Consumer Law and Consumer Dispute Resolution in Turkey

1) Legal Framework and Policy Rationale

Turkey’s modern consumer law regime is built principally on Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers (“Law No. 6502”) and a suite of secondary legislation (distance contracts, after-sales services, warranty certificates, price tags, commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices, doorstep sales, timeshares, package tours, financial services, etc.). General private-law rules in the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK), procedural rules in the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK), and market-conduct oversight by the Ministry of Trade and the Advertisement Board (Reklam Kurulu) complete the framework. For goods that double as “products” causing harm, product liability principles under TBK and special safety legislation also apply.

The system pursues three parallel objectives:

1. Substantive fairness (mandatory consumer rights; unfair term control),
2. Procedural accessibility (specialized consumer courts; arbitration committees; mandatory mediation),
3. Market discipline (administrative supervision and sanctions for misleading advertising or unfair practices).

2) Who Is a “Consumer”? Scope and Actors

A consumer is a real person acting for purposes outside trade or profession. Acting partly for business purposes usually removes the relationship from consumer law; however, mixed-purpose contracts demand a dominant-purpose analysis. The counterparties (seller, provider, intermediary, platform, manufacturer, importer, authorized service station) may bear joint and several liabilities in various configurations set by secondary regulations (e.g., warranty/after-sales network obligations for certain categories of goods).

Digital economy rules extend classic concepts to distance contracts, platform-mediated sales, in-app purchases, and digital content/services, with enhanced information duties, standardized withdrawal forms, and specific exceptions.

3) Core Substantive Rights

3.1. Information and Transparency

Before contracting—especially at a distance—traders must provide clear, comprehensible, and durable-medium disclosures (identity, key features, total price including ancillary costs, delivery/fulfilment time, complaint channels, the right of withdrawal where available). Failure triggers administrative sanctions and, in litigation, burden-of-proof shifts and interpretation in favor of the consumer.

3.2. Right of Withdrawal in Distance and Off-Premises Contracts

Consumers enjoy a no-fault withdrawal right within the statutory cooling-off period (commonly 14 days) unless an exception applies (e.g., custom-made goods, quickly perishable goods, sealed hygiene products once unsealed, services fully performed with express consent, certain digital supplies commenced with consent). Traders must refund within the legal deadline from receipt of the withdrawal notice/return. Allocation of return shipping costs and the mechanics of pick-up/return labels are governed by the distance-contracts regulation and the pre-contract disclosures.

3.3. Defective Goods and Services

Where a lack of conformity exists at delivery (or service performance), the consumer may elect among four alternative remedies:

• Repair,
• Replacement with a conforming one,
• Price reduction,
• Rescission and refund.

The consumer’s choice prevails unless the selected remedy is disproportionate for the trader considering costs and feasibility. For certain categories of durable goods, a minimum 2-year warranty and a nationwide authorized service network are mandatory. For immovables, longer limitation periods apply. Within a presumptive period after delivery, defects are presumed to have existed at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise. Hidden defects may trigger longer responsibility horizons under TBK principles.

3.4. Unfair Contract Terms

Terms not individually negotiated that disturb the balance to the consumer’s detriment or conflict with the principle of good faith are not binding. Typical examples include:

• disproportionate penalty clauses,
• unilateral price or performance modification without a valid reason and consumer’s termination right,
• jurisdiction clauses that deprive consumers of statutory fori.
  In financial services, package tours, timeshare, and telecoms, sector-specific unfair-term scrutiny is rigorous.

3.5. Advertising, Pricing, and Unfair Commercial Practices

The Advertisement Board can order suspension, rectification, and administrative fines for misleading ads, covert commercial communications, bait advertising, pyramid schemes, and aggressive practices. Separate rules require clear price tags, total price transparency, and prohibit drip pricing.

4) Procedural Architecture: Forums and Gateways

4.1. Consumer Arbitration Committees (Tüketici Hakem Heyetleri)

For claims up to the annually updated monetary threshold, consumers must first apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committee at their domicile or the place of transaction. The committee issues a reasoned decision.

• Challenging the decision: parties may file an annulment action before the competent consumer court within the statutory time (short).
• Finality and enforcement: unchallenged decisions become final and enforceable akin to a court judgment.

Practice point: Annual thresholds change with the revaluation rate. Avoid hard-coding amounts in pleadings; refer to the current year’s notice by the Ministry of Trade and attach it as an exhibit if needed.

4.2. Consumer Courts and Competence

Above the threshold—or when the subject matter is excluded from committee competence—consumer courts hear the case. Local competence favors the consumer: suits may be brought at the consumer’s domicile. Procedurally, simplicity and speed are guiding principles; however, complex technical disputes (electronics, automobiles, construction defects, financial mis-selling) frequently require expert evidence.

4.3. Mandatory Mediation

Mandatory mediation is a pre-condition to litigation in consumer disputes falling within the scope defined by Law No. 6502 and subsequent amendments. The mediator’s role is to test settlement options (repair, replacement, upgrade paths, partial refunds, extended warranties, store credit, or structured service schedules).

• Attendance failures may attract cost consequences.
• A partial settlement can strategically narrow issues (e.g., liability admitted, quantum reserved).

4.4. Precautionary Measures

For perishable evidence or to preserve the product’s state (software logs, crash data, firmware versions), request determination of evidence (delil tespiti) and interim measures (e.g., injunctions against deceptive advertising campaigns) where appropriate.

