We are all consumers and, as consumers, we aren’t sure of many of our rights. There is very little awareness about consumer rights in Portugal. The reality is that many consumers here are not exercising their legal rights. Instead, they just accept a bad situation and that means the supplier can get away with doing the wrong thing over and over again, which isn’t good for anyone.
But, what exactly are consumer rights? Consumer rights vary from country to country and there isn’t an exact definition for what they truly are, they are simply the rights that we, as consumers, have.
One of these rights is the right to be informed. We, as consumers, have the right to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising and labeling and, to be able to make an informed choice, the supplier has to give us the facts and information needed.
The right to redress is an important one as well. This particular right states that all of us should receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, poor-quality goods or bad services.
Another crucial right is the right to be heard, which is the one that gives us the ability to voice complaints about a product in order to have those issues taken care of efficiently and responsibly by the supplier.
It is known by everyone that each and every one of us likes to feel safe, so it becomes obvious that the right to safety has an important role as well. This right is aimed at the defense of all of us consumers against injuries that were caused by products, other than automobile vehicles and it implies that products should cause no harm to their users if used as indicated.
The consumer rights above are what we can call “universal consumer rights” because they apply everywhere in the world. But here in Portugal, we have a really important right, about which most of us aren’t aware of. It is the right to complain.
If we look around at any place we visit, we’ll find a book known as the “Complaints Book”. When we feel that we are being treated unfairly, we can ask for the Complaints Book and the supplier is obliged to give it to us. If he refuses, we have the right to call the police! There is now a web version of the Complaints Book as well.
As a consumer, you should make sure all these rights are being respected and feel free to exercise them everywhere you go.
Written by Ana Carolina Anjos and Filipa Melo.
