According to the allegations, approximately one and a half years ago, Aydın Ağaoğlu, the President of the Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED), was asked to pay 20 liras for a short time in a shopping mall parking lot in Mecidiyeköy, despite staying there for less than 0-3 hours. Ağaoğlu, who did not accept the business’s offer to refund the fee, took the matter to the Consumer Arbitration Board. Ağaoğlu’s application to the board was rejected, considering that the business declared that ‘the 0-3 hour limit was exceeded’ and that the entrance and exit times in the license plate recognition system were not presented on any document.
Thereupon, Ağaoğlu applied to the Consumer Court and as a result of the lawsuit, it was decided that the 20 lira parking fee be refunded.
Ağaoğlu, who previously won his legal battle against two businesses that did not implement the “0-3 hours free” decision of the Transport Coordination Centers (UKOME), emphasized that it should be mandatory to display the entrance and exit times in car parks.
Ağaoğlu said, “I also fought against the same business’s shopping mall parking lot in Ataşehir and it became free for 0-3 hours. Again, I fought against the same thing with a different shopping mall parking lot in Ümraniye and they made 0-3 hours free. I told the business that I will fight with you too and did not accept the 20 liras.” Ağaoğlu, who touched on the fact that the 0-3 hour free rule adopted by UKOME in 2007 is still not implemented in some shopping malls, warned consumers not to pay during these hours. Ağaoğlu, who also touched on the problem with parking license plate recognition systems, conveyed the importance of businesses presenting the entrance and exit times so that consumers do not pay excessive fees and arbitrary practices do not occur.
FEE REQUEST AFTER 0-1 HOURS IN SHOPPING MALLS IN MECIDIYEKOY AND FLORYA
It was observed that the shopping mall located on Mecidiyeköy Yolu Street, which has been in service for a long time, continues to apply a fee between 0-3 hours in its parking lot, and the same practice continues in a shopping mall located on the Florya coast, where a fee is applied after 0-1 hours.
THERE IS A THREE HOURS FREE RULE
Ağaoğlu, who stated that there is a three-hour free rule in the parking lots of shopping malls, said, “Most of these shopping malls have switched to a license plate reading system. As a citizen, they continue to charge a fee for staying there for less than three hours. I entered a well-known large shopping mall in Mecidiyeköy. Three hours were not up. It was a little over an hour. The barrier did not open at the exit. They lined up behind me. I got angry, I backed out and went. They said, ‘We charge a fee for exceeding one hour here.’ I left my business card there. They called me. They said, ‘Let’s refund the fee.’ I said, ‘No, you should not take it from anyone. You will not take it from anyone before three hours are up. I will not give up on this.’ I applied to the Consumer Arbitration Board. They made a false statement to the Consumer Arbitration Board by saying, ‘Aydın Ağaoğlu’s vehicle stayed for more than three hours.’ But I do not have a record because the entry and exit times were not written on my payment document, I could not prove it. The Consumer Arbitration Board found me wrong. It rejected my request.” said.
LET THEM SEEK THEIR RIGHTS ON THE INTERNET
Ağaoğlu said, “We took the issue to the Consumer Court with our legal colleagues. The court ruled that we were right, saying, ‘the consumer is right here because the parking lot operator could not provide a document regarding the entry and exit records.’ Consumers should definitely check whether they entered and exited before three hours, if the three hours have not passed, the fee they paid is against the law. They can also complain to the relevant municipality or apply to the consumer arbitration boards online and request a refund. Consumers receive a payment document. If the time is not written on this payment document, they should note their own entry and exit times. They should apply to the arbitration boards and seek their rights online.”
I DID NOT ACCEPT 20 LIRA
Ağaoğlu said, “They charged me 20 lira. I left my card and they called me ten minutes later. They said, ‘Let’s return it right away.’ I said, ‘No, I had encountered the same situation a while ago in a shopping mall parking lot that you operate in Ataşehir.’ I had fought there too and it was free for three hours. I fought in a shopping mall in Ümraniye until it became free for three hours in Istanbul. I said, ‘I will fight with you too,’ and I did not accept the 20 lira and forwarded the situation and the file to the Arbitration Board.”
WE WILL FIGHT UNTIL IT BECOME FREE
Ağaoğlu, who said that the records in the entry-exit plate reading systems were at the parking lot business and that the consumer only had a payment document, said, “The time was not written there either. Our lawyers took the issue to the Consumer Court and were found right. It turned out that the fee they charged was unfair. Now I will complain about that shopping center to the municipality and we will continue our struggle until three hours are free. This is very important here. When citizens go to a lawyer and want to file a lawsuit, that is, when they start a struggle to correct the wrong decision of the Arbitration Board, the profit they will receive will not even cover the attorney’s fee. For this reason, consumer arbitration boards must make the right decision and precautions must be taken.”
CONSUMER HAS TO PAY WITHOUT KNOWING THE ENTRY-EXIT TIME
Reminding UKOME’s decision on 0-3 hours of free parking for shopping malls, Consumer Confederation Deputy Chairman Lawyer İbrahim Güllü said, “Under three hours, no parking fee can be collected from the consumer. However, recently, a license plate reading system has been put into effect in shopping malls. In license plate reading systems, unfortunately, the entry and exit times are not specified in the payment document in most shopping malls. Therefore, since the consumer does not know how long he/she has been there, he/she has to pay this fee. In order for the consumer to seek his/her rights, the vehicle’s entry and exit times must be written on the payment documents. If the entry and exit times are not specified on the payment document, the consumer should take notes himself/herself. If he/she thinks he/she has been there for less than three hours, he/she should definitely apply to the Consumer Arbitration Board via the e-government application and demand the refund of the money he/she has paid with commercial interest.”
“THE OBLIGATORY MUST COME”
Güllü said, “Now, in terms of both informing the consumer and ensuring that they can seek their rights, the vehicle’s entry and exit times must be stated on the payment documents in shopping malls that implement the license plate reading system. If the vehicle’s entry and exit times are not stated, unfortunately, consumer arbitration committees can give negative decisions because they cannot determine whether the consumer stayed there for three hours because they do not know when the vehicle entered and exited. However, the system that shows the vehicle’s entry and exit times is in the hands of that business. Therefore, in order not to tire the consumer and to prevent unnecessary trials and objections, it is mandatory to include the entry and exit times on the payment documents.”
FEE REQUEST AFTER 0-1 HOURS IN SHOPPING MALLS IN MECIDIYEKOY AND FLORYA
It was observed that the shopping mall located on Mecidiyeköy Yolu Street, which has been in service for a long time, continues to apply a fee between 0-3 hours in its parking lot, and the same practice continues in a shopping mall located on the Florya coast, where a fee is applied after 0-1 hours.
