Earthquake victims have the right to cancel their subscription agreements

In the region where the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş are effective, many citizens want to cancel their subscription contracts, either because they cannot pay their fees or because they can no longer benefit. In this context, there are also telephone, internet or digital television broadcast subscription contracts, as well as service contracts signed with institutions such as gyms or classrooms.

THERE IS THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE WITHOUT REASON

In accordance with the Subscription Contract Regulations of the Ministry of Commerce, the consumer has the right to terminate the subscription contract of indefinite duration or one year or more without any justification and without paying any penalty. In a subscription contract with a duration of less than one year, the contract can be terminated if there is a valid reason that may prevent the consumer from benefiting from the service.

Committed subscriptions are made with consumers committing to remain subscribed for the specified period. Here, if the consumer cancels their registered subscription before the deadline, a withdrawal fee can be requested.

In the earthquake region, where a state of emergency (OHAL) has been declared, it is important that the citizenry make arrangements so that the withdrawal fee for services such as internet and telephone is not charged.

In contracted subscriptions, in the event that the consumer’s place of residence changes and it is really impossible to offer the same quality of service to the consumer in the new residence, the registered subscription can be terminated without paying any price.

In the service contracts signed with institutions such as gyms and private educational institutions, if it is no longer possible to provide this service in the earthquake zone, there is the possibility of termination in the field of “defective service”.

“MANDATORY BTK REGULATION”

The president of the Confederation of Consumers, Aydın Ağaoğlu, demanded to freeze all invoices accrued or to be incurred in the region where the state of emergency was declared, and to extinguish the obligations related to the contributions of citizens who lost their lives or their homes.

Emphasizing that the Information and Communications Technology Authority (BTK) should also make arrangements on subscriptions to the telecommunications sector and notify the relevant companies, Ağaoğlu said: “Companies that provide Internet transmission services, telephony mobile phones, fixed telephony and digital television can provide relevant consumers with their subscriptions in 10 provinces where the State of Emergency was declared and which were affected by the earthquake, ensuring that they approach them with compassion and do not follow up on debts and execution processes .” saying.

Ağaoğlu, who also assessed subscriptions outside the telecom sector, said:

“In addition, subscriptions to gyms, classrooms, courses and the like in these provinces must be suspended with a regulation made by the Ministry of Commerce. Consumer liability, if any, due to force majeure must be extinguished. If the person who wants to receive the service applies, the service must continue from where it left off. Consumers who wish to terminate their contracts must deduct the amount of service they receive from the payments made and the remaining amount must be returned. The consumer, who has problems in returning the remaining amount of the subscription, can apply to the online consumer arbitration committees for disputes up to 66 thousand lira.

THE WITHDRAWAL FEE SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED BY FORCE MAJEURE

Aziz Koçal, president of the Federation of Consumer Associations, pointed out that there is currently a situation of force majeure in the region and made the following assessment:

“Free calls must be provided by GSM operators not just for 1 month, but for a certain period of time. Past debts should be reset rather than postponed. Debts should not be collected from the heirs of deceased earthquake victims. For committed subscriptions, no withdrawal fee should be charged to those who want to change or cancel their subscription. The public must also provide the necessary support and make arrangements in this regard. Citizen says ‘I can’t pay’. Since there is force majeure in service contracts such as classrooms and gyms, a withdrawal fee should not be requested. There is no such place anymore. Citizens do not have the power to go to these places for which they will be damaged and rearranged. Payments must be returned. The parts of the payment that cannot be met must be returned without deductions.” AA