The Portal da Queixa received more than 163,000 complaints, an increase of 61.9 percent in relation to 2019. Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal are the districts with most complaints during 2020. On the other hand, Bragança is the one where the Portuguese complained less.

Among Transport and Logistics, Communication, TV and Media, Public Administration Services, was the NHS the public entity that registered the largest increase in the number of complaints. Additionally, the increase in complaints was transversal to several private areas, from food deliveries, technology and furniture and so on.

The main reason for complaints, according to the analysis of the Portal da Queixa, in 2020, was related to electronic commerce - in all its dimensions -, from the purchase of clothing, technology, furniture and beauty products.

The number of complaints reached an average of 450 complaints per day. The increase in complaints in the National Health Service is a natural consequence of the pandemic crisis that was installed. However, despite the increase in NHS’ complaints, it was Social Security that registered the largest volume of complaints, as usual.

As indicated by the analysis made by the Portal da Queixa team, the male consumer continues to be the one who complains the most, but in 2020, the complaints presented by the consumers registered a growth of 68 percent compared to 2019. The age group of the consumers that complained most are between 35 and 44 years old

"In the face of the growing consumer digitalisation - which the pandemic has accelerated - the Package Delivery sector has also suffered a very considerable increase, taking into account the enormous pressure it was subjected to, not only during the state of emergency, but also during Black Friday and Christmas. Delivery companies started to have a very important role and the payment methods started to facilitate the entire online shopping process. Alongside the catering and home delivery companies, were the sectors with most complaints at the beginning of the state of emergency, giving rise to a curious behavioural variation throughout the confinement period, which included the purchase of fashion, cosmetics, technology equipment for video conferences and furniture, revealing that consumers were- adapting to a new reality at home", reveals the Portal da Queixa analysis team.

The Portal da Queixa is an online consumer social network, where people can complain, submit complaints online and opinions on consumer protection, which recorded values above the Electronic State Complaints Book and the DECO Proteste platform, during the first quarter of 2020, according to a note sent to The Portugal News.

According to the official website: “Currently, the Portal da Queixa is visited by millions of Portuguese every month. 98 percent of visitors look for the platform to communicate directly with other consumers, brands and public entities, as well as to compare the ranking of brands based on their Satisfaction ranking available to consumers”.