Consumer Rights Lawyer in Istanbul, Turkey

A consumer lawyer in Turkey assesses which remedy fits the problem, prepares the application to the consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti), represents the client in mandatory mediation and conducts the case before the consumer court (tüketici mahkemesi). The work also covers objections to committee decisions, enforcement of decisions that the other side does not pay, and formal notices to sellers, banks, tour operators, airlines and developers.

A foreign national who is not resident in Turkey can still use these routes for a purchase made in Turkey or from a Turkish business. Applications and court cases can be handled by a lawyer holding a power of attorney, so the client does not need to stay in Turkey while the file is pending. Claims for bodily injury, for example after a holiday accident or a medical procedure, are covered on our compensation law page.

Yes. The Consumer Protection Law protects the consumer, not the citizen: nationality and residence permits play no role. A consumer is a natural or legal person acting for purposes outside their trade or profession (Consumer Protection Law Art. 3). The other side must act for commercial or professional purposes, as a seller or provider, and the law covers every kind of consumer transaction, expressly including contracts for works, transport, brokerage, insurance, agency and banking (Art. 3).

For a purchase made in person in Turkey from a Turkish business, Turkish law usually decides the dispute. Cross-border contracts are more complex: where a business targeted the consumer in their home country, the Private International Law Act can keep for the consumer the minimum protection of the law of their habitual residence (Act No. 5718, Art. 26). That special rule does not apply to services that have to be provided entirely outside the consumer's home country, such as a hotel stay in Turkey, or to transport contracts other than package tours (Art. 26/4). Turkish courts can hear consumer contract disputes at the consumer's domicile or habitual residence, or where the business is established (Art. 45).

Turkish consumer law has three main routes, and the value of the dispute decides which one comes first. For disputes below an annual limit, an application to a consumer arbitration committee is mandatory, and the committee cannot hear disputes at or above that limit (Consumer Protection Law Art. 68/1). Disputes heard by the consumer courts require an attempt at mediation before the lawsuit, with some exceptions (Art. 73/A). The consumer court then decides the case if mediation fails (Art. 73).

The limit is increased each calendar year by the revaluation rate announced under the Tax Procedure Law (Art. 68/4). For applications made in 2026 it is TRY 186,000: disputes valued below that amount go to an arbitration committee, and disputes of TRY 186,000 or more go to mediation and the consumer court (Ministry of Trade Communiqué, Official Gazette of 23 December 2025, No. 33116). The limit in force on the date of application applies (Consumer Arbitration Committees Regulation Art. 6/3).

The application is made in person or through a lawyer: by hand, by post, or electronically through the e-Devlet portal using the Consumer Information System (Tüketici Bilgi Sistemi) (Consumer Arbitration Committees Regulation Art. 11/1). It states the applicant's name, address and identity number, the subject of the dispute, the request, the value in Turkish lira and details of the business complained about, and it is accompanied by the supporting documents (Art. 11/2-3). For foreign nationals, a passport number or a foreign identity number is accepted instead of a Turkish identity number (Art. 11/3).

The law provides for no application fee. Where the committee decides against the consumer, notification and expert fees are covered by the Ministry of Trade; where it decides in the consumer's favour, the other side pays them (Consumer Protection Law Art. 70/7). The committee cannot order either side to pay the other's lawyer's fees (Art. 70/1).

Yes, it is binding. Consumer arbitration committee decisions bind the parties (Consumer Protection Law Art. 70/1). They are served electronically where possible and are enforced in the same way as court judgments under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (Art. 70/2). Under the current law, every decision within the committee's remit binds the parties; there is no category of committee decisions that only count as evidence.

Either party can object to the consumer court within two weeks of service of the decision, at the court where the committee is located or at the court of the consumer's domicile (Art. 70/3). An objection does not stop enforcement, although the judge can stop it as an interim measure on request. The consumer court's decision on the objection is final (Art. 70/5). If a business objects to a decision in the consumer's favour and the decision is set aside, the consumer can be ordered to pay a lawyer's fee under the tariff, unless the decision was set aside because of a document that existed but was not shown to the committee (Art. 70/6).

