CNIACC
Published 4 November 2026, 00:38
CNIACC — Centro Nacional de Informação e Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo (national consumer dispute centre)
An arbitration centre that handles consumer disputes from areas with no local centre of their own. The parties are first helped to reach an agreement; if that fails, an arbitrator settles the dispute and the decision is binding on both sides. For individuals it is free or almost free.
Where you come across it. a dispute over money with a shop, a garage, a car dealer, a clinic or a telecoms operator when a complaint in the complaints book has got you nowhere.
For essential public services — electricity, gas, water, telecoms, rubbish collection and transport — the company is obliged to take part in arbitration; in other areas it can refuse, and then the only option is court.
Official website: cniacc.pt