Early Performance in Consumer Contracts
Musa Furkan ŞahinEarly performance describes performance before a contract’s due date. As a rule, a debtor can demand early performance of a debt according to Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. However, the counter to this rule can possibly be inferred from the terms or nature of a contract or circumstances. The rendering of an early performance is a valid performance. According to Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the obligor is not entitled to apply a discount due to early performance. However, if a discount is regulated by law, agreed upon by the parties, or sanctioned by custom, the obligor is then entitled to apply a discount. In case of early performance, the creditor may demand early repayment compensation if this has been agreed upon in the contract. According to Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection, early performance is allowed in installment sales, consumer credit, and housing finance contracts. Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection regulated the occurrence of an early repayment reduction in case of early repayment. In case of early repayment, however, early repayment compensation may also come into question in accordance with Article 37 of Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection. Early repayment compensation is only permitted in terms of housing finance contracts. In order to claim early repayment compensation, a housing finance contract must be present, a fixed interest rate must have been determined in the contract, early repayment compensation must be agreed upon in the contract, and the debt must be paid before the contractual maturity.
Tüketici Sözleşmelerinde Erken İfa
Musa Furkan ŞahinErken ifa, borçlunun borcunu sözleşmede kararlaştırılan vadeden önce ifa etmesidir. Türk Borçlar Kanunu’nun 96. maddesinde borçlunun borcunu kural olarak erken ifa edebileceği düzenlenmektedir. Ancak sözleşmenin hükümlerinden, sözleşmenin özelliklerinden veya durumun gereğinden bunun aksi anlaşılabilir. Erken ifa gerçekleştiğinde geçerli bir ifa söz konusu olur. Bu sebeple, borçlu edimin iadesini isteyemez. Türk Borçlar Kanunu’nun 96. maddesine göre, erken ifa sebebiyle kural olarak indirim yapılmaz. Ancak kanun, sözleşme veya adet gereği erken ifa sebebiyle indirim yapılabilir. Erken ifa hâlinde, sözleşmede kararlaştırıldığı takdirde alacaklı, erken ödeme tazminatı talep edebilir. Erken ödeme tazminatı, alacaklının erken ifa sebebiyle alacağında indirim yaptığı takdirde uğradığı zararın kısmen telafi edilmesi için talep ettiği bedeldir. 6502 sayılı Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun’da taksitle satış, tüketici kredisi ve konut finansmanı sözleşmelerinde erken ifaya izin verilmektedir. Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun’da bu sözleşmelerde borçlunun borcunu erken ödemesi hâlinde erken ödeme indiriminin yapılacağı düzenlenmektedir. Buna göre, borçlu borcunu erken ödediğinde faiz ve ek masraflar miktarınca indirim yapılması gerekir. İndirimin nasıl hesaplanacağı, her bir sözleşmenin yönetmeliğinde açıklanmıştır. Erken ödeme hâlinde Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun’un 37. maddesine göre erken ödeme tazminatı gündeme gelebilir. Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun’da erken ödeme tazminatına sadece konut finansmanı sözleşmesinde izin verilmektedir. Erken ödeme tazminatının talep edilebilmesi için konut finansmanı sözleşmesi bulunması, sözleşmede sabit faiz oranının belirlenmesi, sözleşmede erken ödeme tazminatının açıkça kararlaştırılması ve borcun sözleşmede kararlaştırılan ifa zamanından önce ödenmesi gerekir. Erken ödeme tazminatının hesaplanması için öncelikle erken ödenen anapara miktarı hesaplanır. Ardından kalan vade otuz altı ayı aşıyorsa bu miktarın en fazla yüzde ikisi, aşmıyorsa bu miktarın en fazla yüzde biri erken ödeme tazminatı olarak talep edilebilir.
Early performance describes the performance before due date that has been agreed upon by the parties in a contract. According to Article 96 in the Turkish Code of Obligations, a debtor can, as a rule, submit early performance on the debt before the due date. The debtor may render early performance by renouncing the beneficial aspects of the situation.
The following exceptions to the possibility of early performance are stated in Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations: (1) If the parties agree to terms prohibiting early performance in the contract, the debtor cannot render early performance. (2) Based on the nature of the contract, one may infer that early performance cannot be rendered. (3) In accordance with Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, circumstances may also prevent early performance.
In accordance with Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, no discount is applied as a rule in case of early performance. Although the debtor renounces the benefits of the maturity, the debtor cannot force the creditor to renounce any part of the claim. This rule should also apply to debts accruing interest because the creditor in this case expects to benefit from interest income and the time of performance. However, Article 96 of the Turkish Code of Obligations regulates that discounts can be made in accordance with law, contract, or custom.
In case of early performance, the parties may agree to pay early repayment compensation in order to compensate for the creditor’s loss of income due to the early repayment. The amount of early repayment compensation can be agreed upon in the contract. Meanwhile, the creditor may have the authority based on the contract to determine the amount of early repayment compensation. In this case, the creditor must act in good faith and adhere to the prohibition of rights abuse when determining the amount of early repayment compensation.
Provisions are found regarding early performance in installment sales (Article 20), consumer credit (Article 27), and housing finance (Article 37) from Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection. According to these articles, a consumer can give early performance for a debt. Provisions about early performance are also present in the regulations of a contract (e.g., Regulation on Installment Sales Contracts, Consumer Credit Contracts Regulation, and Housing Finance Contracts Regulation).
Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection states regarding early repayment provisions that, if the debtor pays his debt early, the debtor will be entitled to request an early repayment reduction. These provisions concerning early repayment reduction are intended to protect the consumer and are mandatory. How to calculate the reduction is explained in each contract’s regulations. If no provision is present in other regulations regarding this calculation, the relevant provisions in the Consumer Credit Contracts Regulation will be applied. If an early repayment is made on the installment date, the amount due for the installment is first subtracted from the total amount of the early repayment. If the repayment is made during the interim period, the amount of interest and additional expenses accrued since the due date of the previous installment is subtracted from the total amount of the early repayment. After subtracting these, the remaining amount is the early repayment of the capital. If the total amount of the capital is paid early, the early repayment reduction is the sum of the interest and additional costs that have not yet accrued. In case of partial early repayment, the interest and additional costs that will accrue for the part that have been paid early fall within the scope of the early repayment reduction.
Article 37 of the Law on Consumer Protection concerning regulations on the early repayment provisions for housing finance states that the parties are given the opportunity to agree for the debtor to pay early repayment compensation in case of early repayment. In order to claim the early repayment compensation, the housing finance contract must be valid, and a fixed interest rate must have been determined in the contract. In addition, in this contract, the ability to demand early repayment compensation in case the debtor submits early performance should be clearly stated and agreed upon in this contract. The calculation of the early repayment compensation is regulated in Article 11 of the Housing Finance Contracts Regulation. When calculating the early repayment compensation, the early repayment amount corresponding to the capital is found first, then the early repayment compensation is calculated at no more than 1% of the early paid amount of the capital for cases where the remaining maturity does not exceed 36 months. Apart from this case, compensation is calculated at no more than 2% of the early paid amount of the capital for cases where the remaining maturity exceeds 36 months.