Contact: Alper Uzun; Erdem & Erdem (Turkey)
Introduction
The Law on Consumer Protection, dated 23.02.1995 and numbered 4077, was the first specific law to include provisions aimed at the protection of consumers in Turkish Law.
Law No. 4077 was updated through amendments made in the year 2003. On the other hand, in order to establish coherence between the Turkish and EU legislations and to harmonize the Turkish Law of Obligations and the Turkish Commercial Law, which entered into force in 2012, the need to examine the main legislation related to consumer rights was raised, and as a consequence Law No. 6052 (“the Law”), published in the Official Gazette dated 28.11.2013, has emerged. The Law will enter into force six months after its publication. Compared to the former Law No. 4077, the new Law provides more detailed regulations and sanctions in many cases.
Important Provisions Brought by the Law
The need to protect consumers originates from various causes. The necessity to protect consumers through legal provisions arises from the fact that consumers often do not have enough knowledge when concluding legal transactions. In this case, a disproportion of knowledge exists between parties and it is only through legal measures that it can be rectified. In the Law’s preamble, this aspect is specifically stressed, and it is determined that the purpose of all cases where an obligation to inform the consumer before or during the conclusion of a contract is to remove this disproportion and to provide consumers with the possibility of making informed decisions when concluding a contract. In some cases, this obligation is stipulated as a written form requirement, the lack of which would nullify a contract. In other cases it is determined that the contract will be executed despite insufficient information being provided to the consumer, but where the consumer has not been informed of certain matters, he will benefit from rights to the detriment of the party who has drafted the contract. By entering into force, the Law now regulates the issues around which, when and how a consumer should be informed.
One of the important provisions of the Law relates to the issue of consumers concluding various contracts, such as for periodic vacation, long term vacation, contracts which are closed outside the workplaces, prepaid and distance contracts, distance sales of financial and loan services, without effectively examining the terms because of the attraction of such transactions and enticing marketing tactics. In these cases, it is generally seen that consumers regret having concluded such contracts in the end. Therefore, the Law provides for a right of withdrawal, and this right shall be used within 14 days.
As well as rights provided by the Code of Obligations to protect consumers, the Law includes measures related to the supervision of the market. For example, the supervision of unfair conditions, advertisements and practices and the prohibition of all advertisements and unfair commercial practices that could mislead the free will of consumers.
