Shopping in Denmark: 3 Consumer Rights Tips That Every Shopper Should Know
You go into a Danish shop and pick out a nice shirt. Very pleased with the purchase you take it home, yet when you look at it again, you decide it really is not right for you and you regret spending your hard-earned money on it.
Since the shirt has not been worn, the tag is still attached and you have the store receipt, you decide to return the item to the store for a refund. At the store, the assistant refuses to take the item back. Is that legal?
If you do not know the correct answer to the above question, you are not alone. It seems that a recent survey, shows that most consumers do not know their rights when shopping in stores or online.
Since Denmark is part of the European Union, they are covered by the EU consumer directives and have most of the standard laws in place, but Denmark also has their own set of consumer rules. Here are a few of the important ones that most shoppers should know.
1. Return Policy: Just because you buy an item in a physical shop, does not guarantee that you can return or exchange the item, if you are not happy with your purchase. There is no Danish law that guarantees you that right. Most major retailers offer this service, so people assume that it is in place in all shops. Not true, always check the store policy. You need to keep your receipt, because without a store receipt the store does not have to honor their return policy.
2. Price guarantee: In some parts of the world, if you see an item listed in the paper, ad, etc., the shop has to honor that price, even if the price was a printing error. You can often find great bargains that way, but not so in Denmark. If an advertisement has an incorrect price, the store does not have to honor it. They can even have a higher price than what the ad says.
The good news is that if an item in the store has a price sticker on it that is incorrect or the item is advertised in the store at an incorrect price, the store has to honor that price. So if you find for example a television priced at 2000 kroner and when you get the register they say it is actually 3000 kroner, you have the right to buy it at the price listed in the store.
3. Contract cancellation: Finally, know that whenever you agree to purchase something, you are bound by that agreement, even if you do not pay for it at the same time. You do have the right to cancel that agreement within 14 days, if you have not started the service or received the item. For example, a roofer comes to your home and you agree to hire him. You have now entered a binding contract. If within 14 days, you decide not to use him, you can cancel the contract as long as he has not started the work or bought material relevant to your project.
There are many more laws and shopping tips that you should familiarize yourself with, before you go shopping in Denmark. The prices are high enough, so you want to arm yourself with as much helpful and useful information as you can. Having a successful shopping trip in Denmark, can be rewarding as long as you know your rights.
