With the regulation published in the Official Gazette by the Ministry of Commerce, amendments were made to the Regulation on Distance Contracts. The regulation, which imposes various restrictions on returns in online shopping, will enter into force on October 1, 2022.
The right of withdrawal has been removed from phones and computers.
As the most striking article of the regulation, the right of withdrawal has been abolished for phones, smart watches, tablets and computers in online shopping. Even if the customers want to return the product they purchased without any damage or without opening the box of the product, the sellers may not accept the return. Returns will be at the discretion of the seller. The seller will have to take a return in these cases, since the non-arbitrary situations such as the presence of a defect in the product or the wrong product are considered outside the right of withdrawal.
In addition, drones that have to be registered, vehicles that are required to be registered according to the Highway Traffic Law, and the products that have been installed are excluded from the scope of the right of withdrawal. These products cannot be returned unconditionally.
According to the information obtained, with this regulation, before the shopping decision, consumers make necessary and sufficient research to prevent the waste of resources caused by the unnecessary and arbitrary use of the said right, to reduce the import costs caused by these goods, which are mostly imported, to prevent damage to the environment, to contribute to sustainable consumption and green transformation. was intended.
With the decision published in the Official Gazette, the following clauses have been added to the statement “Unless the parties decide otherwise, the consumer cannot use the right of withdrawal in the following contracts” in Article 15 of the Distance Sales Contract:
“ı) Contracts regarding movables, which are required to be registered in accordance with the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918 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.
Obligation of free shipping on withdrawal is lifted
In distance sales contracts, if the right of withdrawal is exercised, the customer could send the product to the seller with free shipping. With the new regulation, the obligation to free shipping is removed. In the contract, if the right of withdrawal is exercised, it may be agreed that the customer will pay the shipping fee. The customer will be informed about this before the sale. Now, when you want to return the product for arbitrary reasons, you may have to pay the shipping fee.
The e-commerce regulation was approved by the Parliament and became a law.
In addition, in cases such as returns or exchanges, the time for the customer to send the product to the seller has been increased to 14 days. After creating a request, you can deliver the product to the seller within 14 days.
Card limit will be maintained
In case of exercising the right of withdrawal for payments made by credit card, the amount transferred to the issuing institutions regarding the legally obligatory refunds to the consumer by the seller or the provider and the intermediary service provider within 14 days will be added to the usable limit of the card at once, following the receipt of the card issuer. While this provision is foreseen to come into force on January 1, 2023, with this regulation, the obstacle preventing consumers from accessing financing due to the unfair reduction of their credit limits has been removed. Other regulations in the regulation will enter into force on October 1, 2022.