Custom-Made Furniture in Turkey: Defects, Delay and Refund Rights

At a glance

1. Identify whether this is a consumer purchase and how it was made

A foreign buyer does not lose consumer status merely because the order was placed in English or the price was discussed in euros. The relevant questions are the parties and the purpose of the transaction. Identify the seller named on the order and invoice, the person who bought the furniture and whether the purchase was for personal use. An interior designer arranging the introduction is not automatically the seller responsible for performance.

The method of contracting matters separately. A distance contract requires the relevant organised distance-selling arrangement and use of remote communication throughout contract formation. A showroom purchase followed by messages about delivery is not automatically transformed into an online sale. Keep the quotation, showroom documents and messages establishing when the agreement was concluded rather than choosing the label that appears to offer the easiest cancellation route.

An order placed during a home visit can raise the separate off-premises framework. Do not combine the notice rules of that framework with a distance-sale template without examining the facts. The immediate practical task is to identify the correct contract and evidence. The cancellation, defect and delivery analysis then follows the legal framework governing that transaction, rather than an assumption that every furniture purchase has the same return period.

2. Make the promised furniture objectively identifiable

The useful specification identifies dimensions, material, finish, colour, hardware, number of pieces and any installation obligations. Keep the approved drawing and the version sent for production. A photograph of an attractive display item might explain the buyer’s expectations, but it should be connected to the actual agreement. Record any stated difference between the display model and the item ordered, including size, fabric and internal construction.

Measurements need an author and a date. Establish whether the seller measured the room, the buyer supplied dimensions or the installer later changed the plan. A cabinet that does not fit can result from different events, and responsibility cannot be assigned accurately without knowing which dimensions governed the order. Preserve the measuring sheet, photographs of the space and any communication warning about irregular walls, access restrictions or necessary clearances.

If a sample was approved, identify it precisely. Retain the sample code and any relevant written tolerance rather than relying only on a phone photograph whose lighting changes the appearance. A technical disagreement about a finish or structural dimension can require expert assessment. The legal issue is conformity with the agreed characteristics, not whether the seller or buyer now prefers a different aesthetic result.

3. Separate change of mind from a failure to perform

The Ministry of Trade’s distance-contract guidance identifies goods prepared to the consumer’s wishes or personal needs among the withdrawal exceptions. A genuinely bespoke order should therefore not be assessed as though the ordinary no-reason return right necessarily applies. Examine what was customised and the applicable contractual terms instead of treating every made-to-order or out-of-stock label as conclusive.

That exception does not mean the supplier may deliver a different product, use unagreed materials or retain payment indefinitely without performance. A buyer alleging breach should identify the particular failure and the remedy sought on that basis. A notice saying only that the buyer changed their mind can obscure a genuine complaint about the promised delivery date or the seller’s stated inability to manufacture the approved design.

A mixed order can need item-by-item examination. A standard dining chair and a cabinet manufactured to unique room dimensions are not necessarily governed identically for voluntary withdrawal. Identify each item, its price and the reason for cancellation. Do not assume that including one customised item either removes every right concerning the rest of the order or creates a universal right to return the bespoke item without cause.

4. Establish the delivery promise and any valid extension

Record the promised delivery date or period and the event from which it runs. A term stating six weeks after final drawing approval differs from six weeks after the first payment. Identify the approval date and any later change requested by the buyer. A fair chronology credits genuine agreed changes while distinguishing them from a seller’s unilateral postponement after production was already late.

For distance sales, the Ministry’s guidance explains the ordinary thirty-day rule and the possibility of agreeing a longer period for goods made to personal requirements, expressly giving custom-sized furniture as an example. The longer agreed period is not permission for unlimited delay. Keep the actual promise and any extension so the buyer can identify the unperformed obligation and the relevant termination or refund route.

Ask what the seller means by delivery. Dispatch from the workshop, arrival at a local warehouse and completed installation at the home are different events. The contract should explain which of them fulfils the promise. When the buyer lives abroad, a representative’s acceptance of packages should not be mistaken for a full inspection of assembled furniture unless that is what the representative was authorised and able to do.

5. Inspect delivered items before the evidence changes

Photograph the packaging and each component when delivery occurs, then record the assembled result. Keep labels, piece numbers and the delivery document. Describe visible damage and missing parts specifically. An entry such as two doors scratched and three shelves absent provides a clearer starting point than an unexplained statement that the entire order is unusable.

Distinguish transit damage, manufacturing defects and installation errors. A cracked panel found in an unopened package raises different evidence from a panel cut incorrectly during fitting. The buyer should not be required to identify the technical cause before reporting the observed problem, but the subsequent assessment needs those possibilities separated. Preserve the items and avoid repairs that destroy the evidence unless urgent circumstances require action.

If the installer asks for a signature, read what it confirms. A receipt for delivery can also contain a statement that installation is complete and defect-free. Record accurate reservations where appropriate and retain a copy. Do not sign a false completion statement to end an uncomfortable discussion, and do not refuse to acknowledge goods actually received merely because another part of the order remains disputed.

6. Choose a remedy that fits the defect

The Ministry’s defective-goods guidance explains the alternatives under Law No. 6502: rescission with return, a proportionate price reduction, free repair and replacement within the applicable conditions. These are not four payments available cumulatively for the same defect. Identify the chosen result and assess any statutory qualification, including disproportionate difficulty concerning repair or replacement.

