Portugal's Complaints Book: Livro de Reclamações or Livro Amarelo?

• Private-provider consumer complaints and public-administration complaints use different routes.
• An electronic complaints-book reply is generally due within 15 working days, subject to the applicable special rules.
• The paper book remains an alternative; retain your copy.
• A submitted complaint does not guarantee compensation or replace a separate appeal or dispute-resolution process.

For a consumer problem, start with the official Livro de Reclamações guidance. For public administration, use the public-service complaint service and its Livro Amarelo route. The correct channel depends on who provided the service, not simply whether the problem happened online or at a counter.

Which complaints book applies?

Prepare evidence, not a wall of accusations

A practical structure is: the service or purchase, dated events, supporting evidence and the outcome requested. Separate facts you can document from assumptions about motives. Do not upload passwords, authentication codes, full unrelated identity documents or another person's private information merely to make the file look complete. A firm, specific complaint is easier to investigate than several submissions with different dates or incompatible descriptions of the same event.

If the problem concerns ending an operator contract, compare the telecom cancellation guide. For a disputed home-supply process, see electricity and gas contracts. Filing a complaint is not itself the same as giving a valid cancellation instruction or changing an energy contract.

How to submit without losing the reference

1. 1
   Identify the provider and complaint route

   Check the entity on the invoice, contract or official public-service page. Choose consumer book or public-service route, not a similarly named unofficial review site.

2. 2
   Try a documented direct resolution where useful

   DGC recommends contacting the supplier to resolve a consumer dispute. Keep the reply. This is not permission for a covered provider to withhold the official book until its own process is finished.

3. 3
   Prepare one accurate account

   Use real dates, the relevant transaction and a clear requested outcome. Attach proportionate evidence through the chosen official channel.

4. 4
   Submit and preserve the copy

   For the electronic consumer book, retain the confirmation sent to your email. For paper, retain the duplicate. For the public route, save its submission/reference and monitor the authenticated account or stated reply channel.

5. 5
   Follow the answer and unresolved part

   Compare the response with the actual complaint. If unresolved or overdue, use the reference when contacting the responsible regulator/public entity or suitable dispute-resolution service.

What reply deadline applies?

For the electronic consumer book, article 5-B requires a reply within a maximum of 15 working days, unless special law sets a shorter period. Do not count weekends as working days or turn the reply deadline into a refund deadline. The paper-book rules distinguish forwarding the complaint to the competent body from replying directly to the consumer; article 3 specifically requires an essential-public-service provider's response within 15 working days. Special sector rules can affect the route.

Mosaico's public Livro Amarelo guidance also identifies a 15-working-day reply period. That is a response to the complaint, not a promise that a pending residence, tax, school or benefit procedure will be decided in 15 days. Keep the underlying application's reference separate from the complaint reference. The public-service page says there is no deadline to make its service complaint, but that does not confirm an extension of a separate appeal or application deadline.

Can I use paper instead?

The consumer law requires the paper format to remain available in covered establishments even where electronic complaints exist. It cannot be withheld simply because another branch holds a book or because the provider offers its own contact form. The law describes requesting police presence where access is refused. Keep your duplicate and the facts of the refusal. The public-service guidance also preserves a physical alternative; public online complaints require authentication and not every entity has joined that platform.

Missing entity, no reply or no refund

If a public body is missing from Livro Amarelo online, Mosaico recommends contacting it through its official site to locate the paper book or another formal route. Do not choose a different entity simply to get the form submitted. For consumer matters, DGC describes sector regulators, local consumer-information services and authorised arbitration centres as possible follow-up routes. Which one fits depends on the provider and dispute. A book complaint is not a court judgment, automatic refund or universal suspension of payment duties; obtain case-specific advice where an enforceable remedy or appeal deadline matters.