Consumer champion Deco received 700,000 complaints last year, 24% more than in 2014, with Portugal’s the water and energy companies leading the field.
For years the telecoms sector has topped the list with angry customers resorting to Deco, having got nowhere with in-house complaints procedures.
The non-return of deposits for water and electricity contracts and problems with changing energy supplier led to a record overall number of complaints last year
"This increase was due largely to 100,000 customers thwarted by the deposit return process followed by a sharp increase in the energy sector, in particular over changing supplier,” commented a Deco lawyer, Ana Sofia Ferreira.
Of the 700,000 complaints, 152,751 were for energy and water, 50,353 for telecoms problems, 35,275 about the sale of goods and 24,927 concerned the banking and insurance sectors.
The lack of transparency in changing energy supplier, including double billing, lack of information, too long for change-over, unfair trade practices, and the refusal to return illegally demanded deposits were the main areas for complaint.
In 2014, Deco received nearly 550,000 complaints from consumers, 9.5% more than in 2013, led by the telecoms sector with 60,000 complaints, most due to double billing problems, aggressive practices and misleading advertising.
