Türk Telekom Asks For Cancellation Fee AFTER ACCEPTING WRONGDOING

My complaint concerns an unauthorized mobile phone plan opened in my mother's name through Atena Telekomünikasyon, a Türk Telekom dealer in Istanbul, and Türk Telekom's failure to refund her money or protect her from the consequences, despite acknowledging the dealer's wrongdoing. Instead, my mother is now facing debt collection proceedings over an early termination fee.

In January 2025, a mobile plan was opened in my mother's name using stolen partial personal information, without her informed and explicit consent. Once we discovered what had happened, she contacted the Consumer Rights Association (Tüketici Hakları Derneği), which brought the matter to Türk Telekom's attention. At that point, the wrongdoing by the dealer was acknowledged, and we were told that the dealer would refund the amount my mother had already paid, including interest.

Despite this clear acknowledgment, my mother never received any refund. Atena Telekomünikasyon contacted her and requested PDF copies of the relevant payment receipts. She provided all the documents as requested, but the dealer then completely stopped responding to her. No refund was issued, and no meaningful solution was offered.

The situation has now become even more unacceptable. Despite the acknowledgment of wrongdoing and the promise of a refund, my mother has recently received an enforcement notice and an SMS informing her of debt collection proceedings related to an early termination fee for this unauthorized mobile line. Instead of protecting a customer who was victimized by fraudulent activity carried out by one of its own dealers, Türk Telekom is allowing or initiating debt collection proceedings over a disputed and unjustified charge.

The total amount in dispute, including the payments that have not been refunded and the current early termination fee, is approximately $159. We find it extremely unfair and unacceptable that a customer who never consented to this contract and was promised a refund after the dealer's wrongdoing was acknowledged is now being subjected to debt collection proceedings.

I request that Türk Telekom urgently cancel the early termination fee and immediately stop any ongoing or planned debt collection proceedings related to this unauthorized line. My mother must also be cleared of any associated debt and any negative credit or debt records. Furthermore, I demand a full refund of all amounts she paid in connection with this unauthorized mobile plan, without being referred back to the dealer responsible for the misconduct. Finally, I expect Türk Telekom to thoroughly investigate Atena Telekomünikasyon and take appropriate action to prevent other customers from experiencing similar situations.