Consumer Rights in Turkey: Refunds, Defects, Distance Sales

Av. Serkan KARA, Serka Law Firm (Istanbul Bar, no. 53770)

Consumer rights in Turkey are governed by the Law on the Protection of Consumers No. 6502, which gives a buyer of defective goods four statutory remedies, sets a 14-day right of withdrawal for distance and online sales, and routes claims below an annual limit through Consumer Arbitration Committees that charge the consumer nothing to apply. For foreign buyers, residents, and companies selling into the Turkish market, the practical value of this law lies in preserving evidence early and filing in the correct forum before deadlines close the claim.

What law protects consumers in Turkey?

The Law on the Protection of Consumers No. 6502, administered by the Ministry of Trade, is the primary statute. It covers defective goods and services, distance and off-premises sales, warranties, unfair commercial practices, and consumer credit. It applies to every consumer transaction (Article 2), and a consumer is any natural or legal person acting for a purpose that is neither commercial nor professional, with no nationality requirement (Article 3(1)(k)), so foreign residents and visitors are protected on the same footing as Turkish consumers. The seller, however, must be acting for a commercial or professional purpose (Article 3(1)(i) and (l)): a used phone bought from a private individual on a peer-to-peer listing falls outside Law No. 6502. Regulations issued under it, such as the Regulation on Distance Contracts, fill in the detail.

What are my remedies for a defective product?

Under Article 11(1) of Law No. 6502, a consumer who receives a defective product may choose one of four remedies: rescission of the contract with a full refund, a proportional reduction in the price, free repair, or replacement with a non-defective item; the seller must carry out the remedy the consumer chooses. Where repair or replacement would put a disproportionate burden on the seller, the consumer may rescind or take a price reduction instead (Article 11(3)). Free repair and replacement can also be claimed from the producer or the importer, who are jointly liable with the seller for those two remedies (Article 11(2)); rescission and price reduction are claimed from the seller.

A request for repair or replacement must be met within 30 business days of being made to the seller, the producer or the importer; for goods listed in the annex to the After-Sales Services Regulation, repair must be completed within the maximum repair time that list sets, which for mobile phones is 20 business days (Article 11(4); the Regulation’s annex, item 8.1.2). Past that, the consumer may move to the other remedies. A defect that appears within six months of delivery is presumed to have existed on delivery, and the seller must prove the goods were not defective; the presumption does not apply where it is incompatible with the nature of the goods or of the defect (Article 10(1)).

What if the service center blames user damage?

For goods sold with a warranty certificate, whether a fault comes from use contrary to the manual is decided by a report that the authorized service center (or, where there is none, the seller, the importer or the producer, in that order) must issue within the goods’ maximum repair time, and a copy must be given to you (Article 11(2) of the Warranty Certificate Regulation). A used phone has no statutory warranty certificate, since the duty to issue one covers unused goods (Article 5(1) of that Regulation); its defect is carried by the six-month presumption of Article 10(1) of the Law. You may challenge that report before the Consumer Arbitration Committee or the consumer court, depending on the value, and ask for an expert examination (Article 11(3)). Asking a consumer who makes a claim for documents unrelated to it, demanding a fee, or systematically refusing to discuss the claim in order to deter the consumer from using the right is listed as an aggressive commercial practice (Annex, item B-3, of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices).

How long is the warranty and the time limit to claim?

Liability for defective goods is subject to a two-year limitation period running from delivery, even where the defect surfaces later; for residential or holiday real property the period is five years (Article 12(1)). Separately, goods that must be sold with a warranty certificate carry a warranty of at least two years from delivery (Article 56(2)), and the time spent in repair is added to the warranty period (Article 6(3) of the Warranty Certificate Regulation). A voluntary warranty from the seller or the maker leaves the consumer’s statutory rights intact (Article 57(1)). Where a defect was concealed by gross fault or fraud, the limitation provisions do not apply at all (Article 12(3)).

