Increase in consumer complaints! Defective products and shipping issues stand out

The week containing March 15, World Consumer Rights Day, is celebrated every year as "Consumer Protection Week."

Aziz Koçal, Deputy Chairman of the Consumers Confederation (TÜKON), stated in his statement on the occasion of Consumer Protection Week that consumers are filing complaints regarding issues such as defective products, late delivery, shipping problems, misleading discounts, and delivery of products without invoices. 

Stating that the most frequent applications regarding defective product complaints are for shoes, Koçal said, "The highest number of complaints regarding subscription services comes from GSM operators. As of 2024, shipping problems have also increased. Consumers are filing complaints about situations such as orders being canceled without notification and resold at higher prices, products not matching the images on the website, or the delivery of low-quality and defective products, late delivery, shipping problems, misleading discounts, and delivery of products without invoices."

Koçal pointed out that complaints are rising regarding issues such as price increases, the spread of imitation and adulterated products in the market, and the increase in the sale of food that could harm human health. Stating that complaints regarding e-commerce platforms, GSM operators, and shipping services have continued in the first two months of this year, Koçal provided information about the work they are carrying out as a confederation regarding consumer complaints. Koçal emphasized that consumers should be informed and aware of their rights, and stated the following:

"Consumers should definitely keep documents such as receipts and invoices for every purchase they make. Especially for electronic products, installation should be done by authorized services. When applying to the consumer arbitration committee or consumer court, there should be no missing documents, and the request should be selected correctly in the application. They can get support from consumer associations on the subject. Consumers should learn their rights and seek their rights to the end without saying they are small amounts."

COMPLAINTS ABOUT APARTMENT MAINTENANCE FEES ARE INCREASING

İbrahim Güllü, Deputy Chairman of the Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED), stated that there was an increase in consumer complaints last year compared to the previous year, saying, "In addition to the expansion of the product and service range, the development of the consumer's awareness of seeking rights, and the fact that complaint channels and applications can be made easily and free of charge via e-Government have been important factors in this."

Stating that as a result of the examination of complaints made to arbitration committees and Alo 175, consumers are experiencing grievances arising from defective goods and services, Güllü said, "The increase in product diversity, the entry of new players into the market, the diversification of sales methods and the spread of e-commerce, the extension of warranty periods, and the interaction created by advertisements have increased consumer complaints in the goods and services sector."

Güllü provided information regarding the complaints reaching TÜKONFED and noted the following:

"Consumer complaints are concentrated on issues such as defective goods and services, exorbitant food prices, imitations and adulterations, differences between label prices and cash register prices, commissions charged on card payments, card fees, private school fees, rent increases, maintenance fees, cover and service charges attempted to be collected in restaurants, after-sales service, and subscription cancellation fees."

Stating that the complaints for 2024 have generally continued in the first two months of this year, Güllü added that complaints about maintenance fees have increased with the redetermination of apartment and site maintenance fees in January.

MOST COMPLAINTS ARE FROM RETAIL TRADE

Mehmet Bülent Deniz, Chairman of the Consumer Union Federation, stated that based on the Ministry of Trade data, the majority of applications were made from the retail trade sector. Deniz stated that consumers mostly apply to consumer arbitration committees regarding "defective goods" and "defective services" and added the following:

"As a federation, we have been closely following developments regarding consumer rights since 2012. We play an active role in consumer complaints with our members in Consumer Arbitration Committees in various provinces and districts. We have undertaken the activity of informing and raising awareness among consumers with our e-magazine, which we publish regularly every month. As of this year, we have launched our Consumer WhatsApp Hotline. We advise our consumers not to give up on seeking their rights when they encounter negative situations."

News Source: AA