Leaders
from Turkey's Consumers Association (TÜDER) and Consumers Union (TB) have
marked consumers' week in Turkey by saying that consumers' rights in the
country are now worse than they were before the implementation of new consumer
protection laws in November 2013.
The week
from March 15 to 21 is designated consumers' week in Turkey, with the intention
of informing citizens of their rights as consumers, what they can do to protect
these rights and which institutions can offer them guidance. These rights are
inspired by the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection and include
the right to access information, the right to be educated about consumer
rights, the right to return damaged goods and the right to protection of
economic interests.
This year,
associations such as TB and TÜDER have chosen to inform the public that their
consumer rights are still being violated, despite the legal changes in 2013.
Bülent Deniz, the head of TB, told Sunday's Zaman that “in Turkey, 'consumer
rights' is an expression with no substance.” He gave the state of the Banking
Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) as an example. “At least one member
[of the BDDK] should have been assigned by law to protect consumers' rights.
But instead, all the members present at the institution represent producers or
are dealers' representatives,” Deniz said. “This is a total embarrassment.”
Deniz
emphasized that one of the most difficult relationships for consumers is with
banks, because of their ruthless and inconsiderate attitudes. “I sued my bank
in 2007 for the TL 20 they illegally charged me as a subscription fee. I won
the case and, after that, thousands of other consumers filed lawsuits,”
according to the TB head. In Turkey, banks can charge consumers for 62
different transaction costs, including “SMS message fees, bank statement fees,
subscription fees and balance inquiry fees,” Deniz claims.
Hayati
Yazıcı, customs and trade minister, presented a bill to Parliament in July 2013
which aimed to prevent banks from levying these fees. However, Parliament
decided to make it legal for banks to charge those fees, thus benefitting
powerful institutions instead of individual consumers. “Consumers were better
off before Yazıcı decided to relieve them of the unfair costs [that banks
charge]. At least they could have gone to court and won their cases. Now, they
cannot even do that,” Deniz claimed.
The status
of consumer protection laws could be confusing for anyone who is not an expert
in law or economics. In November 2013, a number of Turkish dailies announced
that the implementation of the law was a positive step for consumers. For
example, various newspapers said that the period in which a faulty item could
be returned had been extended to six months from the previous limit of one
month. Turkish media also announced in November that the new law alleviated the
burden on consumers in their deals with banks, limiting the reasons banks could
bring forward to charge their clients.
Deniz
informed Sunday's Zaman that the legal changes made in 2013 did not make conditions
very different from the situation that was already in place after the 1995
consumer protection law. “Only that a few technical details have been added in
order to make our laws look compatible with EU regulations,” Deniz said. He
also highlighted the problems with consumer protection laws in Turkey, saying:
“The law says that cases consumers bring to court should be resolved within
three months. However, there are cases that haven't been resolved for over two
years” -- suggesting that what appears to be the situation on paper might not
be the case in reality.
Engin
Başaran, honorary president of TÜDER, focused on other problems for consumers
in Turkey while speaking to Sunday's Zaman. In addition to unfair charges by
banks, she finds that reduced purchasing power, a heavy tax burden and high
debt are also problems for consumers that are rising year after year.
Nevertheless, Başaran agrees with Deniz that the struggle between banks and
consumers has been intensified by the 2013 laws. “It [the relationship between
banks and customers] is much worse than it was in 1995 when the previous
consumer protection laws were in place,” Başaran confirms. She also admits that
she is particularly worried by the fact that the activism undertaken by various
consumer associations in the past has largely died.
Complaints about bank accounts and services by
clients are an international phenomenon, so one might assume that the worsening
situation for consumers is not limited to Turkey. Başaran, however, thinks that
the situation is a very Turkish problem. “A country with a free market should
prioritize the protection of consumers before all else,” Başaran claims. “The
victimization of consumers that takes place in Turkey has no equivalent in
developed countries.”
Meltem Naz Kaşo, Today's Zaman-16.03.2014
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