The additional fee charged for credit card payments can be refunded along with interest upon application.

The Vice President of the Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED), İbrahim Güllü, stated that it is against the law for businesses to request additional fees for payments made by credit card, saying, "Consumers who make payments can apply to the Consumer Arbitration Board by citing the court decision as a precedent and can get their money back along with commercial interest."

"ADDITIONAL FEES ARE AGAINST THE LAW"

Güllü mentioned that the business owner's request for additional fees from the consumer for payments made by credit card constitutes a violation of Article 17 of the Law on Bank Cards and Credit Cards No. 5464.

Güllü stated, "It is unfair and against the law for businesses to request additional fees for payments made by credit card, that is, the fees collected from consumers under the name of commission/service fee. This violation has also been confirmed by the decisions of Consumer Courts that can be considered as precedents. Member businesses are obliged to accept the payment requests made by cardholders for the goods and services they purchase using bank cards or credit cards."

"THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO REQUEST COMMISSION"

Güllü emphasized that this obligation is also valid during discount periods, stating that businesses cannot request additional payments under the name of commission or similar due to the use of the card by cardholders.

He provided information that if this rule is violated, the member business's contract will be terminated by the organizations that made the agreement with the member business, and in this case, a new contract cannot be made with the business for 1 year.

"THEY MUST IMMEDIATELY REFUND WITH INTEREST"

Güllü explained the penalty imposed on businesses that collect additional payments under the name of commission, service fee, or similar due to payments made by credit card: Our consumers who make payments can apply to the Consumer Arbitration Board by citing the court decision as a precedent and can get their money back along with commercial interest. Additionally, our consumers who encounter such a situation can file a complaint with the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency and the Unfair Price Assessment Board under the Ministry of Commerce. In addition to the cancellation of the POS device for this business, they will not be able to make a contract for 1 year, and due to exorbitant pricing and unfair commercial practices, a fine of 550,059 lira will be imposed in accordance with Article 77, Paragraph 13 of Law No. 6502, and this fine will increase annually based on the re-evaluation rate.