Given the inflation rate registered at the beginning of 2023, the main telecommunications operators in Portugal announced a series of increases in their services. This practice caused the number of complaints from MEO, NOS and Vodafone to skyrocket.
According to ANACOM, around 28.5 thousand complaints against telecommunications service providers were registered. Compared to the same period in 2022, there were around a thousand more complaints.
This increase is mainly due to electronic communications, which continue to be the most reported, with 20.2 thousand complaints. They represent 71% of all claims, 5% more than in the first quarter of 2022. Claims on postal services also increased by 1%, standing at 8.2 thousand (29% of the total).
Vodafone is the operator with the most complaints in electronic communications
As regards electronic communications, Vodafone has been the provider with the most complaints in absolute terms. There were around 7,300 complaints, about 36% of the total numbers, and an increase of 4% over the same period last year.
MEO had the largest increase, around 8%. It had 30% of the complaints in the sector, with numbers around 6.1 thousand complaints. NOS registered 6.1 thousand similar claims, with 1.8 claims per thousand customers in this first quarter of 2023.
Most customers complain about price increases
As expected, the increase in the price of the service was the reason that most prompted complaints in electronic communications. This was the reason represented by 11% of the complaints from the sector in this period.
In total there will be 2,100 complaints for the rise in prices. But it is also worth noting the problems of contractual transparency, with the lack or non-compliance of information on prices, services and functionalities, responsible for 3% of the complaints in the sector.