At the first defect you may choose any of the four remedies directly (Article 11(1)); the rule that follows is for a consumer who chose repair. If a product you had repaired under the warranty fails again within the warranty period, if the maximum repair time is exceeded, or if a report finds it cannot be repaired, you may ask for a refund, a price reduction or a replacement, and the seller may not refuse (Article 56(3); Article 9(1) of the Warranty Certificate Regulation).

Second-hand and refurbished phones

In a second-hand sale by a business seller, the seller’s liability for defects may not be shorter than one year, or three years for residential or holiday real property (Article 12(2)). A refurbished product, meaning used goods resold after improvements to their hardware, software or physical features, must carry a warranty of at least one year from delivery (Article 57/A(1) and (2)); goods that the implementing regulation lists may be sold as refurbished only if refurbished at a center the Ministry has authorized (Article 57/A(3)). A used phone bought from a business seller that fails five weeks after delivery is therefore inside both the liability period and the six-month presumption of Article 10(1).

Can I cancel an online or distance purchase?

Yes. For distance and online contracts governed by Article 48 of Law No. 6502 and the Regulation on Distance Contracts, the consumer has 14 days to withdraw, with no obligation to give a reason and no penalty. For goods, the period starts on the day you, or a third party you named, take delivery, and you may also withdraw before delivery; handing the goods to the carrier is not delivery to you (Article 9(2) and (4) of the Regulation). A written notice, or one on a durable medium such as e-mail, sent before the period ends is enough, and because the burden of proving the notice is yours, keep the proof of sending (Article 11(1) and (4)). You return the goods within 14 days of your notice unless the seller offered to collect them (Article 13(1)).

The seller refunds everything collected, delivery charges included, within 14 days of the goods being handed to the carrier it named for returns, in one payment and by the means you paid with; if you used another carrier, the 14 days run from the goods’ arrival at the seller (Article 12(1) and (4)). Returning through the seller’s named carrier costs you nothing, and if the seller named no return carrier it may charge you nothing for the return (Article 12(5)). Where a marketplace platform collected the price for the seller, it is jointly liable for the refund unless the money had already been passed to the seller after delivery (Article 48(6)(d) of the Law; Articles 12(1) and 12/A(7) of the Regulation).

The main exceptions are goods made to the consumer’s specifications or personal needs, perishable goods, goods whose protective packaging was opened after delivery where return is unsuitable for health or hygiene reasons, books, digital content and computer consumables on a physical medium once their protective packaging is opened, periodicals outside a subscription, and services performed instantly online or intangible goods delivered instantly (Article 15(1) of the Regulation). On May 6, 2026 the Tenth Chamber of the Council of State annulled three further exceptions, those for vehicles requiring registration and registrable drones, for live auctions, and for goods installed by the seller or an authorized service (Article 15(1)(ı), (j) and (k)).

Where do I file: arbitration committee or court?

Turkish consumer disputes split between two forums by the value of the claim. For applications made in 2026, disputes worth less than TRY 186,000 go to a provincial or district Consumer Arbitration Committee (Tüketici Hakem Heyeti), and applying there is compulsory; a dispute of TRY 186,000 or more is outside a committee’s remit (Article 68(1) of Law No. 6502; Article 3 of the Ministry of Trade’s Communiqué published in the Official Gazette of December 23, 2025, No. 33116). The limit is raised at the start of each calendar year by the revaluation rate (Article 68(4)), and a claim in a foreign currency is converted into Turkish lira at the Central Bank’s banknote selling rate (efektif satış kuru) on the filing date (Article 11(3) of the Consumer Arbitration Committees Regulation). At or above the limit, applying to a mediator before suing in the consumer court is a condition of the action (Article 73/A(1)).

A committee application may be made in person or through a lawyer, by hand, by post or online through e-Devlet’s Consumer Information System, and a foreign applicant gives a passport number or a foreign identity number (Articles 11(1) and 11(3) of the Regulation). It may be filed where you live or where the transaction was made (Article 68(3) of the Law). The committee decides within six months, extendable by at most three months (Article 21(1) of the Regulation), and an urgent review, granted at the chair’s discretion, is also open to foreign consumers with no residence in Turkey (Article 21(2)). Its decision binds both parties and is enforced like a court judgment; either party may object to the consumer court within two weeks of notification, and the court’s decision on the objection is final (Article 70(1) to (5) of the Law). If a decision in your favor is annulled on objection, an attorney’s fee on the tariff is awarded against you, unless the annulment rests on a document that existed but was not put to the committee (Article 70(6)).

