The Consumer Services Act

When is the Consumer Services Act applicable? 

• When you, as a private individual, purchase a service from a commercial provider. 

• For work on land, buildings and other immovable property including real property. For example, house renovations, painting work or when you hire a company to construct a new house. 

• For work on personal property. For example, repair of a car or television.  

• For storage of personal effects. For example, storing furniture or dry docking of a boat. 

When is the Consumer Services Act not applicable? 

As the legislation applies to work on personal property and real property, there are many services that fall outside the scope of the statute. Some examples are:  

• medical treatment or other personal services for persons or animals, for example by a hairdresser or a veterinarian  

• manufacturing of things  

• transportation services, such as moving services  

• when a company buys services from another company.  

Provisions in applicable legislation 

Statutory guarantee – three or ten years 

If the service is flawed or not as expected, you will need to lodge a complaint and claim for redress. You can do this by notifying the company. The complaint must be made within a reasonable amount of time. If you inform the company of your complaint within two months, generally this will always be regarded as within a reasonable period of time. On the other hand, if you complain about a fault more than three years after the end of the project contracted for, the company has no legal liability, even if the problem was recently detected. An exception is if the service concerns work on land, buildings or other real property. Then you can lodge a complaint about faults or malfunction detected within ten years of the completion of the work. 

Requirement for the work to be carried out professionally 

The company must ensure that the person carrying out the service has the relevant skills and the requisite training. The service must be carried out professionally, i.e. in a manner normally expected of a skilled and reliable professional. The company must also ensure that the service is not performed in violation of health and safety regulations nor prohibitions in the Product Safety Act or the Marketing Act. 

The company’s obligation to dissuade 

The company has an obligation to look out for your interests and consult with you. The company must dissuade you from purchasing the service if it is not of reasonable benefit to you. As the company must provide the materials needed for the work, unless you have agreed otherwise, the company must also advise you if it considers that you have chosen materials that are unsuitable for the purpose. 

Your rights in the event of a detected fault or other problems 

When the service is faulty, your first recourse is to demand that the fault is rectified without cost to you. If the company is unable to rectify the fault, or does not do so within a reasonable period of time, you may instead be entitled to a reduction in price. The amount of the reduction in price must be equivalent to the cost to you of having the fault remedied. If the service is faulty in some way or you have a problem with it, you also have the right to withhold payment. You can withhold as much of the payment as is necessary to secure your claim. 

In some cases, you can void the contract, i.e. cancel it. This is a possibility if the purpose of the service has been lost or otherwise is of no value, in other words if the service would be basically worthless to you. 

If the service is faulty, you can also claim financial compensation for the damage and additional costs caused by the deficient work. For example, if a roof was repaired incorrectly and rainwater leaked in and ruined your property. 

Further information about how to lodge a consumer complaint about a faulty service 

Your rights in the event of failure to delivery by the promised date 

When the company does not start, or does not finish, the work within the agreed timeframe, you have the right to withhold payment. You can withhold as much of the payment as is necessary to secure your claim. 

In the event of a delay, your first recourse would be to ask the company to complete the service. In some situations, you may also have the right to cancel the contract if the service is not completed by the agreed date and the delay is of significant importance to you. You can also claim damages, i.e. financial compensation, if you have incurred costs or suffered other financial lossas a result of the failure to perform the service within the agreed timeframe. 

What price are you obligated to pay? 

You are obligated to pay the price that you and the company have agreed upon. If you have not explicitly agreed on the price, your obligation is to pay what is known as a “fair and reasonable” amount. A price is usually considered fair and reasonable if it corresponds to what the work would normally cost. 

If the company has provided you with an estimated approximate price, the final price may not exceed the estimated price by more than 15%. 

However the company is entitled to charge an additional amount if it has carried out necessary additional work or if the work has become more expensive due to circumstances for which you are responsible. As a general rule however, the company must always consult with you before carrying out additional work. 

The purchaser is entitled to receive an itemised bill making it possible to assess the type and extent of the work. If the price is not a flat total price, it should be clear how the total amount has been calculated. 

Read more about what to do when the tradesman wants to be paid an amount you consider to be too much 

What applies in the case of additional work? 

The company is entitled to charge an additional amount if they have performed necessary additional work or if the work has become more expensive due to circumstances for which you are responsible. As a general rule however, the company must always consult with you before carrying out additional work. 

Your right to withhold payment 

If the company does not complete the project contracted for within the agreed time period, and it is not due to circumstances attributable to you, then you have the right to withhold payment. This also applies in the event of a fault in the service. You can withhold as much of the payment as is necessary to secure your claim. 

Rules on cancellation of orders 

Cancellation of an order or a contract is different from a making a complaint or asserting a claim. Cancelling an order where a service was to be provided means that you inform the company that you no longer desire the services. There does not necessarily need to be a fault or problem with the work to cancel the contract. If you cancel an order for a service before it has been completed, the company is fully entitled to compensation for the part of the work that has already been done. In addition, the company is also entitled to compensation for loss of income due to not being able to take on other work. 

Request the assistance of ARN if you can’t arrive at a mutually agreed solution with the company 

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 favor.

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. You will need to pay a filing fee and may also have to pay legal fees and court costs. 

If the company disregards the rules, submit a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency  

If you think that a company is breaking the rules in the law, you can call attention to this by filing a complaint with the Swedish Consumer Agency. The Swedish Consumer Agency checks that companies comply with the rules in the law, and reports are an important input for the agency’s work. However, a report does not mean that your individual case will be assessed and decided. 

File a complaint on the Swedish Consumer Agency’s website

Full text of the statute 

Read the full text of the Swedish Consumer Services Act on the website of the Swedish Parliament  (In Swedish)