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JOURNAL
of THE
HUMANITIES
Volume 8, Number 11
www.Humanities-Journal.com
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
http://www.Humanities-Journal.com
ISSN: 1447-9508
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Abstract: This study aimed at determining the level awareness of the society on the consumer rights
and consumer protection within the scope of current legal regulations in Turkey and at serving as a
guide for the training and research activities to be carried out in this field. This is the first and the only
study carried out with the cooperation of NGO’s, the Ministry and the universities. Within the scope
of the study; 12 Turkish provinces having different geographical, cultural and socio-economic structures
were chosen on statistical basis in such way to represent the Turkey in the best way. Study sampling
was composed of 784 consumers at “≥ 18 years old” age group, from different socio-economic levels
and randomly selected from these 12 provinces.
Introduction
I
N TODAY’S SOCIAL settlement also known as information society, consumer has to
monitor and analyze the continuous and intense information flow like a computer. With
liberalization and globalization and greater thrust towards privatization accompanied
with heightened awareness on account of increased availability of information and media
exposure today’s consumer has changed radically. ( Shekhar, et. al, 2008). Modern consumer
should know, understand, and evaluate the elements such as various kinds, types, and brands
of goods and their unending details from its price to technical features (Ferman, 1993; Çakır,
1988). Consumer’s knowledge and experience is too much limited about issues like price,
quality, necessity, and usefulness of the good and services that are served in the free market
to compete with the other side of the process (Demir, 2001; Demirel, 1999; Kipel 1996). As
a result unjust treatment of consumers has increased in terms of price, quality, health and
security of the goods and services that they have purchased; they cannot follow improvements
and cannot reach adequate and accurate information anymore. Consumer is the prisoner of
economic power that they cannot control and also as the shopping opportunities increase,
the problems have risen. (Akipek, 1996; Demir, 2001).
All these reasons prompt the governments to monitor consumers via developing consumer
welfare approach to protect them in the international platforms in time. The main reason of
this approach is the fact that since consumer groups are not organized and informed enough
in developing countries like Turkey, they cannot protect their self-interests. Therefore, the
government is responsible from protecting consumer’s interests and practices enter into the
juridical system to ensure protection of consumers against deception and fraud (Kipel, 1996;
Güngör 2000). As Kisthwaria et. al (2004) indicated consumer legislation and organizations
are necessary to reduce consumer exploitation.
Background
“Consumer protection” campaigns that began in 1960s in the west have started to show their
effects in Turkey, and studies have been accelerated for the harmonization process after the
full membership application to the European Union in 1987. Turkey is affected from the
Union’s consumer advocacy approach and consumer protection policies. Harmonization of
this issue becomes effective through the “Consumer Protection Law” on 8 September 1995
before Customs Unions (Şahin, 1988; Çağlar, 2002; Ministry of Industry and Trade, 1999).
On February 23, 1995 the Consumer Protection Law no. 4077 is accepted by Grand National
Assembly of Turkey and entered into force on March 8, 1995; on March 6, 2003 changes
were made and the Law with its final form has came into force on June 14, 2003. Consumers’
rights have been more protected by these changes made in the Consumer Law.
It is observed that there is a significant increase in the number of complaints received by
“Consumer Courts” and “Consumer Arbitration Committees” that are formed as a problem
solving mechanisms in the scope of “Consumer Protection Law” and that have important
functions since the law has came into force (Sanayi ve Ticaret Bakanlığı, 2006, 2008, 2010).
However, population of 20 years of age or older is more than the 40 million according to
the censes conducted in Turkey in 2000 and considering that this age group are the actual
consumers, it can be said that number of consumers that are using problem solving mechan-
isms and that are aware of consumers’ rights are still very low. Yet primarily consumers
should be aware of their rights in order to protect themselves. However, small scale researches
emphasize that consumers are not aware of universal consumers’ rights and in this context
they are not aware of their legal rights in detail. Also these researches points out that they
do not use legal mechanisms in solving their problems adequately and they significantly
need to be informed and educated (Usta, 2001; Altunışık et. al, 2004; Kor, 2007).
