Important ruling from the Court of Cassation for Turkcell: Millions of consumers' fees must be refunded
The Court of Cassation has ruled that the fees Turkcell charged subscribers under the name of 'service fee' for bill payments made via credit card are unlawful. This decision, which concerns millions of consumers, has put an end to the practice of exorbitant fees.
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CHP Bursa Deputy and Party Assembly Member Orhan Sarıbal announced at a press conference held at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) that the Court of Cassation has issued a ruling in favor of consumers regarding communication fee payments.
According to the report in Anka, Sarıbal stated the following:
"IT CANNOT CONTINUE TO CHARGE THIS FEE DESPITE THIS RULING"
"A practice that has caused grievances for consumers in our country for years has ended with a judicial decision. The 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation has ruled that the fees the GSM operator Turkcell collected from subscribers under the name of 'service fee' during bill payments made with credit cards are unlawful. This is an important decision that concerns millions of consumers. This fee, which was 1.5 TL per subscriber at the time the lawsuit was filed, has reached 5 TL today. The data we have shows that the operator company generates a monthly income of up to 200 million TL due to this practice. The Court of Cassation has ruled that the collection of such service fees is contrary to the law. Turkcell cannot continue to collect this fee from its millions of subscribers despite this ruling.
"REFUND OF THE DEDUCTED FEES IS NECESSARY"
Millions of consumers across Turkey have been subjected to what is essentially a system of robbery for years. Today, this decision by the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, which puts a stop to this unlawful practice, is a victory won against this organized attack on the people's hard-earned money. In this period when the public is economically suffocated and struggling to make ends meet, the exorbitant profits of GSM operators and the unlawful practices of large companies are unacceptable. We advocate that the necessary legal arrangements be made to refund the deducted fees to our citizens who have been victimized by this practice, that the relevant companies be held accountable, and that the unjust gain must be recovered. I would like to thank the Consumer Protection Association for making the voices of consumers heard and everyone who contributed to this struggle.”