At the Arbitration Center of the Autonomous University of Lisbon (CAUAL), we are committed to offering an effective and accessible consumer dispute resolution service, helping consumers and suppliers find fair and balanced solutions to their disputes.
We believe that arbitration and mediation are effective ways to ensure justice in a fast and accessible manner, avoiding lengthy and complex legal proceedings. At CAUAL, we have specialized professionals who act as arbitrators and mediators, providing an impartial and safe environment where both parties can present their issues and collaborate in the search for an agreement that meets their needs.
To ensure the accessibility of this service, we provide a simple and transparent procedure, where consumers can submit their consumer disputes using the form below. Here, we work to ensure that each case is treated with the utmost dedication, promoting a relationship of trust and respect between the parties involved.
I appreciate all your help, the issue has been resolved.
Yours sincerely.
Thank you for your care in this situation. I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you very much!
Thank you very much,
Kind regards
However, my boss contacted the boss of the team member belonging to another professional category, and I can say that the matter will be resolved in principle.
Best regards,
Are you okay?
The conflict with the bank has been resolved, they sent me a letter admitting the error.
The refund of the amounts charged in excess, although barely noticeable, was made by returning the total amount paid to date and then charging the monthly fees with the contractual spread.
Greetings and thanks for your help, it was essential.
I received a response that they would repair the air conditioning, as requested.
I would like to thank you once again for your intervention, Dr. Felícia, without which I would not have been able to resolve this situation.
It helped a lot and it was great to be able to count on you.
Best regards,
Best regards,
I am very grateful to you for your interest and intervention.
I wouldn't have made it without you!
Best regards,
I appreciate the care taken in updating the process.
I inform you that the answer is in line with what I intended.
Thank you sooooooooo much.
I hope everything is fine with you. You can do the impossible.
Thank you for everything. Best regards
I hope you had a very Happy Holidays.
Yes, the Executive Director agreed that all employees with vacations scheduled on those days could change them in order to benefit from the tolerance.
I thank you for all your support and wish you an excellent 2023.
- Systematic problems (art. 9 no. 2 subparagraph b) – consumer situations with telecommunications operators, billing and termination of contracts. Issues with airlines, namely flight delays and cancellations.
- Percentage rate of rejected disputes and grounds (art. 9 no. 2 al. c) – Sendo que o CAUAL tem competência genérica e territorial, podendo abranger qualquer litigio legalmente arbitrável, apenas serão recusadas as reclamações que não se enquadrem no âmbito das competências do Centro, nomeadamente as questões que possam consubstanciar a pratica de um crime/ área criminal. No ano de 2025, o CAUAL não recusou nenhum processo.
- Average duration of procedures (art. 9 no. 2 subparagraph f) – A duração média dos procedimentos de resolução alternativa de litígios no CAUAL tem, por princípio, um limite máximo de 90 dias, podendo este prazo ser alargado face à complexidade dos casos apresentados ou à densidade dos processos em tramitação. No ano de 2025, a duração média dos procedimentos de resolução alternativa de litígios no CAUAL foi de 52 dias úteis.”
| Process Entry and Filings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Incoming Processes | Archived Cases | Resolved Cases |
| 83 | 70 | 70 |
- In the archives we include resolved processes and those in which the action was withdrawn.
| Archiving results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediation with agreement | Conciliation | Arbitration | Incompetence | Withdrawal | Mediation without agreement | Refusal of arbitration | Others |
| 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
- The remaining cases that are not included here, but are in the total amount (148), concern other consumer issues, which are not requested here.
| Conflicts concerning essential public services | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postal Services | Electronic Communications | Water | Electricity | Gas | |
| Process entry | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Filing of processes | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Resolved processes | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Detailed information tables | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediation with agreement | Conciliation | Arbitration | Incompetence | Withdrawal | Mediation without agreement | Refusal of arbitration | Others | |
| Postal services | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic Communications | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electricity | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Top 10 complained about topics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumption (in general) | Automóveis/Motociclos | Transporte aéreo | Electronic Communications | Serviços Financeiros | Agência de Viagens | Eletrodomésticos | Equipamentos para o lar | Plano de Saúde | Seguros |
| 83 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
Apoio do Fundo do Consumidor para a Promoção dos Direitos dos Consumidores

