In the 1st semester of 2020, ANACOM recorded around 57.8 thousand written complaints against communications services providers, 35% (around 15 thousand complaints) more than in the same period of the previous year. Electronic communications received the most complaints, with 69% of total complaints, 25% more than in the 1st semester of 2019. The postal services recorded the highest increase in relation to the 1st semester of 2019, of 66%. This sector was responsible for 31% of the total complaints recorded in the period under review.
Of the approximately 40 thousand complaints about electronic communications, 35% referred to MEO, making it the operator that received the most complaints in the 1st semester of 2020, followed by NOS with 32%, Vodafone with 29%, and NOWO/ONI with 3%. All the service providers experienced an increase of complaints in relation to the same period of the previous year, except for NOWO/ONI, which fell by 1%. Vodafone was the provider that recorded the highest increase (48%), followed by NOS (19%) and MEO (18%). Among the providers receiving the most complaints, NOS was the one that recorded the highest number of complaints per thousand customers (5), followed by Vodafone (3) and MEO (2).
The billing of services was the subject most complained about by the users of electronic communications services, with 27% of the total complaints of the sector. Special reference should be made to the motives related to the billing of values considered inappropriate due to the non-fulfilment of agreed conditions, due to services not provided or consumption not carried out and after the cancellation of services.
The issues whose weight most increased during this period were related to technical assistance, failures in services, as a rule fixed, and internet access speed, especially fixed.
Regarding the postal services, which amounted to around 18 thousand complaints in the semester, CTT was the provider that received most complaints, which reached 12.8 thousand complaints, 39% more than in the same period of the previous year; followed by DPD with 3.8 thousand complaints, 330% more.
The subject that received the most complaints was delay in the delivery of postal items, which represent about 41% of the sector's total complaints, 16 percentage points more than in the 1st semester of 2019. Difficulties in home delivery, in particular the lack of attempted delivery, with 27% of complaints; and customer service, especially with respect to the cost of calls to the telephone lines and the operational difficulties of these lines, with 25%, complete the top subjects receiving most complaints.
Following the analysis of the complaints of which it became aware, ANACOM took a series of measures during the 1st semester aimed at strengthening the users' rights in the context experienced after the declaration of the national state of emergency: it submitted draft legislative amendments directed a meeting the needs/responding to the difficulties evidenced by the users; it strengthened the disclosure of information to the public and the monitoring of the activity of service provider companies.
Special note is made of the new areas of information on the Consumer Portal about Covid-19 and the DTT migration process, as well as the guides named “What you need to know about communications during the Covid-19 pandemic” and “Mobile networks and health: facts, data and challenges”.
Consult the statistical report:
- Reclamações sobre serviços de comunicações - Relatório do 1.º semestre de 2020 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1563108