Consumer courts hear disputes arising from consumer transactions and from practices aimed at consumers (Consumer Protection Law Art. 73/1). Where a city has no separate consumer court, a civil court of first instance hears these cases in that capacity. The case follows the simplified procedure (basit yargılama usulü) in Part Six of the Code of Civil Procedure (Art. 73/4), and it can be filed at the consumer court of the consumer's domicile (Art. 73/5) as well as at the court of the defendant's domicile.

Before a lawsuit in the consumer court, an application to a mediator is a condition of the case (Art. 73/A). The requirement does not apply to disputes that belong to the arbitration committees, to objections against committee decisions, to certain collective cases, to cases about defective series products, or to consumer disputes arising from rights in rem over immovable property (Art. 73/A/1). Time limits do not run while mediation is pending.

Goods are defective if, at delivery, they do not match the agreed sample or model or lack features they should objectively have. Goods are also defective if they lack features stated on the packaging, label, user manual, website or advertisement, do not meet the quality stated by the seller or set by technical regulations, or have material, legal or economic shortcomings that reduce the benefits the consumer can reasonably expect (Consumer Protection Law Art. 8). Late delivery, and faulty installation by the seller or under its responsibility, also count as non-conformity (Art. 8/3).

When goods turn out to be defective, the consumer can choose one of four options: withdraw from the contract by returning the goods, keep the goods with a price reduction in proportion to the defect, have them repaired free of charge, or have them replaced with a defect-free equivalent where possible (Art. 11/1). The seller must carry out the option the consumer chooses. Damages can be claimed in addition under the Code of Obligations, and all costs of exercising the chosen right are borne by the party that performs it (Art. 11/6).

Defects that appear within six months of delivery are presumed to have existed at delivery, and it is for the seller to prove that the goods were not defective (Consumer Protection Law Art. 10/1). The presumption does not apply where it is incompatible with the nature of the goods or of the defect, for example ordinary wear from use. After six months, the consumer proves that the defect already existed at delivery, usually through a service report or an expert examination.

There is no non-conformity where the consumer knew of the defect when the contract was made, or could be expected to know of it (Art. 10/2). Goods sold as defective, such as a display model with a scratch, are to carry a label explaining the defect, or the explanation is to appear on the invoice or receipt given to the consumer (Art. 10/3).

Unless a law or the contract sets a longer period, liability for defective goods is time-barred two years after delivery to the consumer, even if the defect only appears later. For housing and holiday property, the period is five years from delivery of the property (Consumer Protection Law Art. 12/1). In second-hand sales by a business, the seller's liability cannot be shorter than one year, or three years for housing and holiday property (Art. 12/2). If the defect was concealed through gross fault or fraud, these limitation periods do not apply (Art. 12/3).

For defective services, the period is two years from the date the service was performed, under the same rules (Art. 16). The Consumer Protection Law does not set a separate deadline for notifying the seller of a defect; what matters is acting within the limitation period. A written notice by email, registered letter or notary records the date and content of the complaint, which can matter later as evidence.

A car bought from a dealer or a manufacturer's showroom is a consumer purchase, and the four options for defective goods apply. Cars are on the after-sales service list: the manufacturer or importer provides maintenance and repair over a usage life of ten years, and the maximum repair time is forty-five working days (After-Sales Services Regulation, Annex). Where the consumer has used the right to free repair and the car breaks down again within the warranty period, the maximum repair time is exceeded, or a report shows that repair is not possible, the consumer can ask the seller for a refund, a price reduction or, where possible, a replacement, and the seller cannot refuse (Consumer Protection Law Art. 56/3; Warranty Certificate Regulation Art. 9).

In practice, car disputes often turn on technical questions: whether a fault is a manufacturing defect or the result of use, and whether the car was sold with undisclosed accident damage or altered mileage. An expert examination ordered by the arbitration committee or the court is usually decisive.

Manufacturers and importers issue a warranty certificate for goods made or imported for consumers, and the seller is responsible for completing it and handing it to the consumer (Consumer Protection Law Art. 56/1). The warranty period is at least two years from delivery (Art. 56/2). The warranty sits on top of the statutory rights: the four options for defective goods remain available, and an additional commercial warranty is given without prejudice to the consumer's legal rights (Art. 57/1).

