Late delivery of a product
Försenad vara - Engelska
The company must deliver the product within the promised delivery period. If you have not agreed on a delivery time, you have the right to receive the product within 30 days from when you made the purchase.
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Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
When is a product considered delayed?
By law, a product is delayed if any of the following situations arise:
You did not receive the product within the promised time. The promised time is the time stated when you make the purchase, for example, in the purchase conditions or in the order confirmation.
There is no promised or agreed delivery time, but at least 30 days have passed since the purchase and the product has not been delivered.
What can you demand of the company?
The Consumer Sales Act determines what demands you can make of the company.
Firstly: That the company deliver your product
You have a right to demand that the company keep its part of the agreement and deliver your product. At the same time, you have a possibility to demand compensation on the basis of expenses you incurred as a result of the delay, and to withhold the payment. You most often need to begin by demanding delivery of your delayed product before it can be an option for you to demand your money back, i.e. revoke the purchase.
Secondly: That you may revoke the purchase
A revocation means that the purchase is annulled. This means that you are not obliged to pay, at the same time that the company does not need to deliver the product. To be able to revoke the purchase, you need to have given the company a reasonable additional amount of time in connection with you complaining about the delay. An additional amount of time is a final date for when the product must be delivered and is intended to give the company a reasonable chance to deliver the product. If the company does not succeed in delivering within the additional time, you can revoke the purchase.
Revocation without additional time
If you have not given the company additional time, the delay must be of substantial importance in order for you to be able to revoke the purchase. Examples of when the delay may be of substantial importance:
If you at the time of purchase already ensured (such as by contacting the company) that the product could be delivered no later than a certain date.
If the time is clearly crucial to the purchase, for example if the product is to be used on a special occasion. An example is if you ordered a wedding cake that cannot be delivered on time.
Right to withhold payment
Since the product has not been delivered, you have the right by law to withhold payment. This serves as your security so that the company will deliver the product.
Compensation on the grounds of the delay
You should not be affected by costs because the product is delayed. The law gives you the right to compensation for actual costs that arise due to the delay, although not for the inconvenience or the actual wait in itself. So, you cannot demand compensation or a price reduction solely on the grounds that the product is delayed, but only for costs or financial damage that you can prove using, for example, receipts.
If the company does not deliver your product and you are forced to buy the product at a higher price from another company, this is also a kind of additional cost.
Write to the company and demand delivery
Contact the company and demand that they deliver the delayed product. It is only in exceptional cases that you may have the right to revoke the purchase directly. When you demand delivery, you need to give the company a reasonable amount of additional time, meaning a final date for when the company shall deliver your product at the latest.
There are no requirements on what a complaint should look like, but we recommend that you contact the company in writing, such as by sending an email.
Demand to be able to cancel the purchase if you do not receive the product
If you have given the company a reasonable amount of additional time and the additional time passes without you receiving your product, you can contact the company and revoke the purchase. It does not matter if the company answered you or not. What is important is that you can show that you contacted the company and made demands.
If the company notifies you that they will not be able to deliver the product within the additional time, or that they cannot deliver at all, you can demand to revoke the purchase directly.
Remember to contact the company in writing when you revoke the purchase, such as via email. In the same message, you can inform the company that you have no obligation to pay for the product. If you already paid, you can demand repayment from the company in this situation.
If you choose to buy the product from another company
If you choose to buy a similar product from another company, and are forced to pay a higher price, you have the possibility of demanding compensation for the difference from the company that did not deliver the product.
To be able to demand compensation for the difference, you need to make the purchase with care. This means that you need to compare alternatives and choose a reasonable price. If you do not find and exactly similar product, it can be OK to buy a product that is comparable. A product is often considered comparable if it has a corresponding quality, functions and price.
If you do not reach an agreement with the company
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. It is free of charge.
Read more about filing a report on the ARN website
To be able to file a report to ARN, the company must have said partly or entirely no to your requirement or has not responded at all.
Source: KonsumentverketECC Sverige
Proofread: 15 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.
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