5) Evidence and Burden of Proof

• Conformity at delivery: Within the statutory presumption window, defects are deemed pre-existing; traders must rebut with technical proof.
• Documentation: invoices, delivery notes, warranty booklets, service logs, firmware update history, chat transcripts, call center recordings, return labels, and courier scans are all probative.
• Platform responsibility: marketplaces may incur joint responsibilities depending on their role (broker vs. seller of record), KEP/registered notifications, and platform policies vis-à-vis Law No. 6563 (e-Commerce) and secondary rules.
• Expertise pitfalls: ensure appointment of specialists in the exact technology (e.g., EV battery management systems, OLED burn-in, IoT connectivity, fintech algorithms), and challenge generic laboratory reports that ignore usage profiles or software versions.

6) Typical Dispute Archetypes and Tactical Notes

6.1. Electronics and Smart Devices

Issues: ghost touches, motherboard failures, premature battery degradation, software-induced throttling, network incompatibilities.
Tactics: secure service reports, insist on like-for-like replacement (model equivalence), capture diagnostic logs, and memorialize firmware versions at delivery vs. failure.

6.2. Automotive (New/Used)

Issues: recurrent faults, accident/paint history nondisclosure, odometer rollback, EV range deviations.
Tactics: independent dyno and paint-thickness tests, telematics data, recall bulletins, service campaigns; pursue rescission where repair attempts fail the reasonable-time standard.

6.3. Travel, Package Tours, Air Passenger Rights

Issues: significant itinerary changes, sub-standard accommodation, ancillary-fee opacity.
Tactics: contemporaneous photo/video evidence, correspondence with the organizer, mitigation attempts; quantify loss of value vs. advertised features.

6.4. Financial Services and Utilities

Issues: unauthorized transactions, opaque fees, abusive early-termination charges, mis-sold add-on insurance.
Tactics: examine pre-contract info sheets, fee tariffs, recorded consent, and proportionality of penalties; seek unfair term control and restitution.

6.5. Real Estate/Immovables

Issues: construction defects, late delivery in off-plan sales, deviation from specifications.
Tactics: technical expertise per building science standards, staged inspections; leverage longer limitation horizons for immovables and latent defects.

7) Remedies, Damages, and Costs

• Primary remedies are the four alternatives under Law No. 6502; courts respect the consumer’s election, subject to disproportionate cost defenses.
• Compensation: TBK permits positive damage (expectation) and negative damage (reliance), with interest rules per general law. Consequential damages (e.g., data loss from defective storage, business-use overlap) demand careful consumer-purpose framing to stay within the protective regime.
• Moral damages are exceptional but possible where dignity or personal well-being is affected (e.g., severe health/safety defects, egregious advertising).
• Costs and attorney fees follow success; small-value claims before committees avoid heavy cost exposure.

8) Administrative Oversight and Parallel Tracks

Beyond private enforcement, the Ministry of Trade and the Advertisement Board enforce market-conduct rules:

• misleading or comparative advertising,
• unfair commercial practices (aggressive door-to-door tactics, inertia selling),
• price display failures,
• non-compliance with after-sales and warranty obligations.

Practitioners often run parallel tracks: a civil claim (or committee application) for individual redress, and an administrative complaint for market discipline and leverage.

9) Limitation Periods and Peremptory Windows

• Defective goods/services: generally 2 years from delivery/performance (longer for immovables; special longer tails for latent defects under TBK concepts).
• Product-caused damage: tort timelines apply (short limitation plus a 10-year long-stop from the harmful event).
• Withdrawal: a short cooling-off period; compute carefully from delivery of the last item in multi-item contracts.
  Always check special rules in secondary legislation and avoid waiver traps in service reports or replacement protocols.

10) Litigation Strategy and Mediation Playbook

Before suit

• Verify forum (committee vs. court) and mediation pre-condition.
• Send a proper notice ( ihtar ) with a cure window; preserve evidence with delil tespiti if needed.
• Gather a clean dossier: contract, disclosures, screenshots, logs, courier scans, service tickets, platform communications.

At mediation

• Quantify a realistic settlement corridor (repair + courtesy extension, enhanced replacement, tiered refund schedule).
• Address consumer inconvenience (downtime, round-trip shipping, repeated service visits) with structured concessions.

At court

• Frame the case as a statutory election of remedies; demonstrate non-conformity and recurrence; rebut misuse defenses.
• Manage experts: propose precise questions and challenge superficial examinations.
• Consider collective impact evidence (multiple similar complaints) to persuade on systemic defects.

11) Yargıtay (Court of Cassation) Guidance — Working Principles

While exact outcomes depend on facts, recent and enduring trends include:

• Respect for the consumer’s remedy election unless disproportionality is convincingly shown.
• Pro-consumer construction of ambiguous clauses and disclosures.
• Stringent scrutiny of unfair terms, particularly in standard-form contracts and financial services.
• Recognition that repeated, unresolved defects can justify rescission even after earlier repairs.
• Upholding committee decisions where procedure and competence are soundly observed.

12) Compliance Checklist for Traders and Platforms

• Maintain clear, layered disclosures and updated terms aligned with Law No. 6502.
• Implement ticketing and service-log systems capable of evidencing repair timelines and outcomes.
• Design withdrawal and returns flows that meet legal timelines and logistics obligations.
• Audit advertising for substantiation; document claim support.
• Keep warranty certificates and after-sales networks compliant and accessible.
• Train staff on mediation and complaint handling to minimize litigation.

13) Practical Drafting Notes for Counsel

• In pleadings, cite Law No. 6502 provisions, the relevant regulations, and TBK backstops; avoid unnecessary monetary figures that become stale (e.g., committee thresholds).
• Attach screen captures (pre-contract information pages, order summaries), not just PDFs, to prove what the consumer actually saw.
• For platforms, delineate role (broker vs. seller of record) and set indemnity chains with upstream suppliers.
• For recurring defect fact-patterns, consider model pleadings and expert panels to ensure consistent results.