Disputing an incorrect invoice
Bestrida felaktig faktura - Engelska
If you receive an incorrect invoice, you can dispute it, which means to protest against it. Always begin by contacting the company to point out what you think is incorrect.
Cooperation:This website is co-funded by the European Union.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Contact the company in writing
Begin by contacting the company to point out what is incorrect. Preferably make contact in writing, such as by email. Sometimes, errors are due to mistakes that can easily be cleared up if you point out the error to the company.
If the company does not agree to correct what you feel is incorrect, you can dispute the invoice or the part of the invoice that is incorrect.
How to dispute an invoice
Disputing an invoice means that you notify the company that you protest against the invoice and therefore will not pay. It is important that you say why you think the invoice is incorrect, such as that the total does not match what you agreed on.
Check how much of the invoice is incorrect
Think about checking if the entire invoice is incorrect or just a part of it. The basic principle is that you should pay for the part that is correct. So sometimes you need to notify the company, for example, that you will pay half of the amount of the invoice, but that you dispute the remaining amount.
Dispute the invoice in writing
When you dispute an invoice, it is important that you contact the company in writing so that you can prove that you protested. You can send an email, for example. If you send a letter, it would be good to send it as a registered letter so that you can prove that you disputed the invoice. Remember to take a photograph or copy of your letter disputing the invoice.
In the notification to the company, you need to provide the reference number, amount and date of the invoice you believe is incorrect.
After disputing an invoice
The company does not need to respond to or approve of your dispute for it to apply. If the company feels that they have a right to payment despite your dispute, it is up to the company to take the matter further. So, after you have sent your dispute, you can wait to see how the company acts. If the company does not send more payment demands, you do not need to do anything else.
If the company asserts that you accepted an offer
If the company asserts that you accepted an offer or placed an order, it is up to the company to be able to prove it. You can ask the company to present documentation that proves that you entered an agreement with the company.
Did the company phone you?
For phone sales, by law, the company must get your written approval for the agreement to be valid. This applies if the company phones you, or if you were encouraged by the company to phone them. If you have not approved the agreement in writing, it is invalid, and you have no payment obligation to the company. If you phone a company on your own initiative to buy something, a written agreement is not required.
How should a written approval be made?
A written approval can have various formats. For example, you can:
sign a paper sent to you in the post
approve electronically by email or text message
approve by Bank ID
The approval must take place after the call so that you have time to think about the offer. So, it is not OK for the company to encourage you to approve the offer during the call.
Dispute an invoice if you have not provided written approval
If the company demands payment from you even though you have not approved of the offer in writing, you can protest and point out that there is no agreement.
If you received products you did not order
As long as there is no agreement between you and the company, you have no obligation to send back any products the company sent you. If the company wants the products back or if you do not want to keep the products, you can demand that the company bear the cost of sending the product back.
If you receive more invoices, reminders or collection demands
Even though you dispute the invoice, the company may insist on its claim and send new invoices or reminders or contact a debt collection agency.
If you receive new invoices
If you receive invoices that concern something other than the invoices you previously protested against, you need to contact the company again in writing to dispute the invoices.
If you receive reminders on invoices you have disputed
If you receive a reminder on an invoice that you have already disputed, you do not need to dispute the reminder. By disputing the original invoice, you have already declared that you will not pay.
If you receive a collection demand
In some cases, companies contact debt collection agencies to help collect the payment. If you receive a collection demand, it does not mean that you have received a record of non-payment or will receive one. You can dispute a collection demand in the same way that you dispute a regular invoice, but you need to dispute the demand with the collection agency that sent the collection demand. It is important that you say why you are disputing the claim. Remember to always dispute a claim in writing, such as by email.
If the company turns to the Swedish Enforcement Authority
Sometimes, companies turn to the Swedish Enforcement Authority to get help to demand payment, which means that they apply for an order to pay. But you still have the possibility to dispute the claim if it is incorrect.
If the company turns to the Swedish Enforcement Authority, you will receive a letter from the Swedish Enforcement Authority. This letter will say what you have to do if you do not agree with the claim, and how much time you have to respond.
If you notify the Swedish Enforcement Authority within this response period that the claim is incorrect, you will receive no record of non-payment. It is if you do not do anything, meaning neither pay nor notify that the claim is incorrect, that the Swedish Enforcement Authority will pronounce a decision. This means that the Swedish Enforcement Authority establishes that you must pay what the company demands. In this situation, you will receive a record of non-payment, which means that the credit rating agencies make a note that you have not paid the debt on time.
If you dispute the claim from the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the company needs to turn to a court in order to get a decision on whether or not they are entitled to payment.
If you and the company do not agree
If you need guidance, you can contact Hallå konsument [Hello Consumer]. We are a national information service that can provide information on your rights and what options you have to make progress. We provide independent guidance and therefore cannot assess your individual matter, resolve disputes or contact companies for you.
Contact information to Hallå konsument
If you and the company do not agree, you can in many cases file a report with the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) to have the dispute tried. However, ARN will not try the dispute if the matter has been or is turned over to the Swedish Enforcement Authority or a court.
Source: KonsumentverketECC Sverige
Proofread: 22 February 2022
This page was funded by the European Union's Consumer Programme (2014-2020). ECC Sweden is a part of the European Consumer Centres Network, but also a part of the Swedish Consumer Agency’s information service Hello Consumer. At ECC Sweden, consumers who made cross-border purchases within the EU, Iceland, Norway or the UK can get free help and advice from our legal advisers.