President of the Consumers Union Nazım Kaya went to the İstanbul Consumer Court in Levent to file the suit against the banks. Speaking to the press in front of the courthouse, Kaya said the banks have resisted eliminating their card fees despite the law because the law failed to contain an article clearly stating that "banks cannot apply fees on cards." The lawsuit he filed aims to clear up this confusion and elicit the final official word on the issue, he added.
Banks are using every trick in the book to not lose revenue from credit card commissions and fees, which bring in over $1 billion annually, Kaya claimed and recalled previous tactics used by banks, such as sending high-limit cards to even those with low incomes. "One of the major factors behind today's serious credit card debt problem is the race between banks to expand their share of the market and profits from card fees," he noted.
"We have full confidence that the high court will issue a verdict that bans charging credit card usage fees, which we believe is devoid of legal and legitimate grounds," Kaya said.
