The most complained-about product to the Consumer Arbitration Committee last year has been identified

In a statement made by the Ministry of Trade, it was recalled that consumer arbitration committees have been operating since 1995.

Emphasizing that disputes are resolved fairly, quickly, simply, and with minimal cost, while also significantly reducing the workload on the judiciary, the statement shared the following information: "To date, approximately 18 million disputes have been resolved by consumer arbitration committees without reaching the courts. While 755 thousand 997 applications were made last year, 762 thousand 100 disputes (including those carried over from 2023) were decided by consumer arbitration committees. The monetary value of the applications was approximately 7 billion liras. There was a 75 percent increase in monetary value compared to applications in 2023."

ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS STAND OUT

The statement pointed out that in addition to the option of written application, consumers can easily submit their applications via e-Government and the Consumer Information System, noting that approximately 67 percent of the applications made last year were carried out through e-Government.

The statement highlighted that "refunds" were the most requested item last year with approximately 293 thousand applications, while 204 thousand applications requested "product replacement or re-performance of the service," and other applications included requests for "free repair" and "price reduction" submitted to the arbitration committees.

SHOE COMPLAINTS RANK FIRST

The statement noted that when evaluated on a product and service basis, the most applications made by consumers last year were related to shoes, and the following was recorded:

"Approximately 13.2 percent of the applications were related to shoes. This was followed by clothing applications at 4.86 percent. Other complaint topics were credit card membership fees at 4.85 percent, mobile phones at 4.09 percent, furniture at 3.94 percent, internet subscriptions at 3.80 percent, and GSM subscriptions at 2.82 percent. When evaluated on a sectoral basis, the highest number of applications in 2024 was recorded in the retail trade sector at 58.79 percent. This was followed by the financial services sector at 10.14 percent and the subscription services sector at 9.79 percent."

News Source: AA