The practical difference matters for built-in furniture. A price reduction leaves the buyer with the item and should correspond to the relevant defect, while repair requires a defined corrective plan. Replacement needs an identifiable conforming item and removal or fitting arrangements. A refund demand should address the return of the furniture rather than assume the buyer can retain everything and recover the full price without another legal basis.

A repair proposal should specify the work, timetable and whether it resolves all identified defects. Do not allow repeated vague promises to replace a clear record of the outstanding issue. At the same time, keep evidence of a repair that was genuinely completed. The legal position should reflect the current condition and any remaining loss, not continue to describe corrected faults as though nothing had changed.

7. Keep advances, final instalments and extra charges separate

Create a payment schedule showing the agreed price, each instalment, recipient, date and purpose. An advance for production is not automatically a non-refundable charge merely because the receipt calls it a deposit. Examine the contract and the reason the transaction failed. The rules concerning a property reservation payment should not be copied without analysis into a furniture-manufacturing purchase.

Additional charges need their own explanation. Delivery, installation, lifting equipment, storage and a design change can have different contractual bases. Ask whether the amount was disclosed and accepted and what event caused it. A seller should not simply add an unexplained charge at the doorway because the buyer needs the furniture urgently. Conversely, an agreed extra service should not be omitted from the account because it was arranged after the initial quotation.

Before withholding a final instalment, assess the actual obligation and the disputed performance. The appropriate response depends on the contract and applicable rights; an online suggestion to stop every payment is not a substitute for that review. Record the amount contested and the reason, while crediting amounts already paid. This keeps a valid defect complaint from becoming confused with an unexplained payment default.

8. Build an evidence file suited to the actual disagreement

The core file includes the order, specification, approved drawing, samples or codes, payment records, delivery promise and defect photographs. Add the notices sent and the seller’s replies. Keep original messages and readable translations. An English summary is useful for understanding but should not replace the Turkish document whose wording determines what was ordered or accepted.

For a measurement dispute, a qualified technical inspection can compare the approved dimensions with the delivered item and the room. For material or workmanship disputes, identify the question the expert needs to answer. A report stating merely that the furniture is poor quality does not explain the contractual difference, likely cause, repair feasibility or economic effect. The report should address the particular issue rather than every possible feature of the home.

Where urgent replacement is necessary, document the condition before removal and keep the relevant parts where practical. Obtain advice about evidence preservation before a destructive intervention. The purpose is not to force the buyer to live indefinitely with unsafe or unusable furniture, but to avoid losing the ability to establish what the seller actually delivered and what corrective expenditure was reasonably required.

9. Select the consumer route using the claim and current threshold

Identify the seller and the monetary value of the dispute before choosing the authority. The Ministry’s 2026 notice sets the consumer arbitration committee threshold at disputes below TRY 186,000. A claim at or above that figure needs the appropriate consumer-court route assessed, including the applicable mediation requirement and any exception.

The price of the complete order and the value of the remedy sought should not be confused. A dispute about one component can raise a different valuation question from rescission of the entire purchase. Do not split a single claim artificially or choose a figure solely to reach a preferred forum. Identify the actual relief and the supporting calculation before preparing the application.

A complaint to customer service or a platform does not automatically preserve every procedural period. Keep the relevant delivery, discovery, notice and response dates. A repair warranty, the statutory defect-liability framework and the time for challenging a committee decision are different questions. The file-specific review should identify the period actually relevant rather than present one universal deadline for every furniture dispute.

10. A hypothetical wardrobe made to the wrong dimensions

Assume a consumer approved a drawing for a fitted wardrobe, the seller measured the room and the delivered units leave the bedroom door obstructed. The seller replies that custom orders cannot be returned. These invented facts illustrate the distinction between voluntary withdrawal and alleged non-conformity; they do not decide a real claim or establish the technical cause.

The buyer preserves the approved drawing, measuring sheet, installation record and photographs showing the obstruction. The requested remedy is framed around delivery inconsistent with the agreed design, not simply a change of preference. A technical review identifies whether correction is feasible and what it requires. The custom-made label is addressed in its proper context instead of treated as an answer to every defect allegation.

Any settlement records the corrective work or repayment, removal arrangements, dates and remaining obligations. A partial refund should be identified as partial or final according to the agreement actually reached. This approach produces a usable outcome rather than a vague promise that the workshop will attend when convenient, with no agreed account of what still needs to be done.

11. Coordinate the claim when the buyer lives abroad

Before leaving Turkey, arrange access for inspection and preserve the order and delivery evidence. Identify who can receive communications and who is authorised to approve repairs or a settlement. A relative holding the apartment keys should not automatically be treated as having authority to waive the buyer’s monetary claim. Written instructions should distinguish practical access from legal decision-making.

Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office has physical offices in Istanbul and Mersin. Consumer matters elsewhere in Turkey are coordinated from our Istanbul and Mersin offices within the applicable jurisdiction, procedure and mandate. English reporting helps a buyer abroad follow the issue, while technical inspection and formal documents have their own requirements. No refund, repair date or recovery amount is guaranteed before the evidence is assessed.

Related English guides

Unfinished renovation and contractor advances · Contract disputes for international clients · Authority prepared abroad

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Consumer Protection Law No. 6502
• Ministry of Trade: distance contracts
• Ministry of Trade: defective goods and services
• Ministry of Trade: 2026 consumer committee threshold

Turkish legislation and any applicable treaty control. This is general English-language information, not an official translation or an opinion on an individual file.