Termination of Subscription Agreements
Introduction
Through digitalization and technological advancement, subscription of telecommunication services has become popular. According to the Turkish Statistical Institution, as of 2016, 76.3% of the households in Turkey have access to the internet. Accordingly, subscription agreement related disputes between consumers and services or goods providers have increased significantly in recent years. In practice, some persons have claimed non-pecuniary damages for the deficient internet service[1]. Under this article, subscription agreements in terms of Turkish law are represented.
Main Regulation
Subscription agreements are mainly regulated under Law on Consumer Protection No. 6502 and dated 07.11.2013 (“Consumer Law”) and Regulation on Subscription Agreements published in the Official Gazette dated 24.01.2015 and numbered 29246 (“Subscription Regulation”). Pursuant to Article 52 of the Consumer Law, subscription agreements are agreements that consumers are granted with periodically to order services or goods.
General Information on Subscription Agreements
Subscription agreements may be executed in writing or online. However, in each case, one hard copy or electronic copy of the agreement must be provided to the consumer.
A minimum content of subscription agreements is regulated under Article 6 of the Subscription Regulation. Accordingly, in the event of absence of the terms foreseen, consumers are entitled to terminate the subscription agreements. Please note that the mentioned article includes various terms, and the notable minimum content is as follows:
- The name, commercial title, address, phone number and Central Registration System (MERSIS) number and other contact information of the consumer and provider,
- The subject and if any, the term of the agreement,
- The execution date of the agreement,
- The date of first delivery or the commencement date of the service or the good subject to the agreement,
- The total price of goods or services, including tax,
- In the event that the goods or services are calculated using a tariff, the name, content and unit consumption price of the tariff in the execution date of the agreement.
Subscription agreements cannot include an automatic renewal term. The agreements may only be renewed through a consumer’s approval or demand. In the event of automatic renewal, the seller or service provider cannot demand any remuneration for the goods or services provided.
Termination of Subscription Agreement
Pursuant to Article 52 of the Consumer Law, consumers are entitled to renege on subscription agreements that terms are longer than one year, or which are executed for an indefinite term without showing any reason. Furthermore, for subscription agreements having a term of less than one year, in the event of a change in terms and conditions of the subscription agreement by services or goods providers, consumers are entitled to terminate the agreement.
The seller or service provider may not stipulate more difficult methods for termination of the agreement than as set out for execution of the same. Pursuant to Article 52 of the Consumer Law, sellers and service providers are obliged to take necessary measures, establish an appropriate system, and maintain the same for consumers to conduct transactions with respect to notifications and demands regarding termination of subscription agreements.
Pursuant to Article 24 of the Subscription Regulation, sellers and service providers are obliged to fulfill termination requests within seven days starting from the receipt of the termination notice. The regulation foresees different terms for periodical publications. Such term is fifteen days for daily publications, one month for weekly publications, and three months for monthly publications. For publications that have a longer period, termination demands must be fulfilled following the first publication.
Subscription agreements for electronic communication services are also regulated under the Regulation on Rights of Consumers in the Electronic Communication Sector published in the Official Gazette dated 28.07.2010 and numbered 27655 (“Electronic Communication Regulation”). Pursuant to Article 18 of the Electronic Communication Regulation, service providers are obliged to notify consumers of receipt of a termination demand, within twenty-four hours of receipt, and to stop or slow the procurement of the service within twenty-four hours starting from such notification.
In the event that the subscription is not terminated within the determined terms by the seller or service provider, pursuant to paragraph 5 of Article 52 of the Consumer Law, no remuneration may be demanded from the consumers for the goods or services provided following expiration of these terms.
In the event of termination of a subscription agreement wherein the consumer undertakes to buy services or goods for a certain term, in the event of termination by the consumer, the remuneration is limited by the discount and the price of the service or good provided to the consumer, if any, as well as the unpaid invoices under the Article 16 of the Subscription Regulation. However, if the accrued remuneration for the remaining undertaking term is lower than the mentioned remuneration, the lesser amount will be collected from the consumer. In the event that the consumer moves, if the seller or service provider is unable to provide the service or the goods at equal quality, the consumer is entitled to terminate the agreement without paying any remuneration.
Additionally, in the event of existence of a deficient service, consumers are entitled to terminate the agreement, provided that the conditions are set out under the Consumer Law. Please refer to our article of February, 2014; namely, “Provisions Regarding Defective Services in the Law on Consumer Protection No. 6502,”[2] for detailed information on defective services, as well as our article of January, 2014; namely, “Provisions Regarding Defective Goods in the Law on Consumer Protection No. 6502,”[3] for detailed information on defective goods.
Conclusion
Due to consumers being unaware, termination of subscription agreements is usually impossible. In actual fact, the Consumer Law sets forth various just causes through which to terminate subscription agreements. Consumers are granted with the right to terminate subscription agreements depending on the term of the agreement, defectiveness, and upon the consumer moving. Additionally, the Consumer Law limits remuneration on the subscription agreement under which the consumer had undertaken to buy a service or goods for a certain term.
Please also note that these agreements are usually drafted as standardized terms, and are subject to Article 20 of Code of Obligations numbered 6098 on standardized terms of contracts. Please refer to our article dated July 2011; namely, “The Concept of General Transaction Terms and Its Implications under New Code of Obligations”[4], for detailed information on standardized terms of contracts.
[1] Please refer to the Decision of 3rd Chamber of Court of Cassation dated 24.02.2014, file numbered 2013/18799, and decision numbered 2014/2717.
[2] http://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/publications/law-post/provisions-regarding-defective-services-in-the-law-on-consumer-protection-no-6502/.
[3] http://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/publications/law-post/provisions-regarding-defective-goods-in-the-law-on-consumer-protection-no-6502/.
[4] http://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/publications/law-post/the-concept-of-general-transaction-terms-and-its-implications-under-new-code-of-obligations/.
All rights of this article are reserved. This article may not be used, reproduced, copied, published, distributed, or otherwise disseminated without quotation or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm's written consent. Any content created without citing the resource or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm’s written consent is regularly tracked, and legal action will be taken in case of violation.
Other Contents
Pursuant to the Law on the Amendment of the Consumer Protection Law and the Property Ownership Law published in the Official Gazette dated April 1, 2022 and numbered 31796, various amendments were made to Consumer Protection Law No. 6502...
