News · Consumer rights · Published 11 July 2026
Swedish proposal would put legal force behind customer-service duties
DailySweden Editorial Desk
Updated 17:01 · 3 min read
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Companies in large parts of Sweden's service sector could face enforceable orders backed by a financial penalty when they fail to handle customer complaints properly. A law-council referral published on 7 July would give the Consumer Ombudsman responsibility and investigative powers to supervise complaint handling under the Internal Market Services Act.
The underlying duty is not new. Covered service providers are already required to answer a recipient's complaint as soon as possible and make a prompt effort to find a satisfactory solution. The government says the present weakness is enforcement: failure to follow the duty has not carried a legal consequence under the act, and no authority has had a specific mandate to check compliance.
Under the proposal, a provider that does not meet the requirement could be ordered to do so. The government's announcement says an order could be linked to a conditional fine. The formal referral also gives the Consumer Ombudsman the same investigative and supervisory powers used under the Marketing Act for these complaint-handling cases.
The scope is broader than telephone sales or one type of subscription. The government lists retail, hotels and restaurants, construction and craft services, and personal services such as hairdressers and beauty salons among the businesses covered by the Internal Market Services Act. Whether a particular company falls within the law remains the first question in any individual case.
For consumers, the proposal is aimed at the familiar gap between having a contractual right and being able to exercise it when a company is difficult to reach. The government cites long telephone queues and poor follow-up identified in Consumer Agency reviews. Enforcement would focus on whether complaints are answered and a solution is pursued, not on guaranteeing that the customer wins every underlying dispute.
The change is not in force yet. A law-council referral is a draft sent for legal review before a government bill can be presented to parliament. The proposed commencement date is 1 March 2027. Until legislation is adopted, the current complaint-handling duty remains, but the new enforcement mechanism and the Ombudsman's expanded role do not apply.
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