This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Cayma Hakkı: 14 Gün Kuralı ve İstisnaları.
In distance contracts a consumer may withdraw within fourteen days, giving no reason and paying no penalty (Consumer Act art. 48). For services the period runs from the date of the contract; for goods, from the day the goods are received. If the seller did not give proper information about the right, the period is extended.
You bought something online, it arrived, and you do not want it. The seller says "it isn't defective, we can't take it back". In a distance sale the goods do not have to be defective for you to return them.
What the Right Is
Article 48 of Act No. 6502 gives the consumer fourteen days to withdraw from a distance contract. The same right applies to doorstep sales (art. 47).
A distance contract is one concluded without the parties being physically together, using a means of distance communication: a website, telephone, a messaging application.
By contrast there is no statutory right of withdrawal on a purchase made in a shop. Return policies shops operate are their own commercial choice, not a statutory right.
Exercising the right requires no reason, and no penalty may be imposed on the consumer.
When the Fourteen Days Start
The period runs from the day the goods are received — not the day the order was placed.
- For service contracts, from the day the contract was concluded.
- Where delivery is in parts, from the day the last part is received.
- For regular deliveries, from the delivery of the first item.
There is a further protection: if the seller did not properly inform the consumer of the right of withdrawal, the fourteen days do not begin to run. The period is extended and starts when the information is given.
It is enough that the notice was sent within the period; the date it reaches the seller is not decisive. So give notice in a written and recorded form: e-mail, the site's return form, or a notarised warning notice.
Who Pays the Return Postage
The rule is that the seller must refund all payments received, including delivery costs, within fourteen days of receiving the notice of withdrawal.
Return postage is a separate matter. If the seller stated in the pre-contract information which carrier is to be used for returns, the consumer who uses that carrier is not liable for the cost. If no carrier was specified, the return cost cannot be charged to the consumer.
The consumer must send the goods back within ten days of the notice of withdrawal.
Where the goods have lost value through use, the seller may claim it; but ordinary handling to establish the nature and functioning of the goods does not count as a loss of value.
Where the Right Does Not Apply
The Distance Contracts Regulation excludes certain goods and services:
- Goods whose price depends on fluctuations in financial markets
- Goods made to the consumer's specification or personalised
- Goods liable to deteriorate quickly or to expire
- Goods whose return is unsuitable on health or hygiene grounds once unsealed
- Goods that become mixed with others after delivery and cannot be separated
- Unsealed audio or video recordings, software and books
- Services performed immediately, and intangible goods supplied instantly online
- Accommodation, transport, catering and leisure services for a specified date
These exceptions are construed narrowly. A seller writing "no returns" is not enough; the goods must genuinely fall within one of them.
| Goods / service | Reason |
|---|---|
| Personalised goods | Made to the consumer's specification |
| Perishable goods or goods that may expire | Not suitable for resale |
| Unsealed hygiene products and underwear | Health and hygiene |
| Unsealed recordings and software | Copyable content |
| Newspapers and periodicals | Subscription contracts excepted |
| Electronic services performed immediately | Where performance began with the consumer's consent |
| Date-specific accommodation, transport and leisure | Services tied to a date |
These are construed narrowly. Merely having opened the box does not, as a rule, extinguish the right of withdrawal.
If the Seller Does Not Refund
Give written notice first and record the demand. If that fails, there are two routes according to the value.
The consumer arbitration committee is the compulsory forum below the statutory threshold. Application is free and decided on the documents.
The consumer court has jurisdiction above it, and consumer actions are exempt from court fees.
For either, keep the order record, the payment record, proof that the notice of withdrawal was sent, and any tracking number.
You need give no reason for withdrawing, but you must be able to prove the notice was sent in time. Do not do it by telephone: use e-mail, the return form or a notarised warning notice, and keep the record.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the withdrawal period start?
On the day the goods are received; for services, from the conclusion of the contract; for delivery in parts, from the last part.
What if the seller did not inform me?
Where proper information about the right was not given, the fourteen days do not begin to run; the period starts when the information is given.
Who pays the return postage?
Not the consumer, where the seller named a carrier in the pre-contract information and that carrier was used — or where no carrier was named at all.
I opened the packaging. Can I still return it?
As a rule yes; ordinary handling to establish the nature of the goods does not extinguish the right. Hygiene products and unsealed software, recordings and books are excluded.
The seller will not refund. What now?
After written notice, apply to the consumer arbitration committee or the consumer court according to the value, keeping the order, payment and notice records.