This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Tüketici Hakem Heyetine Başvuru: Sınırlar, Süreç ve Sonuç.
Which forum hears a consumer dispute in Turkey depends on its monetary value. Below the threshold, which is updated every year, applying to the consumer arbitration committee is compulsory; above it the case goes to the consumer court, where mediation is first required. An application to the committee is free and no lawyer is needed.
A defective product, a refund not made, a charge wrongly deducted. Most consumer disputes are resolved without going to court, because the law provides a separate, free route for disputes below a defined amount.
This article explains which disputes belong where, how to write a strong application, and how to challenge a decision.
Which Disputes Go to the Committee?
Article 68 of the Consumer Protection Act (Law no. 6502) makes an application to the committee compulsory for consumer disputes below a defined monetary threshold. If proceedings are brought directly in a case below the threshold, they are dismissed for want of a condition of the action.
The thresholds are revised each year by the revaluation rate and differ between district and provincial committees. Confirm the current figure from the Ministry of Trade before applying.
The dispute must arise from a consumer transaction: the seller or supplier must be acting commercially and you must have bought for non-commercial purposes. A dispute between two traders is not a consumer dispute.
Common subjects: defective goods and services, the right of withdrawal, subscription contracts, bank charges, damage in transit, package holidays, and repairs under guarantee.
Where and How Is the Application Made?
The application may be made to the committee at the consumer's place of residence or at the place where the consumer transaction took place. The choice belongs to the consumer.
The channels are the online consumer information system through the e-government portal, in person, or by post. The application is free.
The documents to submit with it: the invoice or receipt, the contract, proof of payment, the guarantee document, service dockets, correspondence with the seller, and any photographs.
The file is decided on the papers; there is no hearing. A document left out, or a remedy not stated, in the first application may therefore be impossible to make good later.
How Is a Strong Application Written?
An application to the committee is not a complaint but a file. Applications that succeed have this structure:
- A chronology. When you bought it, when the problem arose, when you reported it, what the seller said.
- A concrete description of the defect. Not “it broke”, but “ice forms in the freezer compartment, it has been to the service centre four times and the fault recurs”.
- The elective remedy stated expressly. Article 11 gives four: rescission of the contract (refund), a reduction in price, free repair, or replacement with a conforming item. Say which you want; asking for “redress” is too vague.
- The amount. State the sum you claim as a figure.
- The legal basis. Refer briefly to the relevant article.
One reminder: defects that appear within six months of delivery are presumed to have existed at delivery, and it falls to the seller to prove otherwise (Article 10). That presumption works in your favour — say so in the application.
What Happens After the Decision?
The committee examines the application and decides. The decision is served on the parties.
Challenging it: an objection may be made to the consumer court within fifteen days of service. Where there is no consumer court, the civil court of first instance sits as one. The decision given on that objection is final.
Enforcement: if no objection is made and the decision becomes final, it has the force of a judgment and can be enforced through an enforcement office. You do not need to bring a separate action if the seller does not pay.
If the decision goes against you and the amount is below the threshold, taking the same claim directly to court is as a rule not possible; the route lies through the objection.
Committee or Court?
The test is simple: the amount in dispute. Below the threshold the committee is compulsory; above it, proceedings are brought in the consumer court.
Consumer cases carry an exemption from court fees, which makes the court route more accessible than people assume. Proceedings do, however, take longer.
Where the amount is close to the threshold, splitting the claim to bring it below is not a sound strategy; rights may be lost as to the remainder. Claim the whole sum once, in the right forum.
The commonest mistake is leaving the remedy vague. The Act gives four elective remedies — a refund, a reduction in price, free repair, or replacement with a conforming item. State which you want and the amount; the file is decided on the papers and you will have no chance to explain later.