Consumer Rights and Seller Liability
1. The Purpose and Importance of Consumer Law
While the concept of consumer law is regulated within a general framework by the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, it is specifically protected by the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502, which is designed to safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of consumers.
In this context, the Consumer Protection Law, which safeguards the public interest in general, aims to provide consumers with the opportunity to find easy, accessible, and swift solutions.
In legal terms, a defect is a situation in which a good or service does not possess the qualities specified in the contract or that are reasonably expected.
A defect under the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502;
“…goods that are in breach of contract because, at the time of delivery to the consumer, they do not conform to the sample or model agreed upon by the parties or do not possess the characteristics they should objectively have.”
has defined it as follows.
In simple terms, a defective service refers to a delay in the service, failure to perform the service as agreed, or failure to meet the objectively expected standards.
In this week’s article, I will discuss the liability of producers for defective goods or services and the remedies available to consumers under this liability.
2. Defective Goods and Remedies
A defective good refers to a purchased item that does not conform to the agreed-upon specifications or, even if no such specifications were agreed upon, fails to possess the qualities that would objectively be expected; an apparent defect, on the other hand, refers to a defect that is immediately apparent.
A defect that is not noticed at the time of purchase or that becomes apparent over time is referred to as a latent defect.
“Defects that become apparent within six months of the delivery date are presumed to have existed at the time of delivery.”
In this case, the burden of proving that the goods are not defective rests with the seller.
In this case, the consumer has certain legal rights.
In the simplest terms, these are:
- Returning a purchased item,
- Requesting a discount on the sales price based on the defect,
- The right to request that the item be repaired, provided that the costs are borne by the seller and that the repair does not entail excessive expense,
- If possible, request that the item be replaced with a defect-free one,
has the right to
“Satıcı, tüketicinin tercih ettiği talebi yerine getirmek zorundadır.”
In addition, the seller’s liability for defective goods ceases two years after the date of delivery to the consumer, even if the defect becomes apparent later.
However, this situation is not subject to the statute of limitations if the defect is a material defect or has been concealed by fraud.
For residential or vacation properties, liability for defects continues for three years from the date of delivery of the property.
3. Defective Services and Liability
A defective service refers to a service that is in breach of the contract because it did not commence within the timeframe specified in the contract or because it lacks the characteristics agreed upon by the parties and that it should objectively possess.
In addition, services that do not possess the features described on the internet or in advertisements, or that do not provide value or reasonable benefits in terms of their intended use, are also considered defective.
The service provider is obligated to provide the service as promised in this context.
However, they may be released from this liability if they can prove that they were unaware of the advertisements mentioned above and that such awareness could not reasonably be expected of them.
The options available to the consumer under the law in the event of defective service,
- Request for reconsideration of the decision,
- Free repair of the work resulting from the service,
- A discount on the price based on the defect,
- Withdrawal from the contract
is free to exercise their rights.
“The service provider is required to fulfill these requests from the consumer.”
These requests must be fulfilled within a reasonable time.
In any case, the fulfillment of these requests must not exceed 30 business days from the date they are received by the provider.
Liability for defective services is subject to a statute of limitations of two years from the date the service was provided.
Result
I will discuss consumer rights, avenues for filing complaints, and penalties in next week’s installment of my article.
Best regards,
Attorney İdil Zeynep Yağlıca