Government, private institutions, universities, and consumer organizations have important
roles in consumers’ education and enlightenment and to create a harmonious cooperation is
required between these units. This current study is the first and the only one conducted to
adjust educational and research activities, that are done by determining level of consciousness
about the public’s consumers’ rights and consumer protection in the scope of present legal
arrangements in Turkey, and it is done with the contributions of the Ministry of Industry
and Trade as well as Hacettepe University Consumer-Market-Research-Advisory-Test and
Training Center (TÜPADEM) and Foundation of Consumer and Environmental Training
(TÜKÇEV).
This research aims to define knowledge and consciousness level of consumers age 18 and
older, that live in different geographical regions in Turkey in terms of socio-economic devel-
opment, about the implementations of the responsible parties concerning “consumer protection
and consumers’ rights” and in the light of the data obtained aim is to direct consumer training
by identifying policies and strategies that enhances responsible parties’ implementations.
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
Method
Sampling
The universe of the research is 34,036,000 people who are 18 years old or older and living
in 12 provinces representing the urban regions of Turkey. 12 provinces representing general
population of Turkey are in the level 2 of “Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics”
(IBBS). This classification in accordance with “European Union Territorial Statistical System”
is formed according to the socio-economic development levels that are developed by Turkish
Statistical Institute.
Participants are chosen from 12 provinces which are İstanbul, Ankara, Bursa, İzmir,
Tekirdağ, Adana, Samsun, Kayseri, Trabzon, Gaziantep, Malatya, and Erzurum representing
IBBS Level-2 by the method of quota random sampling. Consumers, consisting of 784 women
and men, participated in the research are from socio-economic status of A, B, C1, C2, D,
and E and they are 18 years of age or older. Research is limited to the population living in
downtown.
Research group consists of 45.7% women and 54.3% men. Consumers between 18-24
years of age make up 17.9 %, consumers between 25-29 years of age are 15.4%, and con-
sumers between 30-34 years of age are 11.5%. Consumers that are older than age 35 comprise
55.5%. Consumers taken into consideration in the research consist of 41.5 % wage-earners,
20.7 % are self-employed and 37.8 % of consumers do not work.
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
• SES Class A is trained in an absolute manner and is very well educated (at least two
generations).
• Rate of two working people per household is much above the average.
• Reading a magazine is a determining variable for this group and rate of reading a magazine
is very high. Briefly, reading is a defining feature of class A.
• SES Class A fills their time with various occupations and spends time with specific
hobbies.
• SES Class B resembles Class A’s previous generation in terms of education profile.
• Although they are important representatives of the labor force, one person works in 2/3
of the families and 2 people work in the 1/3 of the rest of the families.
• In SES Class C1/C2 university-graduate head of the family and spouse do not exist.
• They are the classes in which the rate of one working person is the highest.
• Structural features of the patriarchal family become more influential as of these groups.
Figure 1 gives distribution of the consumers taken into consideration in the research according
to socio-economic status in line with aforementioned criteria.
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
• The consumers are divided into three groups as A, B, and C according to their scores.
• Range of total scores consumers in class A is between 14 and 19.
• Range of total score consumers in class B is between 9 and 13.
• Range of total score consumers in class C is between 4 and 8.
Figure 2 shows categories with respect to the buying behavior of the consumers participating
into the research.
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
• Being acquainted with the hotline number of ALO CONSUMER established for con-
sumers’ rights,
• Being aware of a separate law regarding consumer protection in Turkey,
• Being aware of the ministry that enforces consumer protection law,
• In case of a defective good/ service encounter, being aware of the fact that seller is obliged
to be notified within a certain period of time after the purchase in order to benefit from
the consumers’ rights,
• Knowledge level of the consumers about the consumers’ rights in a defective good en-
counter,
• Being aware of the fact that consumers have right to return the goods that they have
bought from door-to door selling in 7 days without stating any reason,
• Consumers’ knowledge level about the sales on installments,
• Knowing maximum guarantee period of purchased industrial goods,
• Knowledge level of the consumers about the maximum mean time to repair the defects
within the warranty period. Consumers are split into categories by scoring their answers
to these criteria.
