The Law on the Amendment to the Consumer Protection and Property Ownership Law was published on the Official Gazette on 01.04.2022. With the Law consisting of 20 articles in total, significant changes were made, some existing provisions were abolished and new provisions were included. Amendments regarding time-share were arranged on 01.04.2022, the date of publication, and other provisions were arranged to enter into force six months upon the publication of the Law, on 01.10.2022.
Amendments Made About Installment Sales: In installment sales contracts regulated in Article 19 of the Law, when the consumer defaults and the remaining debt becomes due, the expression that constitutes at least one-tenth of the remaining debt, not the sale price, has been changed to at least one-tenth of the price in the contract. In addition, the phrase “remaining debt” after the phrase “instalment or” has been removed from the text of the article. With this change, the consumer’s default and the conditions for holding him responsible for the entire remaining debt became more difficult and favored the consumer.
Amendments Made on Consumer Loans
1- Right of Withdrawal: In Article 24 of the Law, it is regulated that the consumer has the right to withdrawal from the consumer loan agreement within fourteen days without giving any reason and without paying any fines. The scope of use of the right of withdrawal has been extended by adding the statement “If the entire loan debt is paid early within the period of the right of withdrawal, the provisions of this article shall be applied without any notification”.
2- Amendment to the Agreement: According to the Law on the Consumer Protection, the terms of the fixed-term loan agreement cannot be changed to the detriment of the consumer. In the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Law, the phrase “in case of a change in the rate” has been changed in favor of the consumer as “in case of an increase in the rate”. Accordingly, the obligation to notify the consumer of interest rate changes thirty days in advance will only be required if the interest rate is increased.
3- Credit-Linked Insurance and Purchase of Ancillary Financial Products/Services: The title of Article 29 of the Law, titled “Making Insurance” and regulating insurance related to credit, has been changed to “Providing Insurance, Ancillary Financial Products and Services”. With this amendment, it is prohibited to make loans in consumer and housing loans conditional on the purchase of subsidiary financial products and services and the requirement to have insurance related to the loan has also been abolished.Amendments Regarding Prepaid Housing Sales: The conditions for insurance and other subsidiary financial products in consumer loans are also stipulated for housing finance. With the amendment made, it was stated that the prepaid residences must be delivered to the consumer within the promised period, and the transfer or delivery period was increased from 36 months to 48 months.
Amendments Regarding Distance Sales Contract and Intermediary Service Providers: With the additions made to Article 48 of the Law, innovations regarding distance sales contracts have been introduced and intermediary service providers have important obligations.
1- In the distance sales contract, the seller or the supplier must fulfill the obligation within thirty days from the moment the consumer’s order arrives. With the amendment made, an exception was made to this provision; “Goods prepared in line with the consumer’s request or personal needs” are excluded from this provision.
2- Intermediary Service Providers are obliged to convey the demands and notifications of the consumers regarding the issues determined by the Regulation during the usage period of the rights and obligations arising from the distance contracts established through the system. In addition, they are obliged to establish a system suitable for their monitoring and to keep it open uninterruptedly. The obligations of intermediary service providers regarding the distance contracts they mediate are regulated in detail.
Amendments to Time-share and Long-Term Holiday Service Contracts: With the amendment made in the Law on Time-share Holiday and Long-Term Holiday Service Contracts and Article 50 of the Law on Consumer Protection, with the exception of contracts granting timeshare rights, timeshare agreements that provide real rights related to ownership share cannot be concluded with consumers. In addition, prepaid time-share contracts with consumers are prohibited. Timeshare contracts can also be established for a maximum of ten years. If the consumer notifies the seller that he will not use his timeshare holiday, at least ninety days before the start of the holiday, the seller will not be able to demand any price from the consumer.
Amendments Regarding Refurbished Products: Refurbished products are defined as used goods offered for resale by improving their hardware, software or physical features, and it has been made mandatory to give a guarantee of at least 1 year from the date of delivery to the consumer. The goods to be determined by the regulation can be sold as refurbished products, provided that they are renewed in centers authorized by the Ministry of Commerce.
Amendments Regarding After-Sales Services: With the amendment made, manufacturers or importers are obliged to keep up-to-date information about all authorized service stations in the system created by the Ministry. In addition, these service stations are obliged to use the special service phrase in a way that can be easily seen and read in all kinds of activities and channels.
Amendments Regarding the Consumer Arbitral Tribunals: The limit for the disputes in which the Consumer Arbitral Tribunals are in charge has been increased from 15,430 TL to 30,000 TL. Where there is no consumer arbitration committee, the application can be made to the relevant district governorship. Notifications will be made electronically by the Consumer Arbitral Tribunals. In cases where electronic notification cannot be made, the provisions of the Notification Law shall apply.
Fines: Administrative fines to be applied in case of violation of the law have been increased. In case of violation of the provisions of timeshare and long-term holiday service agreements, imprisonment from three months to six years is foreseen. If the violation occurs on the internet, the Advertisement Board may decide to block access to the broadcast, section or part where the violation occurred. The Advertisement Board is authorized also block access to the entire website if it is technically impossible to block access to the infringing content or to prevent the violation by blocking access to the relevant content only.