Turkcell Charged Me an Unfair Early Termination Fee
On March 20, 2024, I opened the Turkcell app to pay my bill and was shocked to see a notification that my contract had expired. The bill details showed that my ₺61 smartwatch plan had been charged ₺442 in early termination fees.
I had not canceled or terminated my contract. In fact, I had not been able to use the smartwatch for two months because it did not recognize the SIM card. On March 21, 2024, at 10:42 AM, I spoke to a Turkcell customer representative named K****. She told me that the early termination fee was charged because I had inserted the SIM card into another device.
I had only inserted the SIM card into my phone for a few minutes to test if it was faulty since the smartwatch was not recognizing it. I received a message within 48 hours stating that I would be charged an early termination fee if I did not insert the SIM card into the watch. Charging an early termination fee for such a short period of time is nothing short of a money grab.
Dear Valued Customer, We will review your request and provide you with information as soon as possible. Sincerely, Turkcell
Hello Mr. Hamza, As the Turkcell family, we are working to provide complete and quality service through all our channels. Ensuring the satisfaction of our customers at every point is our priority. In all the campaigns we conduct, our aim is to offer advantages to our customers. We continuously update our campaigns and tariffs by considering your expectations. Each of our campaigns is presented with specific setups, and customers who meet the conditions can apply to benefit from them. During the participation in our campaigns and tariffs, the participation conditions are clearly shared with you in writing or verbally, and your transactions are carried out with your approval. The Smart Child Watch 2GB Tariff includes 300 minutes, 300 SMS, and 2 GB of internet. In cases where the tariff is used on different devices other than the specified brand and model watches, especially if the tariff is abused and/or used for commercial purposes, the total discount amounts provided by TURKCELL for each billing period from the date the Smart Child Watch 2GB Tariff is assigned to your line to the date of the violation, or if it is more favorable for you, the total amount of the Smart Child Watch 2GB Tariff including VAT and SCT that you need to pay to TURKCELL from the date of the violation to the end of the package commitment period, will be reflected on your invoice under the name "SMART CHILD WATCH TARIFF CANCELLATION" in the billing period following the said date. From this period onwards, you will continue to be charged based on the monthly fee of the Smart Child Watch Tariff. Best regards, Turkcell
This response is unfortunately not satisfactory at all. It did not please me, unfortunately. You also said, "Our customers' satisfaction is our priority." Besides, what have I violated? How can I understand whether the SIM card is working or not without trying it in another device since the smartwatch does not recognize the SIM card? Can't I do this even for 5 minutes? Moreover, the message I received says, "If you do not insert it into the watch within 48 hours, a cancellation fee will be applied." I am attaching the message as well. Your message says 48 hours, which is 2 (written out as "two") days. Look, I am telling you 5 ("five") minutes, which is 300 seconds. This practice of yours clearly contradicts your message then. Or maybe someone else sent the message (!). But unfortunately, I do not earn as easily as you do.
