9 – Delays and non-delivery: the Purchaser’s rights and time limit to make a claim
If the Seller does not deliver the good or delivers it late according to the terms of the parties’ contract, and this is not due to the Purchaser or to conditions on the part of the Purchaser, the Purchaser may, in accordance with Chapter 5 of the Consumer Purchases Act, withhold the purchase sum, demand performance of the contract, terminate the contract and/or demand compensation from the Seller, according to the relevant circumstances.
For demands of remedy for breach of contract, notice should be given in writing for the purposes of documentation (e.g. by email).
Performance
The Purchaser may affirm the purchase and demand performance from the Seller. The Purchaser may not however demand performance if there is a barrier to performance the Seller cannot overcome, or if performance would cause a great disadvantage or expense to the Seller that is out of proportion to the Purchaser’s interest in the performance. Should these obstacles be removed within a reasonable amount of time, however, the Purchaser may demand performance.
The Purchaser loses his/her right to demand performance if he/she waits an unreasonably long time to make the claim.
Termination
If the Seller does not deliver the good at the time set for delivery, the Purchaser shall call on the Seller to deliver within a reasonable additional time frame for performance. If the seller does not deliver the good within the additional time frame, the Purchaser may cancel the purchase.
The Purchaser may however cancel the purchase immediately if the Seller refuses to deliver the good. This also applies to cases in which delivery at the agreed time was a decisive factor in the conclusion of the contract, or if the Purchaser has informed the Seller that the delivery time is a decisive factor.
If the item is delivered after the additional time frame set by the consumer or after the delivery time that was a decisive factor in the conclusion of the contract, termination must be asserted within a reasonable time frame after the Purchaser was informed of the delivery.
Compensation
The Purchaser may demand compensation for losses incurred as a result of the delay. However, this does not apply to cases in which the Seller can assert that the delay was due to obstacles outside the Seller’s control that could not have reasonably been foreseen at the time the contract was concluded, could not have been avoided or the consequences of which could not have been overcome.