avaria
Published 30 October 2026, 20:39
avaria — a fault in a service: phone, internet, television
The Portuguese word for any fault on the operator's side or on the line up to your flat, from a cable cut in the stairwell to a general network outage. It is the word that gets things done: you use it when calling customer support (“quero reportar uma avaria”), and a ticket is opened and a technician's visit is booked under it.
Where you come across it. A call to the operator's support line, a letter about the internet not working, the section of the contract on quality of service.
The law sets no maximum time for fixing a fault: the time limit is written into the contract itself, along with the compensation due if it is missed or the technician does not come on the agreed day. So “how long are they allowed to take to fix it” is something you look up in the contract, not in the law.
Official website: diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2022-187527517