Skipper shocked by exorbitant repair bill for nonprofit boats in Norway

Rolf-Ørjan Høgset serves as the skipper and daily manager for the environmental organization “In the Same Boat.” Each year, the nonprofit sends its boats for maintenance before the new season. This year, however, Høgset received an unexpected shock: the repair bill from the workshop was four times higher than usual.

Høgset noted that the workshop billed them for excessive hours of work during the service, alleging that they had charged for time spent cleaning their facility. He highlighted an instance where it took the workshop an entire day for two individuals to measure a bow door, questioning the rationale behind such inflated time estimates. Overall, the repair costs for servicing three boats exceeded 340,000 Norwegian kroner.

The workshop declined to provide an interview in response to the criticisms raised by Høgset’s organization and indicated their intention to take the matter to court for further discussion on the invoice.

Consumer law experts state that organizations and businesses lack the same protections under the law as private individuals do when disputing invoices. While the Consumer Council assures better recourse for consumers through the Craftsman Services Act, this layer of protection does not extend to nonprofit organizations.

Thomas Iversen, a legal expert at the Consumer Council, encourages businesses and nonprofits to remain vigilant when purchasing services. In case of suspected unfair charges, he advises immediate contact with the invoice issuer, suggesting that supporting documentation from other service providers can help validate claims of inflated billing.

This organization has been collecting shoreline waste since 2017 and reported more rubbish than ever collected last winter.