From April to June, the communications regulator registered around 23,200 written complaints against communications service providers, 9% less than in the same period in 2023.

This drop was mainly driven by the 18% reduction in complaints about electronic communications, to 14,200, while complaints about postal services registered a new year-on-year increase of 10%, to 9,000.

In complaints regarding electronic communications, NOS was the provider that registered the most complaints this quarter, both in absolute and relative terms, with 5,400 complaints, 11% less than the same period last year and 1.9 complaints per 1,000 customers. According to Anacom, NOS is responsible for 38% of complaints in the sector.

Next is Vodafone, responsible for 34% of complaints in the sector and the operator with the greatest reduction in the number of complaints in the quarter – 23% –, registering 4,900 complaints and 1.3 complaints per 1,000 customers.

MEO was the provider that registered the lowest number of complaints in the sector: 3,500, representing 25% of the total and a year-on-year drop of 21%, which translates into 0.7 complaints per 1,000 customers.

Considering the first six months of the year as a whole, 48,400 complaints were registered about communications services, 11% less than in the same period of the previous year. Of this total, 30,000 complaints were related to electronic communications (62% of the total), 20% less than in the same period of the previous year, while postal services were responsible for 18,400 complaints, 12% more than in the same period of the previous year, and represent 38% of the total. In the half-year analysis, NOS was also the provider with the highest number of complaints in absolute terms and per 1,000 customers, followed by Vodafone and MEO, which continues to be the operator with the least complaints. According to the regulator, faults in the fixed internet access service were the most complained about reason by users of electronic communications services, accounting for 1,760 complaints (12% of the sector's total) in the second quarter of the year. They were also the most frequent reason in the first half of the year, with 3,700 complaints.

The other most complained about reasons were the delay or lack of resolution of complaints, the delay or deficient repair of services and difficulties in exercising the right to freely terminate contracts.

In the postal services sector, CTT was responsible for 7,600 (85% of the total) of the 9,000 complaints registered in the second quarter of this year, which represents an increase of 9% compared to the same period in 2023.

DPD is responsible for 7% of complaints and is the second most complained about postal operator, with 600 complaints in the quarter, 2% less year-on-year.

The group of other postal providers with the least complaints (UPS, General Logistics, CEP II, DHL, VASP Premium, Logista, Ibercourier, TNT, among others) represented around 8% of complaints in the sector and saw complaints increase by 29% in this period.

The lack of attempted home delivery was the most common reason for complaints about postal services (17% of all complaints in the sector) in the second quarter of 2024, with delays in the delivery of national standard mail and the loss of national registered mail being the reasons that increased the most compared to the same period in 2023.

Anacom data also indicates that, in the first half of the year, of the 18,400 complaints registered about postal services, CTT was the target of 15,400 or 84% of the total.