How does cross-border and foreign-buyer enforcement work?

A foreign resident who buys from a seller established in Turkey uses the same committee, mediation and consumer court routes as a Turkish consumer; an order and a receipt issued in Turkey need no apostille, and a committee application can be made by post, online or through a lawyer, so physical presence is not required. Where the contract has a foreign element, Article 45(1) of the Act on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure No. 5718 gives jurisdiction, at the consumer’s choice, to the Turkish courts of the consumer’s domicile or habitual residence or of the other party’s place of business, domicile or habitual residence; where the parties chose another law, Article 26 keeps the minimum protection of the mandatory rules of the consumer’s habitual residence, on its conditions. Documents issued abroad usually need an apostille or consular legalization and a notarized Turkish translation before a Turkish committee or court relies on them.

What documents and evidence do I need?

Consumer claims under Law No. 6502 succeed on the paper trail, not on what either side recalls. Assemble the proof file before you escalate:

• invoice, receipt, order confirmation, and the contract or terms of sale
• the defect record: photographs, the service center’s slip and report, and delivery documents
• written correspondence with the seller, including the formal demand and any withdrawal notice
• bank or card statements showing payment and any partial refund
• the warranty certificate, return-policy text, and after-sales documents
• for a committee application, your passport or foreign identity number; for documents issued abroad, an apostille or consular legalization and a notarized Turkish translation

Frequently asked questions

Do foreign residents have the same consumer rights in Turkey?

Yes. Law No. 6502 protects any buyer acting for a purpose that is neither commercial nor professional, with no nationality requirement (Article 3(1)(k)). A foreign resident or visitor applies to a Consumer Arbitration Committee, a mediator or a consumer court on the same terms as a Turkish consumer, giving a passport or foreign identity number on a committee application (Article 11(3) of the Consumer Arbitration Committees Regulation). Translations and apostilles matter only for documents issued abroad.

Is the choice of remedy mine or the seller’s?

Under Article 11(1) of Law No. 6502, the choice among rescission with a refund, price reduction, repair and replacement belongs to the consumer, and the seller must carry out the remedy chosen. Only where repair or replacement would be disproportionately burdensome for the seller is the consumer limited to rescission or a price reduction (Article 11(3)). If a chosen repair or replacement is not completed within 30 business days, or within the maximum repair time for listed goods, the consumer may switch to another remedy (Article 11(4)).

How long do I have to bring a defective-goods claim?

Two years from delivery for goods and five years for residential or holiday real property (Article 12(1) of Law No. 6502), at least one year for second-hand goods sold by a business (Article 12(2)), and no limitation at all where the defect was concealed by gross fault or fraud (Article 12(3)).

Does a consumer arbitration committee decision actually bind the seller?

Yes, and it binds you too. A Consumer Arbitration Committee decision binds both parties and is enforced under the rules of Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 for court judgments (Article 70(1) and (2) of Law No. 6502). A party that disagrees may object before the consumer court within two weeks of notification; the objection does not stop enforcement unless the judge orders it on request, and the court’s decision on the objection is final (Article 70(3) and (5)).

Can I cancel an online order I changed my mind about?

For most distance and online sales, yes, within 14 days under Article 48(4) of Law No. 6502 and the Regulation on Distance Contracts, with no reason required. The exceptions include goods made to your specifications, perishable goods, hygiene goods opened after delivery and digital content delivered instantly (Article 15(1) of the Regulation). Keep the order confirmation, your written withdrawal notice and the return tracking record, because the proof of the notice is yours to give.

Related reading: defective goods and warranty claims in Turkey, e-commerce refund and chargeback rights, and commercial contract review for sellers.

General information, not legal advice. Turkish law; verify your specific situation with qualified counsel.