New regulation on the right of withdrawal for door-to-door sales: To take effect on January 1, 2025

The "Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on Contracts Concluded Outside Business Premises," prepared by the Ministry of Trade, has been published in the Official Gazette.

In a written statement regarding the matter, the ministry stated that regulations protecting consumers have been introduced in line with current needs and issues.

The statement expressed that the amendment aims to protect the economic interests of consumers by addressing issues such as preliminary information, mandatory contract content, formal requirements, the right of withdrawal, and authorization certificates.

Pointing out that changes have been made to the scope, preliminary information, mandatory contract content, exceptions to the right of withdrawal, information storage headings, and the application conditions, evaluation of applications, validity period, and certificate cancellation sections of the relevant regulation, the statement noted that additional obligations have been imposed on sellers and providers who conduct sales outside of business premises.

"CONSUMERS WILL BE ABLE TO REACH SELLERS AND PROVIDERS QUICKLY"

The statement reported that with the changes made to the mandatory content of contracts established between the seller/provider and the consumer, it has become mandatory to include additional contact information that allows the consumer to reach the seller and provider quickly.

Emphasizing that this aims to prevent problems consumers face in finding a counterparty when exercising their rights and to facilitate the use of the right of withdrawal, the statement included the following: "It has been made possible to exercise the right of withdrawal through methods such as text messages or email via a system to be established in advance by the seller or provider. Furthermore, by ensuring that detailed information regarding the conditions for exercising the right of withdrawal is written by the consumer in their own handwriting, it is aimed to prevent consumers from being deceived or misled on this matter."

The statement also underlined that the right of withdrawal has been granted to consumers for products previously considered within the scope of exceptions, such as those involving activation codes or scratch cards.

Stating that the application conditions for authorization certificates have been tied to stricter rules, the following was noted:

"With the changes made, the conditions for authorization certificate applications have been tightened, an additional period has been defined during the renewal process to prevent sales without an authorization certificate, and the process for canceling the authorization certificate in case of identifying practices contrary to the regulation has been simplified."

The regulation in question will take effect on January 1, 2025.

News Source: AA