Unofficial English translation for information only. In case of discrepancy, the Turkish text prevails. This translation is not legal advice.
Turkish source: Law No. 6502, Official Gazette 28/11/2013, No. 28835. Turkish text as published on mevzuat.gov.tr, checked on 26 October 2026: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6502&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
PART FOUR – Consumer Contracts
CHAPTER ONE – Sale by Instalments
Article 17 – Instalment sale contracts
(1) An instalment sale contract is a contract under which the seller or service provider undertakes to deliver the goods or perform the service, and the consumer pays the price in instalments.
(2) The provisions of this Chapter shall also apply to financial lease contracts under which the consumer is obliged to acquire ownership of goods at the end of the lease term.
(3) An instalment sale contract shall not be valid unless concluded in writing. A seller or service provider who has not concluded a valid contract may not subsequently invoke the invalidity of the contract to the detriment of the consumer.
Article 18 – Right of withdrawal
(1) The consumer has the right to withdraw from an instalment sale contract within seven days without stating any reason and without paying any penalty.
(2) It is sufficient for the notice of exercise of the right of withdrawal to be directed to the seller or service provider within this period. The seller or service provider is obliged to prove that the consumer was informed of the right of withdrawal.
(3) If the seller has delivered the goods to the consumer during the withdrawal period, the consumer may use the goods only to the extent required for an ordinary inspection; otherwise, the consumer may not exercise the right of withdrawal. The consumer may not exercise the right of withdrawal under service contracts where performance of the service has commenced with the consumer’s consent before expiry of the withdrawal period.
(4) The right of withdrawal may not be exercised in financial lease transactions in which the consumer has identified the seller.
Article 19 – Default
(1) In instalment sale contracts, where the consumer is in default in paying instalments, if the seller or service provider has reserved the right to demand performance of the entire outstanding debt, that right may be exercised only if the seller or service provider has performed all its obligations and the consumer is in default in paying at least two consecutive instalments constituting at least one tenth of the price stated in the contract, or one instalment constituting at least one quarter thereof. For the seller or service provider to exercise this right, it is mandatory to give the consumer at least thirty days to pay and to issue a notice of acceleration.[2]
(2) Interest, commission and similar expenses shall not be taken into account in calculating the instalments accelerated.
Article 20 – Early payment
(1) The consumer may pay the total amount owed in advance, or may pay one or more instalments before they fall due. In either case, where the seller or service provider charges interest or commission, it is obliged to make all necessary reductions in interest and commission in proportion to the amount paid.
Article 21 – Other matters
(1) The provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations on prepaid instalment sales shall apply to contracts under which the consumer undertakes to pay the sale price of movable goods in instalments in advance, the seller undertakes to deliver the goods sold to the consumer after full payment of the price, and the payment period is longer than one year or indefinite.
(2) The mandatory content of the contract, the rights and obligations of the consumer, seller and service provider, the right of withdrawal, early payment and other matters, and the procedures and principles relating thereto shall be determined by regulation.
CHAPTER TWO – Consumer Credits
Article 22 – Consumer credit contracts
(1) A consumer credit contract means a contract under which the lender grants or undertakes to grant credit to the consumer, in return for interest or a similar benefit, by deferring payment, lending, or through similar forms of financing.
(2) Credit card contracts shall be considered consumer credit contracts where, in return for interest or a similar benefit, they provide for deferral of payment for more than three months or the possibility of payment in instalments in a similar manner. However, in such cases, the applicable interest rate may not exceed the rate determined under the credit card contract.
(3) A consumer credit contract shall not be valid unless concluded in writing or remotely. A lender who has not concluded a valid contract may not subsequently invoke the invalidity of the contract to the detriment of the consumer.[3]
Article 23 – Pre-contractual information obligation
(1) The lender and, where applicable, the credit intermediary are obliged to provide the consumer with the pre-contractual information form containing the terms of the credit contract they offer a reasonable time before the contract is concluded.
Article 24 – Right of withdrawal
(1) The consumer has the right to withdraw from a consumer credit contract within fourteen days without stating any reason and without paying any penalty.
(2) The lender is obliged to prove that the consumer was informed of the right of withdrawal. It is sufficient for the notice of exercise of the right of withdrawal to be directed to the lender within the withdrawal period. (Added sentence:24/3/2022-7392/2 art.) If the entire credit debt is paid early within the withdrawal period, the provisions of this article shall apply without requiring notice.
(3) Where the consumer exercising the right of withdrawal has used the credit, the consumer shall repay the principal and the interest accrued for the period from the date the credit was used until the date the principal is repaid, no later than thirty days after sending the withdrawal notice to the lender. If payment is not made within this period, the consumer shall be deemed not to have withdrawn from the consumer credit contract. Interest shall be calculated at the contractual interest rate. No amount may be claimed from the consumer other than the calculated contractual interest and expenses paid to a public institution or organisation or to third parties.
Article 25 – Interest rate
(1) In fixed-term consumer credit contracts, the interest rate shall be determined as fixed. The rate determined on the date the contract is concluded may not be changed to the detriment of the consumer.
(2) If a consumer credit contract does not state the contractual interest, the effective annual interest rate or the total cost of the credit, the credit amount shall be used interest-free until the end of the contract term. If the effective interest rate is stated lower than it is, the contractual interest rate to be used as the basis for calculating the total cost of the credit shall be redetermined so as to correspond to the understated effective interest rate. In such cases, the repayment schedule shall be revised in accordance with the changes made.