During the warranty period, the manufacturer, importer or seller cannot charge transport, postage, courier or technician travel costs, except where the fault comes from use contrary to the user manual (After-Sales Services Regulation Art. 14/3). If a fault under warranty is not repaired within ten working days of handing the item to the authorised service or the seller, the manufacturer or importer is to provide a similar item for the consumer's use until the repair is complete, unless the consumer does not want one (Art. 14/4).

A service is defective if it does not start within the agreed time, or lacks the agreed features or features it should objectively have, including those stated by the provider, on its website or in its advertising (Consumer Protection Law Art. 13). Typical examples are a renovation done badly, a car repair that does not fix the fault, a course that is not delivered as advertised, or a moving service that damages property.

The consumer can choose to have the service performed again, to have the resulting work repaired free of charge, a price reduction in proportion to the defect, or withdrawal from the contract (Art. 15/1). Re-performance or repair is to be completed within a reasonable time and in any case within thirty working days of the request; otherwise the consumer can choose another option (Art. 15/4). Damages can be claimed in addition, and the limitation period is two years from performance (Arts. 15/1, 16).

Distance contracts are contracts made without the parties being physically together, through a system set up for selling at a distance, such as a website, app, phone line or messaging channel (Consumer Protection Law Art. 48/1). The consumer can withdraw within fourteen days without giving any reason and without paying a penalty (Art. 48/4). For goods, the period starts on the day the consumer, or a person the consumer named, receives the goods; for services, on the day the contract is made. The consumer can also withdraw between the contract and delivery (Distance Contracts Regulation Art. 9/1-2).

If the seller did not properly inform the consumer about the right of withdrawal, the fourteen-day limit does not apply, but the right ends in any case one year after the withdrawal period would have ended (Art. 48/4; Regulation Art. 10). Goods ordered at a distance are to be delivered within the promised time and, except for goods made to the consumer's wishes, within thirty days at most; otherwise the consumer can terminate the contract (Art. 48/3).

Consumer law assumes a real business that can be held to its contract. Where an online shop turns out to be fake, the goods never existed or a payment was taken through a phishing page, the matter is usually also a criminal one, and the steps involve a criminal complaint and requests to the bank or payment provider. Internet-related offences and data issues are covered on our IT and internet law page, and criminal procedure on our criminal law page.

Where a genuine business simply fails to deliver, the consumer can terminate the contract once the delivery deadline has passed (Consumer Protection Law Art. 48/3) and pursue the refund before the arbitration committee or the consumer court.

Contracts made away from the seller's business premises are off-premises contracts. They include contracts made in the physical presence of both parties outside the shop, contracts made at the shop or by phone immediately after the consumer was approached outside it, and contracts made during a trip organised by the seller to promote or sell goods or services (Consumer Protection Law Art. 47/1). Only sellers authorised by the Ministry may make these contracts, they are valid only in writing, and the consumer writes the date in their own handwriting and signs (Art. 47/2, 47/4).

The consumer can withdraw within fourteen days without reason or penalty, and during that period the seller cannot ask for any payment or for any document creating a debt (Art. 47/5). If the seller breaches these duties or does not properly explain the right of withdrawal, the fourteen-day limit does not apply, but the right ends one year after the withdrawal period would have ended (Art. 47/6). Sales at fairs, markets and shopping centres, and in 2026 purchases of up to TRY 313, fall outside the off-premises rules (Off-Premises Contracts Regulation Art. 2/2; Communiqué, Official Gazette of 23 December 2025).

Timeshare (devre tatil), timeshare ownership (devre mülk), long-term holiday service (holiday club), exchange and resale contracts can be cancelled within fourteen days without reason or penalty. Until that period ends, the seller cannot take any payment or debt document; any amount taken is refunded immediately and debt documents are invalid for the consumer (Consumer Protection Law Art. 50/6). A linked loan ends too if the withdrawal notice is also sent to the lender within the period (Art. 50/7).

