You Bought It in Turkey and It Is Defective: The Four Remedies, the Six-Month Presumption, the Two-Year Limit, the 14-Day Online Withdrawal and Where a Foreign Consumer Complains (Consumer Protection Law No. 6502)

Consumer protection in Turkey is a statutory system with its own definitions, its own remedies, its own time limits and its own tribunals, and it is deliberately designed to work without lawyers for the ordinary case. A foreign buyer who knows the four or five provisions that matter can resolve most disputes over defective goods by a well-drafted letter and, if necessary, an online application to the consumer arbitration committee. What follows is the text of Law 6502 as in force in September 2026, explained in the order in which a dispute unfolds: what a defect is, who must prove it, what you may demand, by when, and where you go if the seller does not comply.

The guide covers goods only. Defective services, package tours, timeshares and consumer credit are governed by other chapters of the same Law and are not addressed here.

1. Who Is Protected, and What Counts as a Defective Good (Article 8)

Law 6502 protects the consumer: a natural or legal person acting for purposes outside a commercial or professional activity. Nationality and residence are irrelevant. A tourist who buys a camera in Istanbul, an expat who furnishes a rented flat in Izmir and a foreign company director who buys a laptop for personal use are all consumers; a foreign company buying the same laptop for its office is not, and its claim is governed by the Code of Obligations and the Commercial Code instead.

Article 8 defines the defective good (ayıplı mal) as a good that, at the moment of delivery, is contrary to the contract because it does not conform to the sample or model agreed by the parties or does not have the characteristics it should objectively have. The second paragraph widens the definition considerably: a good is also defective if it lacks one or more of the features stated on its packaging, label, user manual, internet portal or advertisements; if it is contrary to the quality declared by the seller or fixed in its technical regulation; if it does not serve the purpose of comparable goods; or if it contains material, legal or economic deficiencies that reduce or remove the benefits the consumer could reasonably expect. A phone advertised as waterproof that is not, a product page promising a feature the delivered item lacks, or furniture that cannot be used for the purpose furniture of that kind serves, are all defective goods within Article 8.

Two further situations are treated as non-conforming performance under Article 8(3): failure to deliver within the period agreed in the contract, and faulty assembly where the seller assembled the good or was responsible for its assembly. Where the consumer was expected to assemble it and the assembly went wrong because the instructions were incorrect or incomplete, that too is non-conforming performance. Article 9 adds that the seller is bound by statements made in advertising unless it proves that it did not know and could not be expected to know of the advertisement, that the statement had been corrected by the time of the contract, or that the decision to buy was not caused by the statement.

2. The Six-Month Presumption and Who Must Prove What (Article 10)

The most useful rule in the Law for a consumer is the presumption in Article 10(1): defects that appear within six months of delivery are presumed to have existed at the date of delivery, and it is for the seller to prove that the good was not defective. The presumption does not apply where it is incompatible with the nature of the good or of the defect, which is the seller's usual line of argument for goods that wear out or are consumed quickly; but for durable goods such as electronics, white goods, furniture and vehicles the burden sits squarely on the seller during those six months.

Article 10(2) removes protection for defects the consumer knew of, or could have been expected to know of, when the contract was made; the consumer keeps all rights for other defects. A discounted floor model sold with a visible scratch is not defective on account of the scratch, but it is defective if its motor fails a month later. Article 10(3) requires goods put on sale as defective to carry a legible label explaining the defect, on the product or its packaging, or to have the defect noted on the invoice or receipt given to the consumer; a seller who did not do so cannot later say the consumer knew.

After the six months the ordinary rule applies and the consumer must show that the defect existed at delivery, which in practice means a technical service report or an expert examination. The presumption therefore fixes the timetable: a defect that appears in month five should be notified in writing at once, so that the date is documented while the presumption still runs.

3. The Four Remedies and the 30-Working-Day Rule (Article 11)

When the good is found to be defective, Article 11(1) gives the consumer a choice of four optional rights: to withdraw from the contract by declaring readiness to return the good; to keep the good and demand a price reduction proportionate to the defect; to demand free repair at the seller's expense where that does not require excessive cost; or, where possible, to demand replacement with a non-defective equivalent. The choice belongs to the consumer, and the seller is obliged to perform the option chosen. A seller who answers a withdrawal with an offer of repair is not complying with the Law.

The rights to free repair and to replacement may also be exercised against the producer or the importer, and the seller, producer and importer are jointly and severally liable for performing them (Article 11(2)); the producer or importer escapes only by proving that the defect arose after it placed the good on the market. That matters for foreign brands sold through Turkish distributors: the Turkish importer is liable in Turkey. Where repair or replacement would impose disproportionate difficulties on the seller, measured by the value of a defect-free good, the importance of the defect and the inconvenience of the other remedies to the consumer, the consumer may choose only withdrawal or price reduction (Article 11(3)).

