ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Alternative Dispute Resolution is the possibility that all consumers have to resort to Official Entities that help them in the resolution, or orientation of a conflict. The Online Dispute Resolution website is an official site managed by the European Commission dedicated to helping consumers and traders resolve their disputes out of court: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.chooseLanguage
Customers who are defined as consumers by Law 144/2015 and who have entered into purchase and sale and/or service provision contracts have the right to resort to official entities to assist them in the resolution of any conflict which has as its object such contracts, without prejudice to resorting to the Judicial Courts. The updated list of Alternative Dispute Resolution entities available pursuant to article 17 of Law no. 144/2015, of September 8, are mentioned on the Consumer Portal, accessible through the website www.consumidor.pt. For more information you can also consult Law 144/2015. We also inform you that in order to solve disputes arising from online purchases, you can resort to a resolution system called the “ODR Platform – Online Dispute Resolution/ ODR”, created by the EU.
In any case, you can contact one of the centers designated below.
Entities for Alternative Dispute Resolution
CNIACC – National Center for Information and Arbitration of Consumer Conflicts
CACRC – Center for Consumer Conflict Arbitration in the District of Coimbra
http://www.centrodearbitragemdecoimbra.com
CACCL – Lisbon Center for Consumer Conflict Arbitration
http://www.centroarbitragemlisboa.pt
CAUAL – Arbitration Center of the Autonomous University of Lisbon
CACC RAM – Consumer Conflict Arbitration Center of the Autonomous Region of Madeira
https://www.madeira.gov.pt/cacc/
CICAP – Consumer Information and Arbitration Center of Porto
TRIAVE – Center for Arbitration of Consumer Conflicts of Vale do Ave, Tâmega e Sousa
CIAB – Consumer Information, Mediation and Arbitration Center (Consumer Arbitration Court)
CIMAAL – Algarve Consumer Conflict Information, Mediation and Arbitration Center
http://consumidoronline.pt/pt/
European Online Dispute Resolution Platform:
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.chooseLanguage