Unlawful Annual Fee by Garanti BBVA Despite Consumer Protection Laws
On March 11, 2025, I noticed that an unlawful and unjustified fee of 841.50₺ was charged to my Bonus Trink credit card ending in 3142 under the name of an annual card fee. According to Article 31, Paragraph 3 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502, dated May 28, 2014, credit card issuers must offer consumers a credit card option without annual membership fees or similar charges. Additionally, under Article 6 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 4077, amended by Law No. 4822, the annual membership fee imposed by your bank is considered an unfair term, as it does not correspond to a specific service and is included in a standard contract that cannot be negotiated. The decision of the 13th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Case No. 2011/4736, Decision No. 2011/11579), along with Article 125 of the Turkish Code of Obligations and the General Assembly of Civil Chambers’ decision (Case No. 2010/1-93-88), establishes that past card fees must also be refunded. Based on these Turkish laws, I demand a full refund of this unlawfully charged annual fee, along with all previous card fees deducted under similar names. I expect this charge to be immediately canceled and refunded in full without any additional obligations imposed on me. If this matter is not resolved promptly, I will escalate my complaint to Presidential Communication Center, the Banks Association of Turkey, and the Consumer Arbitration Board. I look forward to your swift response.
