or not the place of sale is considered to be the company’s place of business. If it is the company’s usual place of business, it may be regarded as a place of business, in which case the law giving you the right of withdrawal does not apply. In addition, whether it seems natural to you as a customer to buy something at the place, or whether the transaction involved an element of surprise, must be taken into account.

If you were approached by a salesperson outside a shop, for example on the street, and then went into the shop and made a purchase, this still counts as an off-premises contract. In this situation, the purchase is covered by the statutory right of withdrawal.

For the contract to be valid, a company selling goods or services over the telephone must, by law, obtain your written acceptance and approval. The company must send a written confirmation of its offer, allowing you to confirm your acceptance of the offer in writing. A contract can be confirmed digitally “in writing” via SMS, e-mail, Bank ID, in addition to by the ordinary written paper contract.

Most contracts made over the telephone are not valid without a later written confirmation.

Rules for telemarketing

If you have bought goods or services at a distance or outside the company’s business premises, you have the right to withdraw from the purchase within 14 days. This is known as your withdrawal period. The company must have informed you about how to withdraw from the purchase before you complete it.

For the withdrawal period to start running, the company must have given you sufficient information about your right of withdrawal.

What is meant by sufficient information is information about:

• that there is a right to reconsider and withdraw from the purchase
• how long the withdrawal period is
• what to do to withdraw from the purchase.

The company must also provide you with a form that you can use to withdraw from the purchase, or inform you where you can find the form.

If the company has not informed you about the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal period is extended and applies until you have received the information. From the date you receive the information, you have 14 days to notify the trader that you wish to use your right of withdrawal.The withdrawal period can be extended by up to one year.

Company or private individual

Before you enter into a contract on an online marketplace, the company that provides the marketplace must inform you whether the seller is a company or a private individual.

The 14-day withdrawal period starts the day after you received or collected the goods. If you have ordered a service, the withdrawal period starts the day after you signed the contract. For distance contracts for life insurance or private individual pension savings, you have a 30-day right of withdrawal.

Both weekdays and public holidays are included in the withdrawal period. However, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the period is extended so that it also applies on the next working day.

You can withdraw in different ways:

• You can send an email or a letter to the company stating that you want to use your right of withdrawal.
• You can use the withdrawal function on the company’s website, if you made the purchase there.
• You can use the withdrawal form provided by the Swedish Consumer Agency.

Withdrawal function

Companies must provide a withdrawal function that you can use if you entered into a contract on their website or in their app.

The design of the function may vary. You may need to provide personal details and information about the contract, or identify yourself and log in to, for example, “My pages”.

The withdrawal function must:

• be free of charge
• be easy to find
• be available on the company’s website or app throughout the withdrawal period

You must receive an automatic confirming that you have exercised your right of withdrawal. The confirmation must be sent in the way you chose or accepted.

You do not have a statutory right to withdraw when you shop in a physical store.

Some goods and services are also not covered by the right of withdrawal, for example:

• travel
• hotel stays
• gambling and lotteries
• products that have been specially made for you
• goods that can deteriorate quickly, such as food
• services that have been fully performed within the withdrawal period, if you agreed that the work could start immediately and that there would be no right of withdrawal once the service was completed.

When you shop outside the trader’s business premises, for example through door‑to‑door sales, you do not have a right of withdrawal if the price is less than SEK 400.

Further information about the right of withdrawal

When withdraw from the purchase, you may need to pay return shipping costs if the items need to be sent back to the merchant. In such a situation, the merchant must have informed you about this.

You may also be obligated to pay compensation for any loss of value if the company thinks the goods have decreased in value after you received and examined them, for example if you purchased shoes that have been scuffed after you tried them on. Again, this assumes that the company has informed you in advance that you may need to compensate them for the loss in value. The company also needs to have provided you with clear and complete information about the right of withdrawal.

The company must refund you within 14 days from the time they have received the item back or from the time you can show that you have sent it back. If you have purchased a service, they must refund you within 14 days from the time you notified them that you have withdrawn from the purchase.

You should receive the money back in the same way you paid. For example, if you paid by card, you should get the money back on the card. You do not have to settle for a credit note.

When you withdraw, you should get the full amount back. The company may not deduct administrative fees or similar charges.

If you and the company cannot reach an agreement, you can file a complaint to the public authority the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN).

ARN will assess your case and make a recommendation on how to resolve the dispute. Most companies follow ARN’s recommendations.

A normal processing time is approximately six months.

What does it cost to file a complaint with ARN?

It costs SEK 150 to file a complaint with ARN. When you submit your complaint, you can request that the company compensates you for the cost if ARN makes a recommendation in your favour.

Requirements for ARN to consider your case

• The company has either rejected your claims or has not responded within a reasonable time.
• The amount you and the company are in dispute about is more then ARN's value limitations (different value thresholds apply for different fields). You cannot include the application fee to ARN.
• The company has rejected your requests in whole or in part, or it has failed to respond to you.

Submit an application on ARN’s website

Would you like assistance in preparing your complaint?

The municipality’s consumer adviser may be able to assist you in submitting an application to ARN.

Your dispute with the company can also be taken to a district court by filing a lawsuit, but there will be costs involved in this. as you will need to pay a filing fee and may also have to pay legal fees and court costs.

Do you think a company is breaking the rules of the law? You can inform us by making a report.

We check that companies follow the rules in the law. A report does not mean that your individual case will be assessed or decided. However, reports are an important basis for our work.

Report to the Swedish Consumer Agency