The pre-contract information form is to be given at least one day before the contract (Art. 50/4), and the consumer writes the contract date by hand (Art. 50/5). If these information duties are breached, the fourteen-day limit does not apply and the right lasts up to one year longer (Timeshare Regulation Art. 10). Prepaid timeshare contracts cannot be made with consumers, and personal-right timeshare contracts can last at most ten years (Art. 50/8-9). Our guide How to Cancel a Timeshare or Holiday Club in Turkey covers notice formats, refunds and resale fees in detail.

A package tour combines at least two of transport, accommodation and other tourism services for an inclusive price, lasting more than twenty-four hours or including an overnight stay (Consumer Protection Law Art. 51/1). The rules apply even if the services are invoiced separately or the details were chosen by the traveller (Art. 51/2). If the organiser has no representative in Turkey, the agency that sold the package is liable as if it were the organiser (Art. 51/3).

If an essential term changes, or the tour is cancelled before departure, for reasons not caused by the traveller, the traveller can accept the change, join an equivalent or higher-value tour at no extra cost, take a lower-value tour with a refund of the difference, or withdraw without compensation; on withdrawal the full amount is refunded without deduction within fourteen days (Art. 51/6; Package Tour Regulation Arts. 10-11). During the holiday, defects are to be reported without delay, and if they are not remedied the traveller can claim a price reduction (Regulation Art. 12/1). The organiser is liable for all loss caused by non-performance or improper performance, including where hotels and other independent providers caused it, and the traveller can also claim appropriate compensation for wasted holiday time (Art. 51/8; Regulation Art. 13).

Air passenger rights in Turkey are set by the regulation of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation known as SHY-YOLCU. It covers all flights of Turkish airlines to and from airports in Turkey, and flights of foreign airlines departing from airports in Turkey, for passengers with a confirmed reservation who checked in on time (SHY-YOLCU Art. 2).

Where a flight is cancelled and the passenger was not informed at least two weeks in advance, compensation is due unless the airline offered rerouting within the time windows set by the regulation, or proves that extraordinary circumstances caused the cancellation despite all measures (Art. 6). Since 10 December 2024, compensation is also due where a flight is delayed for technical or operational reasons and the passenger reaches the final destination three hours or more late (Art. 7/3). During long waits, the airline provides refreshments, meals and, where needed, hotel accommodation and transfers (Arts. 7, 10), and where the delay is at least five hours the passenger can choose a refund of the ticket within seven days (Arts. 7/1, 9/1(a)).

Buying a home before it is built, paying in advance in a lump sum or by instalments, is a prepaid housing sale (ön ödemeli konut satışı) (Consumer Protection Law Art. 40/1). The seller is to give a pre-contract information form at least one day before the contract (Art. 40/2), and prepaid sales to consumers cannot be made before a building permit is obtained (Art. 40/3). The sale is registered at the land registry, or a promise to sell is signed before a notary, and until a valid contract exists the seller cannot ask for any payment (Art. 41). For projects above a size set by the Ministry, building completion insurance or other security is required before sales begin, and payments under that insurance stay outside the bankruptcy estate (Art. 42).

The home is to be delivered within the promised period, and in any case within forty-eight months of the contract (Art. 44). What happens when a developer stops building or goes bankrupt is explained in Off-Plan Property in Turkey: What If the Developer Goes Bankrupt?, and title deed questions on our real estate law page.

Renting a car from a rental company for private use is a consumer transaction, so disputes over damage charges, blocked deposits, extra fees or refunds can go to the arbitration committee or the consumer court. Standard terms that the renter could not negotiate are reviewed for fairness, and unfair terms are void (Consumer Protection Law Art. 5). A car hired online for specific dates has no fourteen-day right of withdrawal (Distance Contracts Regulation Art. 15/1(g)), so the booking's cancellation terms apply.

Accidents, insurance and who pays are covered in Crashed a Rental Car in Turkey: Who Pays?. Photographs and videos taken at pick-up and return, the rental contract and the damage report are usually the decisive evidence.

Medical tourism packages often combine treatment, hotel, transfers and an agency. The Consumer Protection Law covers contracts between consumers and businesses of every kind, including service and agency-type contracts (Art. 3), so disputes over a package price, services not delivered or refunds are often treated as consumer disputes. Which body hears a particular claim depends on the facts: who the contract was made with, whether the clinic is private or public, and what is claimed.