Repair or replacement must be completed within a maximum of thirty working days from the demand, and sixty working days for housing and holiday property (Article 11(4)); for goods on the list annexed to the after-sales services regulation issued under Article 58, repair must be completed within the maximum repair period fixed in that regulation. If the period is missed, the consumer is free to switch to another of the four remedies. Where the consumer chooses withdrawal or price reduction, the price paid or the reduction is refunded immediately (Article 11(5)). All costs arising from the exercise of a remedy are borne by the party that performs it, and the consumer may claim damages under the Code of Obligations in addition to any of the four remedies (Article 11(6)).

4. Time Limits: Two Years, One Year for Second-Hand Goods, and No Limit for Concealed Defects (Article 12)

Liability for defective goods is subject to a two-year limitation period from delivery to the consumer, even if the defect appears later, unless the law or the contract provides a longer period; for housing and holiday property the period is five years from delivery (Article 12(1)). A manufacturer's warranty longer than two years extends the period accordingly. For second-hand goods the seller's liability may be reduced by agreement but not below one year, and not below three years for housing (Article 12(2)). Where the defect was concealed by gross fault or fraud, no limitation period applies at all (Article 12(3)).

Two points are frequently misunderstood by foreign buyers. First, the two years run from delivery, not from the date the defect was discovered; a defect that appears in month twenty-three must be notified before the period ends. Second, the two-year period is a limitation period for bringing the claim, and the notification of the defect to the seller does not by itself stop it running; the time spent in a mediation process, from its start to its end, is left out of the calculation of limitation and forfeiture periods under Article 16(2) of the Mediation Law No. 6325.

For a used car bought from a dealer the one-year minimum in Article 12(2) applies to the dealer as seller; a private seller who is not a trader is outside Law 6502 altogether, and the buyer's rights against a private individual are those of the Code of Obligations on sale, which are less generous.

5. Bought Online or by Phone: The 14-Day Withdrawal Right and the Platform's Liability (Article 48)

A distance contract (mesafeli sözleşme) is one concluded without the simultaneous physical presence of seller and consumer, through a system organised for remote marketing, using remote communication up to and including the moment of contracting (Article 48(1)). Purchases from Turkish e-commerce sites and marketplaces, orders placed by telephone and in-app purchases all qualify. Before the consumer accepts, the seller must give clear information on the matters listed in the regulation and must state that confirming the order creates a payment obligation; the burden of proving that the information was given lies on the seller (Article 48(2)).

The consumer may withdraw within fourteen days without giving any reason and without paying any penalty; it is enough that the notice of withdrawal is sent to the seller within the period (Article 48(4)). The seller must prove that the consumer was informed of the right; where the information was not properly given, the consumer is not bound by the fourteen days, and the right lasts up to one year after the original period would have ended. The consumer is not liable for changes or deterioration caused by ordinary use during the withdrawal period. Delivery must take place within the promised time and, except for goods made to the consumer's specification, in any event within thirty days, failing which the consumer may terminate (Article 48(3)).

Marketplaces that broker distance contracts on behalf of sellers are themselves liable under Article 48(6), as amended in 2022: jointly with the seller for the pre-contract information, for deficiencies in the mandatory information where they entered the data, for keeping records of transactions, for the non-performance of promotions they ran without the seller's consent, and, where they collected the price on the seller's behalf, jointly for delivery and for the withdrawal obligations until the price is passed to the seller. A foreign consumer who bought through a large Turkish platform may therefore often address the platform rather than an unresponsive small seller.

6. Where to Complain: The Consumer Arbitration Committee, the Consumer Court and Mandatory Mediation (Articles 68, 73, 73/A)

Turkey has a two-tier system that depends on the value of the dispute. Below the monetary threshold fixed by Article 68, application to the consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti) is compulsory, and the courts cannot be used; above it, the committee cannot be used and the claim goes to the consumer court. The threshold is revalued every calendar year under Article 68(4) by the revaluation rate published under the Tax Procedure Law, so the current figure must be checked for the year in which the application is made rather than taken from an older guide. The committee must accept applications made to it (Article 68(2)), and the application may be made either at the committee of the consumer's place of residence or of the place where the transaction was made (Article 68(3)); where there is no committee, the district governorship forwards the application.

The committee procedure is written, free of court fees and can be started online through the government portal by anyone holding a Turkish identity or foreigner number; the committee decides on the documents and may obtain an expert report. Its decision is binding on the parties and enforceable; a party who disagrees may object to the consumer court within the statutory period, and the court's decision on the objection is final. For a foreign consumer with a purchase below the threshold this is the route: receipt, photographs, the written complaint to the seller and the seller's answer, filed in Turkish.

Above the threshold the consumer court (tüketici mahkemesi) has jurisdiction (Article 73(1)); claims by consumers are exempt from court fees (Article 73(2)), and the action may be brought at the court of the consumer's place of residence (Article 73(5)). Since 2020, applying to a mediator before filing is a condition of the action in the consumer court (Article 73/A), with exceptions that include disputes within the committee's competence and objections to committee decisions; where the parties cannot be reached or do not attend, or whether or not they settle, the mediation fee the consumer would have to pay is covered by the Ministry of Justice budget, capped at two hours of the tariff, and if the consumer then wins in court the fee is recovered from the defendant (Article 73/A(3)-(4)). Both the committee and the court may be used from abroad through a lawyer holding a power of attorney.