Article 26 – Amendment of the contract
(1) The terms of a fixed-term credit contract may not be changed to the detriment of the consumer.
(2) Where the interest rate is increased under an indefinite-term credit contract, the consumer must be notified of this change in writing, on paper or through a durable data storage medium, thirty days before it enters into force. The notice shall include details of changes to the amount, number and intervals of payments to be made after the new interest rate enters into force. Where the interest rate is increased, the new rate may not be applied retroactively. If the consumer pays the entire debt and ceases using the credit no later than sixty days from the date of notification, the consumer shall not be affected by the interest increase.[4]
Article 27 – Early payment
(1) The consumer may pay one or more instalments before they fall due or may pay the entire credit debt early. In such cases, the lender is obliged to make all necessary reductions in interest and other cost components in proportion to the amount paid early.
Article 28 – Default
(1) In fixed-term credit contracts, where the consumer is in default in paying instalments, if the lender has reserved the right to demand performance of the entire debt, that right may be exercised only if the lender has performed all its obligations and the consumer is in default in paying at least two consecutive instalments. For the lender to exercise this right, it is mandatory to give the consumer at least thirty days to pay and to issue a notice of acceleration.
(2) Interest, commission and similar expenses shall not be taken into account in calculating the instalments accelerated.
Article 29 – Insurance and provision of ancillary financial products and services
(Amended together with its heading:24/3/2022-7392/4 art.)
(1) Credit-linked insurance may not be taken out without the consumer’s explicit request in writing or through a durable data storage medium. The lender may offer the consumer a credit contract that includes credit-linked insurance, provided that it also offers a contract without credit-linked insurance.
(2) The coverage obtained by the consumer from an insurance company of their choice must be accepted by the lender. Credit-linked insurance must be consistent with the outstanding debt amount and term in the case of sum insurance, for the purpose of securing repayment of the credit debt.
(3) A consumer credit contract may not be conditional on the purchase of ancillary financial products and services, except those related to the credit.
Article 30 – Linked credits
(1) A linked credit contract is a contract under which consumer credit is granted exclusively to finance a contract for the supply of specific goods or services, and the two contracts objectively form an economic unit.
(2) An economic unit shall be deemed to exist where at least one of the following circumstances applies:
a) The seller or service provider finances the credit for the consumer,
b) Where financing is provided by a third party, the lender uses the services of the seller or service provider in connection with the signing or preparation of the credit contract,
c) The supply of specific goods or services is expressly stated in the credit contract.
(3) Where the consumer withdraws from the contract for the supply of goods or services and the notice to that effect is also directed to the lender within the withdrawal period, the linked credit contract shall also terminate without any obligation to pay compensation or a penalty.
(4) In linked credits, if the goods or services are not delivered or performed at all or as required, the seller, service provider and lender shall be jointly and severally liable where the consumer exercises the right to rescind the sale contract or to a reduction in the price. Where the consumer exercises the right to a reduction in the price, the linked credit shall also be reduced in the same proportion and the repayment schedule shall be amended accordingly. Where the consumer exercises the right to rescind the contract, the seller, service provider and lender shall be jointly and severally liable for refunding the payments made by that date. However, the lender’s liability shall be limited to one year and to the amount of credit used, starting from the date for delivery of the goods or performance of the service stated in the sale contract or linked credit contract in cases where the goods are not delivered or the service is not performed, and from the date the goods are delivered or the service is performed in cases where they are.
(5) Credits granted by the lender by paying the price of goods or services selected by the consumer shall not be considered linked credits where there is no contract between the lender and the seller or service provider for the supply of specific goods or services.
Article 31 – Other matters
(1) Where an account is opened in connection with a fixed-term credit contract and only credit-related transactions are carried out through that account, no fee or expense under any name may be claimed from the consumer in relation to that account. The account shall be closed upon repayment of the credit, unless the consumer requests otherwise in writing or through a durable data storage medium.[5]
(2) A credit overdraft contract associated with a fixed-term credit contract may not be concluded without the consumer’s explicit instruction.
(3) Card-issuing institutions are obliged to offer consumers a type of credit card for which no fee is charged under the name of annual membership fee or similar.
(4) The procedures and principles concerning pre-contractual information, the mandatory content of the contract, contracts excluded from scope, the rights and obligations of the consumer and lender, the right of withdrawal, early payment, calculation of the effective annual interest rate, mandatory content of advertisements relating to consumer credits, exercise of the right of termination, default, transfer of the credit, linked credit and other matters shall be determined by regulation.
Notes
[2] By Article 1 of Law No. 7392 dated 24/3/2022, the phrase “at least one tenth of the remaining debt” in this paragraph was amended to read “at least one tenth of the price stated in the contract”, and the phrase “the remaining debt” following the phrase “instalment or” was removed from the text of the article.
[3] By Article 1 of Law No. 7529 dated 24/10/2024, the phrase “or at a distance” was added after the phrase “in writing” in the first sentence of this paragraph.
[4] By Article 3 of Law No. 7392 dated 24/3/2022, the phrase “in the event of a change in the rate” in this paragraph was amended to read “in the event of an increase in the rate”.
[5] By Article 2 of Law No. 7529 dated 24/10/2024, the phrase “or by means of a durable data storage medium” was added after the phrase “in writing to the contrary by the consumer” in the second sentence of this paragraph.