ZEYNEP PEHLİVAN

İzmir- TükoDer (Consumer Protection Association) was founded in 1990 and it has been an active association since then. The aim of the association is to protect the consumers against the capital. The association’s headquarters is in Istanbul and it has 48 branches around Turkey. TükoDer has three branches in Izmir province and supports the consumers about their legal rights. The association has been active for 30 years and founded for the public interest. TükoDer has launched a campaign to have more members. A board member of the Tükoder, Leyla Demir explained why people should be members of the association and why they needed to launch this campaign.

“We do our best to protect the consumers against the capitalist system. Costumer issue is a human right issue. We try to support customers and solve their problems even if they contact us by phone. When we solve the problems faced by the customers, they become happy. People are naturally afraid of going to the courts, being involved in that court process for defective products they bought. A year ago, our association was the only consumer association in Izmir. Now another association has been founded. To be honest, no one knows who they are. We don’t know if they have an address or not. Even if it is a new association, it has many members and this is a suspicious situation.”

“We always work for consumers”

Leyla Demir talked about the activities of TükoDer and she said, “We always struggle to make decisions in favor of the consumers. We work for the rights of consumers, even if there is a gap in the contract. We are the representatives of the consumers. People apply to our association when they have problems with products they bought. We have launched a membership campaign to increase the number of our association’s members. We get support from trade unions and city councils.

“We want the consumers to be organized and conscious”

Stating that as an association, they do their best to protect the consumers, Leyla Demir reminded that all citizens, regardless of their religion, language, race, political view or gender, can freely become a member of TükoDer. “I think an organized society is firstly a modern society. If people do not know our legal rights, if people don’t know the existence of such an association, they will face many difficulties. We direct people where they can apply to solve their problems. If they have difficulties writing their application documents, we help them. First of all, we want the consumers to be organized and conscious. We demand everyone to be our association’s members. Their membership will strengthen us. If people want to get more information about us, they can contact us through our social media accounts.”