The alarm company Homely has won an award for best customer service in competition with other alarm companies.
– That’s just nonsense. If I had been in their office, I would have demolished that price, says customer Terje Nilsen (52).
– They have a hair-raising practice, he believes.
BEST IN TEST: The alarm company Homely last year won an award for the year’s best customer service among the alarm companies. Photo: Homely
– Tempting offer
Nilsen was tempted by Homely’s home alarm offer.
In order to make the house fire- and burglar-proof, the 52-year-old was offered a package of alarm equipment to be paid off every month.
The package consisted of, among other things, smoke detectors, a home central unit and motion sensors. For the first three years, the monthly price is NOK 385.
NEW HOME ALARM: Terje Nilsen was ready for a new home alarm in the house. Photo: Private
– Basically, it’s a decent price. The agreement is such that you bind yourself for three years, until the equipment is paid off. After three years, the monthly price drops to NOK 199 a month, says Nilsen.
He thanked therefore yes to the offer on 31 October last year.
Change in plans
Nilsen already had an alarm system with competitor Verisure, with a three-month notice period. He informed about this when he entered into the agreement with Homely.
Promises a response in seconds – the waiting time is shocking
He was thus only supposed to receive the equipment from Homely on 1 March 2023, when the agreement with Verisure had expired.
But then it was decided that the family would move, and right after the New Year he contacted Homely:
– I sent an email and said that I wanted to break the agreement. I thought it was fine as I had not received any goods or services yet.
END THE AGREEMENT: On 3 January this year, Nilsen wanted to end the agreement with Homely. Photo: Screenshot
Nilsen had also checked with the Consumer Council, which believed that the statutory cooling-off period of 14 days would only start from the received the alarm equipment.
Then came the reply from Homely:
“We have received your request to terminate the agreement with Homely. If you wish to terminate the agreement with Homely, we will of course arrange this, but you will then be invoiced for the remaining amount of the products, which corresponds to NOK 9,216. The cancellation period applies 14 days from the accepted offer, i.e. 14 days counted from 31.10.2022 when you accepted the offer”.
Nilsen was left as a question mark.
– I received an email stating that I had to pay NOK 9,216 for the “remaining amount of the products”. But I have not received any equipment or services?
– The rules for goods that must apply
Lawyer at the Consumer Council Thomas Iversen tells TV 2 that the right of withdrawal law distinguishes between the purchase of goods and services.
EXPLANATOR: Thomas Iversen believes that the consumer can use the cooling-off period. Photo: Consumer Council
– When it comes to alarm services, it is not clear in case law which rules apply. The Consumer Council nevertheless believes that where the company supplies both a service and goods, the rules for goods must apply.
Guide on right of withdrawal:
In certain cases, different rules apply to goods and services, i.a. is the starting time for the cooling-off period different. In certain situations, it will therefore be necessary to decide whether an agreement is a goods or services agreement.
As a starting point, it will be considered a service agreement if a trader provides or undertakes to provide a service to the consumer. Agreements in which the trader undertakes to transfer ownership of the goods to the consumer, and the consumer pays or undertakes to pay for this, are considered goods contracts.
In practice, an agreement can contain both elements of the sale of goods and the provision of services. Decisive will then be whether it is the purchase of the product or service that is the consumer’s main purpose for entering into the agreement.
Source: Consumer Council
– This means that the cancellation period runs 14 days from delivery, which in turn means that the consumer can use the cancellation period in this case, emphasizes Iversen.
Homely turns
– I think Homely has taken advantage of this section in the regulations. That it should be defined as a service. It’s frustrating. I’m not going to have that alarm system, Terje Nilsen says resignedly.
See what Homely answers further down in the matter.
Nilsen then sent two reminders to Homely, without receiving a response.
Then TV 2 helps you get in touch with Homely. A few minutes later, Nilsen receives an email from the company:
ANSWER: This answer ticked in 18 minutes after TV 2 help you contacted Homely. Photo: Screenshot
– Unvarnished
Managing director of the company Homely, Petter Kildal Forseth, does not recognize the criticism.
– We have been in dialogue with both the Norwegian Consumer Council and the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority around this topic. As we see, the Consumer Council’s approach here (where one should immediately assume that it is the right of withdrawal for goods that applies) is unqualified and does not correspond to the Consumer Council’s own guidance on this matter, writes Petter Kildal Forseth to TV 2 help you.
DISAGREE: Petter Kildal Forseth in Homely believes the customer has exceeded the cooling-off period. Photo: Homely
Forseth writes further:
– Following the recommendation of the Consumer Protection Authority, we have based our practice on the wording of the guide on the right of withdrawal for traders from the Consumer Council. After consultation with our lawyers, we cannot understand that the Consumer Council’s interpretation is supported in this guide.
– As Homely sees it, it is quite clear that what the customers are buying is a home alarm service where goods must be included in order to deliver the service, writes Forseth.
Deputy director Mats Bjønnes of the Consumer Protection Authority explains that previous practice from the Consumer Complaints Committee has been that the sale of home alarms is considered a service.
About the Consumer Complaints Committee:
The Consumer Complaints Committee, formerly the Consumer Disputes Committee, is a court-like administrative body that settles disputes in consumer cases concerning the purchase of goods, tradesman services and cases of right of withdrawal.
Source: Wikipedia
The reason has been that the consumer has rented the equipment. But Homely seller the products to the customer:
– Certain new players in the alarm market have moved away from the equipment rental model, and are now selling their equipment to consumers. This has led to the question of whether such purchases should be defined as the purchase of a product or a service, says Bjønnes.
WAITING: Mats Bjønnes adds that several such cases are being processed by the Consumer Complaint Committee, and that the supervisory authority is now waiting for the decision in these cases. Photo: Consumer Authority
Deletes the bill
Although Homely believes they have interpreted the legislation correctly, the company nevertheless chooses to delete the invoice of NOK 9,216.
They deny that TV 2’s inquiry had an impact:
– We made a concrete assessment of the conditions in the specific case and therefore chose to delete the claim even though the termination came three months after the conclusion of the agreement.
– The customer center had no knowledge of the inquiry from TV 2 help you, clarifies Forseth.
He also states that they have solved similar cases in the same way, and refers to an e-mail sent to a customer with almost identical wording to the one Terje Nilsen received.
Nilsen is very satisfied that the parties have reached an agreement, and says that he hopes Homely changes its practice for new customers.
