Obligations under the Distance Contracts Regulation are Postponed

On August 23, 2022, important regulations regarding sellers’ obligation to inform consumers’ preliminarily and consumers’ right of withdrawal were introduced (“Amendment”) in the Distance Contracts[1] Regulation, for which the effective date was determined to be January 1, 2024.

While the effective date is getting closer, on November 4, 2023, the Regulation Amending the Distance Contracts Regulation was published on the Official Gazette, which postponed the effective date for following obligations to January 1, 2025:

Obligation to Preliminary Inform:

Sellers and providers are obligated to inform the customers preliminarily about the details such as the seller, the product, sales conditions, before concluding the distance contract.

With the Amendment, more detailed obligations for the preliminary information were introduced and intermediary service providers were included as an obligatory. The following obligations are now postponed to January 1, 2025:

• Intermediary service provider’s joint liability with the seller with regards to the obligation to inform consumers preliminarily, where the distance contract is concluded through a platform and the service provider intermediates the collection of the price,

• Seller’s obligation to preliminary inform the consumers that have the right of withdrawal, along with the information regarding the carrier intended for return by the seller, the reimbursement for the return of the goods and the party that will be covering the reimbursement; and the consumer’s liability to cover the reimbursement in the event that the return is done by a carrier that is not intended by the seller.

The Right of Withdrawal

Consumers have the right of withdrawal within fourteen (14) days as of the receipt of the goods; and the seller is obligated to return all payments, including the costs of delivery of the goods to the consumer, within fourteen (14) days from the date of withdrawal.

With the Amendment, more detailed obligations for sellers, providers, or intermediary service providers regarding the withdrawal of goods were regulated. The following obligations are now postponed to January 1, 2025:

• Seller’s or service provider’s obligation to cover the reimbursement for carrier where the consumer uses their right of withdrawal, if the seller or provider have failed to fulfill the obligation to preliminary inform consumers about the carriers to use for returning the goods, the party to cover the reimbursement and consumer’s liability to cover the reimbursement if they do not return the goods by an intended carrier,

• Intermediary service provider’s obligation to cover the reimbursement for carrier where the consumer uses their right of withdrawal, in the event the distance contract is concluded through a platform and the intermediary service provider failed the fulfill the obligation to preliminarily inform consumers about the intended carrier or if the intended carrier does not have a branch near the are the consumer resides at,

• For distance contracts concluded through a platform, seller’s obligation to inform intermediary service providers immediately upon the receipt of the notice of consumer’s withdrawal,

• Seller’s obligation to return the payment within fourteen (14) days, starting from the date of the good is delivered to the seller, in the event the consumer returns the good by a carrier not intended for return,

• Seller’s and intermediary service provider’s obligation to return the payment within fourteen (14) days as of the receipt of the notice consumer’s withdrawal, in the event the consumer uses their right before the good is delivered to them,

• Service provider’s and intermediary service provider’s obligation to return the payment within fourteen (14) days as of the receipt of the notice of consumer’s withdrawal,

• If the price has not been transferred to the seller as of the date of receipt of the notice of withdrawal, the intermediary service provider’s joint liability with the seller with regards to returning the payment to consumer, within fourteen (14) days as of the date on which the goods are delivered to the carrier intended for return, or as of the date the good reached the seller in case it is returned with a carrier other than the one foreseen for return,

• Obligation of institutions, who are authorized to issue credit cards within the scope of Law on Bank Cards and Credit Cards with no. 5464, to add the amount transferred by the seller, service provider, or intermediary service provider, to the card holder’s available limit in a single transaction, in the event the consumer makes the payment through a credit card,

Consumers’ Obligations

Consumers have an obligation to deliver goods within ten (10) days of the receipt of the goods; to the seller or provider. With the Amendment, the delivery period extended to fourteen (14) days. The following obligation is now postponed to January 1, 2025:

• The consumer’s obligation to deliver the goods within fourteen (14) days to the seller or the provider or to their authorized person, upon notifying their withdrawal,

Exception of the Consumer’s Right of Withdrawal

The right of withdrawal has some exceptions regarding the type of good and/or conditions related to the distance contracts. With the Amendment, some conditions and goods were added to these exceptions. The following exceptions are now postponed to January 1, 2025:

• For movables that must be registered according to the Law on Highway Traffic with no. 2918, and unmanned aerial vehicles that must be recorded or registered,

• For cell phones, smart watches, tablets, and computers that was delivered to the consumer,

• Formed by the process of auctioning,

• For goods that were mounted or installed by the seller or the authorized technical service, as specified in their introductory and usage guides.

Obligations that are not mentioned above but regulated under the Distance Contracts Regulation will enter into force on January 01, 2024. For more details, our article can be found here.