I was having a look at the KO ToS and related applicable Turkish Law. Some of you may find this article from 'todayszaman' (29 May 2011, Sunday) interesting. The author is Berk Çektir. a licensed attorney at law

Enjoy! :


"This topic is actually very important for all of us since we are all subject to transactions during our daily lives even for the smallest of shopping trips. Nowadays whilst consumer expectations are higher, they are more likely to buy a defective good or receive defective service.



To protect the consumer, international organizations published general rules and guidelines. One of them is the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UN DESA). It announced guidelines in the late 1970s, which were expanded in 1999. They consist of eight main objectives such as, facilitating protection, promoting sustainable consumption and maintaining adequate protection for a country's population as consumers. Even if these guidelines are not binding for national regulations, they do determine basic consumer rights and objectives for members of the UN.

Turkey has been a charter member of the UN since 1945 and the above-mentioned guidelines were published in the late 1970s. Unfortunately, however, Turkish Consumer Law (No: 4077) was only passed on Feb. 23, 1995 and was published in the Official Gazette on March 8, 1995.

Article 2 of the Consumer Law states the subject of law. In this respect, subjects of the law are all consumer-related transactions within the goods and services markets to which a consumer is subject. In addition, Article 1 -- which is related to the purpose of the contract -- is included in the subject of the law. It is to take measures for protecting the health, safety and economic interests of consumers in line with public interest, maintaining consumer awareness, covering loss incurred by consumers, protecting them against environmental hazards, promoting consumer initiatives aimed at protecting consumers' interests and encouraging civil society organizations that contribute to consumer-related policies.



I will try to clarify all the steps you should follow when you encounter a problem as a consumer. First of all, I want to explain some definitions that are stated under the Consumer Law.



Who is the consumer, seller/service provider?



A consumer, as defined in Article 3, is either a natural or legal person who receives, uses or benefits from goods or services for purposes that are not related to his profession or commercial activities. According to Article 3, a seller can be either a natural or legal person who provides goods to the consumer as part of his job, including any public legal entity. Supplier means any natural or legal person who provides services as part of his job/business/trade/profession to a consumer.

Goods means any movable property subject to purchase or sale, immovable property for residential or vacation purposes and any software, audio, visual or other intangible goods intended for use in the electronic environment where service is defined as any activity, other than the supply of goods, performed for the payment of a fee or consideration.



Under which conditions is a consumer entitled to benefit from Consumer Law protection?



Defective goods



According to the Consumer Law defective goods are: Goods which contain, material, legal or economic deficiencies which influence the quality, or the quantity that affects the quality, specified on the packaging, labeling, presentation or operating instructions, or in the advertisements or notices, or declared by the seller or established in the standards or technical regulations, or decrease or eliminate its value or the benefits expected from such product by the consumer with respect to fitness, shall be deemed as defective.

Let's assume that you buy a refrigerator. The seller did not inform you of any problems concerning the refrigerator. You start to use it and then you realize that it does not cool properly. In this situation, you should notify the seller about the defect within 30 days of the date of delivery. In addition, the Consumer Law states that: “the statute of limitations for responsibility for defective goods is two years following the delivery of the goods to the consumer, even if the defect appears later, unless those responsible for the defect under the Consumer Law have undertaken responsibility for a longer period. The statute of limitations is five years for immovable properties used for residential or vacation purposes.” The statute of limitations shall not be applied if the seller is concealing any defect through his gross negligence or fraud.



When you notify the seller of a defect, you have four options to claim against the seller, which are: (i) rescind the contract with a refund; (ii) replace the product with a new one; (iii) get a reduction in the price proportional to the defect; or (iv) get it repaired free of charge. The manufacturer, seller and distributor are jointly and severally responsible for these options; an importer is also responsible if involved.



If you notify the seller of the option you choose but the seller fails to comply and fulfill your claim, you should apply to either the Arbitration Committee for Consumer Problems or the Consumer Court."