7. The Rules at a Glance

8. What a Foreign Consumer Should Do

At purchase. Keep the receipt or invoice, the warranty card and, for online orders, the order confirmation and the pre-contract information page; Article 10 makes the delivery date the reference point for the six-month presumption and Article 12 for the two-year limit, and the receipt proves both. Photograph goods delivered by courier before signing for them. If a shop sells a marked-down item as defective, insist that the defect is written on the receipt (Article 10(3)).

When the defect appears. Notify the seller in writing, in Turkish if possible, naming the remedy you choose under Article 11; e-mail, the platform's messaging system or a notarised letter all serve, and a notarised letter is the safest evidence of date. State the remedy clearly: withdrawal and refund, reduction, free repair or replacement. If you chose repair or replacement, note the date; after thirty working days you may switch. For online purchases within fourteen days of delivery, use the withdrawal right instead, because it needs no defect and no argument.

If the seller refuses. Check the value of the dispute against the current committee threshold; below it, file with the consumer arbitration committee of the place of purchase or of your residence, online or in person, with the receipt, the correspondence and photographs; above it, apply to a mediator and then to the consumer court of your residence, both fee-free for the consumer. A power of attorney allows the whole process to be run from abroad, and the committee's decision or the court's judgment is enforced in Turkey against the seller, producer or importer under the general rules.

Turkish consumer law is generous on paper and reasonably effective in practice, but it rewards the consumer who documents the purchase, chooses the remedy in writing and acts inside the statutory periods. A foreign buyer who does those three things has, in the committee and the consumer court, a forum that costs nothing, accepts a power of attorney and enforces its decisions against the seller, the producer and the importer alike.

1. Keep the receipt, warranty card and order confirmation; the delivery date fixes the six-month presumption and the two-year limit (TKHK 10, 12).
2. Notify the seller in writing and name the remedy you choose: refund, reduction, repair or replacement (TKHK 11).
3. For online purchases within fourteen days of delivery, withdraw instead; no defect need be shown (TKHK 48).
4. If repair or replacement is not completed within thirty working days, switch to refund or reduction (TKHK 11/4).
5. Check the value against the current committee threshold; below it file with the consumer arbitration committee, above it apply to a mediator and then the consumer court, both fee-free for the consumer (TKHK 68, 73, 73/A).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the Turkish consumer rules apply to me if I am a tourist or a foreign resident?

Yes. Law 6502 protects any natural or legal person who buys goods for purposes outside a commercial or professional activity, without any condition of nationality or residence. A tourist buying a phone in Istanbul has the same rights under Articles 8 to 12 as a Turkish consumer, and may use the consumer arbitration committee or the consumer court, in person or through a lawyer with a power of attorney.

The seller says the fault is my doing. Who has to prove it?

If the defect appeared within six months of delivery, Article 10(1) presumes that it existed at delivery and the seller must prove that the good was not defective, unless the presumption is incompatible with the nature of the good or of the defect. After six months the consumer must show that the defect existed at delivery, usually with a technical service or expert report. Defects the consumer knew of at purchase, or that were noted on the receipt under Article 10(3), are excluded.

Can I insist on a refund, or can the seller force a repair on me?

The choice is yours. Article 11(1) lists four optional rights, withdrawal with refund, price reduction, free repair and replacement, and provides that the seller must perform the option the consumer chooses. The seller may confine you to withdrawal or price reduction only where repair or replacement would involve disproportionate difficulty (Article 11(3)); it cannot substitute a repair for the refund you demanded.

How long does the seller have to repair or replace the good?

A maximum of thirty working days from your demand, sixty for housing and holiday property, or the shorter maximum repair period fixed in the after-sales services regulation for goods on its list (Article 11(4)). If the period passes without repair or replacement, you are free to switch to withdrawal or price reduction. A chosen refund or reduction must be paid immediately (Article 11(5)).

How long do I have to bring a claim for a defective product?

Two years from delivery, even if the defect appears later, unless the law or the contract gives a longer period; five years for housing and holiday property (Article 12(1)). For second-hand goods the seller's liability may be limited to not less than one year, three years for housing (Article 12(2)). Where the defect was hidden by gross fault or fraud, no limitation period applies (Article 12(3)).

I ordered from a Turkish website. Can I return the goods without giving a reason?

Yes, within fourteen days, without reason and without penalty; sending the withdrawal notice within the period is enough (Article 48(4)). If the seller did not properly inform you of the right, you are not bound by the fourteen days, up to one year after the period would have ended. You are not liable for changes caused by ordinary use during the period. Goods made to your specification are outside the withdrawal right, and delivery must in any event take place within thirty days (Article 48(3)).

Where do I complain if the seller refuses, and does it cost anything?

It depends on the value of the dispute. Below the threshold fixed under Article 68, which is revalued every year, you must apply to the consumer arbitration committee of your residence or of the place of purchase; there are no court fees and the decision is binding. Above the threshold you apply first to a mediator, whose fee is borne by the Ministry of Justice budget in the cases listed in Article 73/A, and then to the consumer court, where consumers are exempt from court fees (Article 73(2)) and may sue at their own place of residence (Article 73(5)).