Claims for injury after treatment raise questions of medical standards and informed consent and are usually decided on expert reports. Liability, time limits and claims from abroad are explained in Medical Malpractice in Turkey: Compensation for Foreign Patients. Claims against public hospitals go to the administrative courts after an application to the administration.

A consumer loan is valid only if made in writing or at a distance (Consumer Protection Law Art. 22/3). A credit card agreement counts as a consumer loan where payment is deferred for more than three months, or paid in instalments, against interest (Art. 22/2). The borrower can withdraw from a consumer loan within fourteen days without reason; if the money was used, the principal and the interest for the days used are repaid within thirty days of the notice (Art. 24).

Credit-linked insurance cannot be arranged without the consumer's express request in writing or on a durable medium, the lender is to offer a loan without such insurance as well, and cover from an insurer of the consumer's choice is to be accepted (Art. 29). For fixed-term loans, the lender can demand the whole remaining debt only if the borrower is in default on at least two consecutive instalments and was given at least thirty days' notice (Art. 28). Card issuers are to offer at least one credit card type without an annual fee (Art. 31/3).

Fees, commissions and expenses other than interest that banks, consumer lenders and card issuers charge consumers are governed by rules of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, set after consulting the Ministry of Trade (Consumer Protection Law Art. 4/3). More generally, no extra charge can be demanded for services the business is legally obliged to provide or for costs incurred in its own interest (Art. 4/3). No fee can be charged for an account opened only for a fixed-term loan (Art. 31/1), and information on all fees is to be given to the consumer as an annex to the contract (Art. 4/4).

Whether a particular account fee, card fee or loan file fee was lawful depends on the rules in force on the date it was charged and on the contract. Disputes over fees are consumer disputes: smaller claims go to the arbitration committee, larger ones to mediation and the consumer court. The committee route does not prevent the use of alternative dispute resolution bodies provided for in sector legislation (Art. 68/5).

A subscription is a contract for goods or services supplied continuously or at regular intervals (Consumer Protection Law Art. 52/1). A fixed-term subscription cannot contain a clause renewing it automatically for the same period; it can be extended only if the consumer asks for, or approves, the extension before it ends (Art. 52/3).

The consumer can terminate an open-ended subscription, or a fixed-term one longer than one year, at any time without giving a reason and without paying a penalty; a fixed-term subscription of less than a year can be terminated if the provider changes the terms (Art. 52/4). Notice on paper or on a durable medium is enough, and the provider cannot require a more onerous cancellation method than the one used to sign up. If the subscription is not ended within the periods set by regulation, nothing can be charged after those periods even if the service was used, and any unused prepaid amount is refunded within fifteen days of the termination taking effect (Art. 52/5). Some sectors, such as telecommunications and energy, also have their own rules.

An unfair term is a term not negotiated with the consumer that, contrary to good faith, creates an imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the consumer's detriment. Unfair terms are void, while the rest of the contract stays valid (Consumer Protection Law Art. 5/1-2). A term in a standard contract that the consumer could not influence is treated as not negotiated, and a business claiming that a standard term was individually negotiated has to prove it (Art. 5/3). Unclear or ambiguous terms are interpreted in the consumer's favour (Art. 5/4).

The Unfair Terms Regulation lists terms that are unfair. They include terms that exclude or limit the business's liability for death, injury or property damage it causes; let the business keep the consumer's payment when the consumer pulls out, without giving the consumer an equivalent right; impose disproportionately high compensation on the consumer; allow the business to change the terms unilaterally without a valid reason stated in the contract; or force the consumer into an arbitration not provided for by law, unduly limit the consumer's evidence or shift the burden of proof onto the consumer (Unfair Terms Regulation, Annex 1).

Goods offered for retail sale are to carry a visible label showing the price including all taxes and the unit price, and price lists for services are to be displayed in the same way (Consumer Protection Law Art. 54/1). If the price on the label or list differs from the price at the till, the price more favourable to the consumer applies (Art. 54/2). A discounted price is shown together with the price before the discount, and the seller has to prove that the discounted price really is lower than the earlier price (Art. 54/3). The Ministry, municipalities and the relevant chambers supervise these rules (Art. 54/4).

