Misleading Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices
Where an advertisement or commercial practice is untrue, incomplete, deceptive, aggressive or conceals material information in a way that may distort the consumer’s economic behavior, administrative and private law routes may come into play together.
In this area:
- Untrue discount, campaign and price announcements
- Misleading statements about the nature, origin, stock status or delivery time of the product
- Hidden additional fees and payment options selected by default
- Goods sent or services provided without the consumer’s explicit request
- Practices that steer the consumer toward a particular choice through a digital interface
- Renewal of a paid membership or subscription without adequate information
- Applications that can be made to the Advertising Board
- Claims for a refund and compensation arising from the contract because of misleading advertising
- Compliance of advertising, campaigns and price displays for sellers and providers
are examined. The administrative process before the Advertising Board and the consumer’s individual claim for receivables or compensation are separate legal routes.
Consumer Law Compliance for Sellers, Providers and Businesses
Consumer law does not consist solely of consumers’ claims. When sellers, providers, producers, importers, banks, platforms and subscription businesses conduct their contracts and processes in line with the legislation, the risk of disputes and administrative sanctions is reduced.
The work for businesses is as follows:
- Preparing consumer contracts, pre-contractual information forms and commitment letters
- Legal review of distance sales, withdrawal, return and delivery processes
- Reviewing e-commerce platform, after-sales service and call center processes
- Warranty, service, subscription and complaint management procedures
- Assessing the risks of unfair terms, additional fees and automatic renewal
- Presenting a defense and evidence in applications to the consumer arbitration committee
- Conducting consumer court and mediation proceedings
- Proceedings before the Advertising Board, the Ministry of Trade and sector regulatory authorities
- Routes of application against administrative sanctions
- Reviewing the consistency of multilingual consumer contracts with the Turkish text
Foreign Consumers and Cross-Border Consumer Transactions
For foreigners who purchase goods or services in Türkiye and for persons living abroad who transact with a seller or provider in Türkiye, consumer status, the applicable law, international jurisdiction and the enforceability of the judgment are assessed separately.
In this context:
- Housing, vehicles, tourism and other consumer services purchased in Türkiye
- Consumer contracts concluded in a foreign language or in multiple languages
- Payments made from abroad and foreign currency disputes
- Transactions made through an e-commerce site or platform in Türkiye
- Distance contracts concluded with a seller or intermediary in a foreign country
- International card transactions and chargeback objections
- Translation, certification and service of foreign documents
- Enforcement of foreign judgments in Türkiye or of judgments from Türkiye in a foreign country
are examined according to the connecting factors of the file.
Preventive Review for Businesses
Pre-contractual information, the contract, consent, delivery, service, return and complaint records must be consistent with one another. Instead of giving a standard refusal to a consumer’s application, the right claimed, the responsible unit and the supporting record should be identified. It should not be assumed that statutory rights can be removed entirely by contract.
The applicable law for a foreign consumer
A contract in a foreign language or payment in foreign currency does not, on its own, exclude Turkish law. The connecting factors of the transaction, the country where the consumer is located, the activity directed at that country, the jurisdiction clause and the place where the judgment will be enforced are examined. Where necessary, local matters in a foreign country are coordinated with the legal counsel authorized in that country.