The minimum score received from a total of 9 criteria is 0 and maximum score is 90. accord-
ing to their scores the consumer are divided into three groups.
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
Figure 3 shows the distribution of consumers with regard to the level of information about
Consumers’ Rights.
Figure 3: Categorizing Consumers With Regard to the Knowledge Level about Consumers’
Rights
Data Analysis
After categorizing consumers in terms of shopping behaviors and knowledge level about
Consumers’ Rights, chi-square analysis is used according to the categories that consumers
are split into in order to examine the relation between their educational status, socio-economic
status, knowledge level about various issues related to consumer protection and rights, and
a defective good and service encounter.
Findings
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
Awareness of the Arbitration Committee for Consumer Problems is low among consumers
taken part in this research. (Consumer focus group A is 24.7 %, consumer focus group B is
21.4 %). All of the consumers in the consumer focus group C are not aware of the Arbitration
Committee for Consumer Problems (p>0.05).
Consumers participated in this research are questioned about the Consumer Courts and
while the rate of awareness is high in consumer classes A and B (Consumer class A , 71.2%,
consumer class B 66.7 %), consumer class C is below the average with a 44.0 % awareness
(p>0.05).
Awareness of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, one of the establishments protecting
consumers, differs in each consumer focus group. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is
known by 73.1 % of the consumer focus group A, 59.2 % of the consumer focus group B,
and 44.0% of the consumer group C (p<0.05).
Awareness of the Consumer and Turkish Competition Authority Directorate General is
lower in three consumer groups. (Consumer Class A 32.7 %, Consumer Class B 204%,
Consumer Class C 16.0 %) (p < 0.05).
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
Although awareness of the Arbitration Committee is higher amongst Consumers with High
Level of Awareness (37.9 %) than consumers in other awareness levels, generally it is lower
in all awareness levels (Consumers with Average Level of Awareness are 19 %, Consumers
with Low Level of Awareness are 15.9 %) (p< 0.05). It is depriving that consumers do not
have information about authorities protecting their rights and searching solutions for their
problems.
Awareness of the Consumer Courts is higher among Consumers with Low Level of
Awareness than expected (51.1 %). This ratio is 87.9% for consumers with high level of
awareness and 67.6 % for consumers with average level of awareness (p<0.05).
One of the institutions protecting consumers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s
awareness increases as the consumer awareness level raises. Awareness of the ministry
among consumers with low level of awareness is 52.3 %, consumers with average level of
awareness 68.3 %, and among consumers with high level of awareness 78.0 % (p<0.05).
Despite the fact that the awareness of the Consumer and Turkish Competition Authority
Directorate General is low among three awareness levels, this rate is lower among Consumers
with Low Level of Awareness than other awareness levels (12.5%) (p< 0.05).
All in all, it can be concluded that the rate of awareness for the institutions protecting
consumers are higher in A class consumer and consumer with high knowledge than the
other groups.
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Figure 4: Product/ Service Groups in Which Defective Good and Service Has Encountered
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
Figure 6: Consumers’ Searching For a Solution to Their Problems According to their Con-
sciousness Level
Figure 7: Whether the Price Paid to the Purchased Good/Service Has an Influence on the
Reaction
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
Discussion
The aim of this research is to determine consumers’ the level of knowledge about consumers’
rights in Turkey. Research is conducted on 784 consumers, who are 18 years of age or older
and live in the downtown of 12 provinces that represent Turkey in general and accidental
sampling is used to determine the consumers. In order to determine level of knowledge and
the level of awareness about consumers’ rights, questions asked are about consumers’
shopping behavior, awareness of the institutions protecting the consumer, encountering a
defective good/service situation, the level of knowledge about the consumers’ rights.