Goods or services that were not ordered create no obligation: silence or use does not amount to acceptance, and the consumer has no duty to return or keep them; a business claiming that something was ordered has to prove it (Art. 7).

For 2026, the consumer arbitration committee limit is TRY 186,000, after an increase of 25.49 percent in line with the revaluation rate (Communiqué, Official Gazette of 23 December 2025). From 1 January 2026, the off-premises contract rules do not apply to purchases of up to TRY 313 (Communiqué of the same date).

Amendments of 24 May 2025 to the Distance Contracts Regulation changed the rules on return costs: a consumer who uses the carrier named by the seller cannot be charged for the return, and if the seller named no carrier, no return cost can be charged (Art. 12/5). On 6 May 2026 the Council of State annulled three exceptions to the online right of withdrawal that had been added in 2022, covering vehicles and drones subject to registration, live auctions, and goods installed by the seller or an authorised service (Regulation Art. 15/1(ı)-(k)). In June 2026, Law No. 7587 enlarged the Advertising Board from nineteen to twenty-three members (Consumer Protection Law Art. 63/2).

Consumer files are decided on documents. The most important are the invoice or e-invoice, the order confirmation, the contract and the pre-contract information form, the warranty certificate, service and repair records, photographs and videos of the defect, card slips and bank statements, and all correspondence with the seller. Screenshots of adverts and product pages matter because goods are judged against what was advertised (Consumer Protection Law Art. 8/2).

Where the law puts the burden on the business, the business has to produce its proof: for example, that the consumer was informed of the right of withdrawal (Arts. 47/6, 48/4), that the required information was given (Arts. 47/3, 48/2), that a standard term was negotiated (Art. 5/3), or, within six months of delivery, that the goods were not defective (Art. 10/1). Documents issued abroad are translated into Turkish and, where required, apostilled.

Yes. Applications to the arbitration committee can be made through a lawyer (Consumer Arbitration Committees Regulation Art. 11/1), and the lawyer can represent the consumer in mediation and before the consumer court. A power of attorney is signed at a Turkish consulate, or before a notary abroad with an apostille and a sworn translation. Committee decisions are then served on the lawyer (Regulation Art. 23/1).

Court hearings are attended by the lawyer, and on request the court can allow a party or their lawyer to join a hearing by video link (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 149). A foreign claimant can be asked to provide security for costs set by the court, unless exempt on the basis of reciprocity, which often follows from conventions or bilateral agreements (Private International Law Act Art. 48).

Lawyers' fees in Turkey are subject to the national Attorneys' Minimum Fee Tariff, prepared each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations; a fee below the tariff cannot be agreed, and a fee can also be agreed as a percentage of the value of the claim or of the amount awarded, up to 25 percent (Attorneys Act No. 1136, Arts. 164, 168). The arrangement is discussed transparently and agreed in writing before the file is opened.

The procedural costs of the routes themselves are limited. The law provides for no application fee at the arbitration committee, and the committee awards no lawyer's fees (Consumer Protection Law Art. 70/1). Consumers are exempt from court fees in the consumer courts (Art. 73/2), although expert and notification costs are advanced, and in the consumer court the losing party is ordered to pay the other side's costs and a lawyer's fee under the tariff.

Consumer disputes are heard by the consumer courts, and a consumer may also file the case at the consumer court of their own domicile (Article 73/5 of the Consumer Protection Law), as well as at the court of the business's domicile under the general rules. Before going to court, mediation is mandatory for most consumer court disputes (Article 73/A), and arbitration committee applications can be made where the consumer lives or where the transaction took place (Art. 68/3). A consumer lawyer in Turkey registered with a Turkish bar can act before the committees and the consumer courts in every city.

Our office is in Istanbul. We act as a consumer lawyer in Istanbul and follow files before the consumer courts in Ankara and elsewhere in Turkey through the national e-filing system (UYAP) and by attending hearings, so someone looking for a consumer lawyer in Ankara after a purchase there can also instruct a lawyer in Istanbul. Buying a new-build or resale home is discussed in Buying Property in Turkey as a Foreigner, and disputes between businesses on our commercial law page.