Smartphones and Computers will not be ‘Arbitrary’ Returned!

The new regulation, published in today’s issue of the Official Gazette, included an article that would upset many consumers. With the “Regulation on Amending the Regulation on Distance Contracts” shared by the Ministry of Commerce, regulations were made on the cargo fee and the right of withdrawal for the return of products.

With the shared regulation, consumers will now have to cover the cost of return shipping. However, when you buy technological products such as mobile phones, smart watches, tablets, computers and drones, you will no longer benefit from the right of withdrawal from these products. The relevant regulations in the new regulation were as follows:

Return shipping fee will now be out of pocket of consumers:

ARTICLE 11- The phrase “four” and the following paragraph have been added to the same article to come after the phrase “ten” in the first paragraph of Article 13 of the same Regulation.

“(3) The consumer is obliged to cover the return cost, not exceeding the delivery costs, if it is agreed in the preliminary information and the amount is included in the return with the carrier stipulated by the seller. However, if the goods delivered to the consumer are defective within the scope of Article 8 of the Law, the consumer cannot be held responsible for the costs of returning. If the consumer requests, the return cost can be deducted from the cost of the goods or services to be returned to him and the delivery costs.

With the above addition, consumers will now have to cover the shipping fee themselves if they request a return.

The right of withdrawal has been removed from mobile phones and computers:

ARTICLE 13- The following paragraphs have been added to the first paragraph of Article 15 of the same Regulation.

“ı) Contracts regarding movables, which are required to be registered in accordance with the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918 and dated 13/10/1983, and unmanned aerial vehicles that are required to be registered or registered.

i) Contracts regarding mobile phones, smart watches, tablets and computers delivered to the consumer.

j) Contracts concluded through auction in the form of live auction.

k) Contracts regarding the installation or assembly of the goods specified in the introduction and user manual by the seller or authorized service.

With this amendment made in the relevant article of the regulation, consumers will no longer be able to benefit from the right of withdrawal for unmanned aerial vehicles, mobile phones, smart watches, tablets, computers and contracts concluded through live auction auctions, which are required to be registered and registered. In other words, you will not be able to return the products you purchased for reasons related to yourself. However, a problem with the products will not prevent the return of these products.

On the other hand, the time limit for shipping the return has been increased to 14 days:

The new regulation also included a regulation that would benefit consumers. With the new regulation, you will now have 14 days to ship the product in cases such as returns or exchanges.

New obligations have also been imposed on banks: In case of refund, card limits will be refunded at once:

If the payment for the product is made by credit card, the card providers will now be obliged to add the amount transferred by the seller, supplier or intermediary service provider to the available limit of the cardholder in one go, upon receipt.

While the regulation regarding the credit card will enter into force on January 1, 2023, the other regulations mentioned in this article will be effective as of October 1, 2022.