Research results show that consciousness level related to shopping behavior and consumers’
level of knowledge about consumers’ rights are increasing as the education level increases.
This result is important since it puts forth the effect of education on consumer behavior and
results are parallel to the results of researches that are conducted on different regions and
different sampling groups in Turkey. For instance the study of Kor conducted in Mersin in
2007 shows that the most conscious consumer group in terms of education level is the uni-
versity students or graduates in protecting the rights that they hold as a consumer.
This research also examines the consumers’ awareness of the institutions trying to protect
them with respect to the categories of shopping behavior and knowledge level about con-
sumers’ rights. The results state that as the awareness level increases, awareness of Arbitration
Committee for Consumer Problems, Consumer Courts, the Ministry of Industry and Com-
merce, that both plays a key part in and has a responsibility of protecting consumers and of
their education, increase as well as the awareness of the Turkish Consumer and Competition
Authority Directorate-General operating under the aforementioned ministry. Various studies
examining awareness of the institutions protecting consumers in Turkey also state a positive
relation between education level and awareness of this kind of institutions. An earlier study
by Kayalı (2008) compares the awareness of consumer courts with the consumers’ education
level and indicates that 6.2 % of the consumers at the primary education level and 26.6 %
of the consumers at the level of university are aware of the consumer courts.
Despite the critiques it received since its inception, Arbitration Committee for Consumer
Problems serves rapidly and efficiently in resolving consumer problems and the fact that its
awareness is low in all groups is an important finding. Arbitration Committee serving in 81
provinces and 85 districts has observed a serious increase in the consumers’ compliant ap-
plications by years and current study conducted in different regions in Turkey points out a
depriving situation of low awareness of the Arbitration Committee and also the study indicates
the fact that its awareness is less except major cities.
Majority of the consumers taken into account states the encounter of defective good and
service in their shopping. Considering the activity reports of the Ministry of Industry and
Trade, of all complaints brought to attention, complaints about defective goods and services
takes place on top. Majority of the consumers taken into consideration in the research resolves
the problem when they encounter defective goods or services however 26.2 % of them, such
a significant part, do nothing to solve the problem.
One of the important signs of conscious consumer is the behavior they display when they
confront a problem during shopping and their consumers’ rights are violated or when they
suffer a loss owing to shopping; their attitudes and assessments towards consumer protection
initiatives. These results point out the absence of internalized consumer consciousness.
Consumer’s individual consciousness level is a significant determinant of the process in
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES
Conclusion
Current study highlights consumers’ low level of knowledge about consumers’ rights and
institutions protecting consumers in Turkey. Like many other studies, this research results
indicate the necessity of training and awareness-raising activities. The main aim of the con-
sumer training is to teach them where and how to find the necessary information, how to
evaluate this information, how to use them, and thus improving their buying and using
goods/services skills. Besides, it aims to make them aware of consumers’ rights and respons-
ibilities. Trained consumers will learn their rights as a consumer and get acquainted by means
of consumer training. In addition ensuring the information taught has an influence on the
consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, consumer training has begun with preschool
education and should continue lifelong by the scope of both formal and informal education.
Training a Consumer Educator should be the priority in consumer training. The government
should be the pioneer by means of its ministries. As a start, consumer education centers
should be established in universities.
Mass media and printed media should give a place for scientific studies about consumer
education, relevant programs and columns should be mandatory, informational publications
should be broadcasted.
Consumers should have sufficient information about consumer associations which are
important supporters of consumers in case of a defective good and service encounter. Con-
sumer associations should organize activities that give information to the public about where
to apply when needed.
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MÜBERRA BABAOĞUL, ARZU ŞENER, ESNA BETÜL BUĞDAY
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272
EDITORS
Tom Nairn, The Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Australia.
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