Something went wrong.
Where do you turn?

Decide what you need to achieve

A complaint, cancellation and refund request are different actions. “We are looking into it” is not acceptance of your claim. Put the facts and the remedy you want in writing.

DGC · consumer disputes

Choose the route for your problem

These bodies do not have identical powers. Investigating a breach and deciding your individual monetary claim are separate functions.

Outside ordinary consumer transactions: for public services such as AIMA, use the agency’s channel and, where applicable, Livro Amarelo. A private landlord’s deposit dispute or an employment issue does not automatically belong in this consumer route. See our rental checklist separately.

Build a small evidence file

This is an editorial preparation checklist, not a legally mandatory document list. Do not postpone a deadline-sensitive action while waiting for one missing document.

Keep originals. Remove unrelated bank transactions, passwords and other people’s details from attachments. Save a dated record of changing app screens. This page receives no documents; checklist ticks last only while the page remains open.

Make your first written request useful

• Confirm the legal business name, invoice NIPC/NIF and contract number; a brand alone may identify the wrong company.
• Use a short chronology: what you bought, paid, were promised and actually received. Prefer verifiable facts to accusations.
• Specify the remedy: billing correction, delivery, an appropriate repair/replacement or termination where the conditions apply.
• Attach relevant proof and retain sending/receipt records. Follow a phone call with written confirmation.
• Do not present your own requested reply date as a universal statutory deadline. State withdrawal explicitly if exercising that right; a general complaint may not be sufficient.

DGC · consumer disputes

Electronic and physical complaints books

Use the official electronic Livro de Reclamações, select the correct business and retain your reference and emails. At establishments subject to the book requirement, the physical book remains a separate channel; the electronic version does not replace that obligation.

The 15-working-day distinction: an electronic complaint normally requires a business response within that period, subject to a shorter special rule. For the physical book, the general 15-working-day rule concerns forwarding the record to the competent authority. Essential public-service suppliers also have a specific 15-working-day duty to reply to the consumer’s physical complaint.

Working days are not calendar days. Filing does not automatically award a refund or compensation. Check whether the response actually resolves your claim, rather than merely acknowledging it.

DL 156/2005 · arts. 4, 5, 5-B · ASAE · Livro de Reclamações

Wrong internet, electricity or water bills

Identify each disputed item: invoice number, period, amount and contractual basis. Record service outage dates; for water or electricity, meter photographs and actual/estimated readings can help.

Internet: ask for the contractual basis and calculation of the charge. A commitment period (fidelização), early termination and a service fault are different matters. A complaint does not automatically entitle you to leave without charges. Separate ANACOM oversight from individual dispute resolution.

Energy: ERSE explains suppliers’ response duties. Name the actual issue—estimated consumption, tariff or incorrect item—rather than sending a vague objection. Do not assume that filing suspends every payment obligation; check the specific rules for your billing objection and any threatened disconnection.

Water: start with the billing provider. On mainland Portugal, check the ERSAR route; on the islands, verify regional competence. ERSAR’s assessment or recommendation is not a court judgment.

ANACOM · complaints · ERSE · electricity complaints · ERSAR · complaints

Missing delivery, defective goods or a change of mind?

No delivery: check the agreed date. Without one, the general rule is delivery without unjustified delay and within 30 days of contracting. Usually allow a suitable additional period after a missed deadline; if that also passes, termination becomes available. Refusal to deliver or an essential delivery date can justify termination without that extra period.

DL 84/2021 · arts. 11–16

Defective goods: for new movable goods bought from a professional under contracts made from 1 January 2022, the general conformity period is three years. Non-conformity appearing in the first 30 days gives a direct replacement or termination right. Later, repair/replacement and price reduction/termination have their own conditions; every fault does not automatically mean a cash refund.

Notify the seller in a provable form with delivery date and defect evidence. Being referred to a manufacturer does not itself erase the seller’s responsibility. Used/refurbished goods, digital content and purchases from private individuals need separate checks.

ASAE · guarantees / garantias

It works, but you changed your mind: ordinary shop purchases do not carry a general unconditional 14-day return right. A shop may offer a voluntary policy. Distance-contract withdrawal is governed by the rules below.

Deadlines: check the starting point

Send an unambiguous distance-contract withdrawal notice before expiry. Goods normally must be returned within 14 days of notification. Properly disclosed return costs may fall on you; a seller may withhold reimbursement pending goods or proof of sending. Check exceptions for personalised/perishable goods, opened hygiene-sealed items, certain dated leisure bookings and qualifying services/digital content.

DL 24/2014 · arts. 10–17

If negotiation fails: ADR and arbitration

Start with DGC’s current centre list. Competence depends on territory, sector, value and centre rules—not just your home city. Submit previous correspondence, evidence and a precise remedy. Ask about fees; not every procedure is free.

Up to €5,000: low-value consumer disputes have a mandatory mediation/arbitration mechanism at the competent centre when the consumer expressly chooses it. The consumer is not required to apply simply because the amount is low. Essential public services may have a separate regime; ask the centre to confirm scope.

Lei 24/96 · art. 14 · DGC · RAL centres

Mediation seeks agreement. Arbitration produces an arbitrator’s decision, requiring a properly presented claim. A regulator complaint, ADR application and court case are different procedures.

DGC · consumer disputes

When the trader is abroad

If you live in Portugal, check CEC Portugal for a cross-border dispute with a trader in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the UK. Contact the trader first. The centre assists with amicable resolution; it is not a court that can compel payment. Do not assume a trader in Türkiye falls within this network’s scope.

CEC Portugal

Avoid old ODR links: the EU online dispute platform closed on 20 July 2025. Use current CEC and ADR channels instead.

EU Regulation 2024/3228

Copyable message templates

Replace placeholders with your own facts. These are general correspondence examples, not a device that creates a right or deadline. Use the withdrawal notice only if eligible. The Portuguese wording is followed by its meaning. Edit the copied text in your own email; this page does not send it.

Common mistakes

• If no reply arrives, check the reference and applicable deadline; ask the competent authority using the existing record instead of repeatedly duplicating it.
• Suspected fraud differs from an ordinary returns dispute. Contact your bank promptly, preserve evidence and consult the official crime-reporting route. Recovery is not guaranteed.
• Do not copy someone else’s personal details or unchecked legal citations. Private platforms such as Portal da Queixa are not the official complaints book.
• Do not confuse a defect claim with no-reason withdrawal. Make a separate, clear notice where needed to preserve the deadline.

Official sources

Official sources checked: 12 October 2026. Based on legislation and official institutional guidance. Checklists and messages are PTNewsHub editorial suggestions, not official forms. The scope is private-sector consumer transactions, not every area of law.

• DL 156/2005 · arts. 4, 5, 5-B
• ASAE · Livro de Reclamações
• DL 84/2021 · arts. 11–16
• ASAE · guarantees / garantias
• DL 24/2014 · arts. 10–17
• DGC · RAL centres
• DGC · consumer disputes
• Lei 24/96 · art. 14
• ANACOM · complaints
• ERSE · electricity complaints
• ERSAR · complaints
• Banco de Portugal · complaints
• CEC Portugal
• EU Regulation 2024/3228