The E‑Lar program already has 228 complaints on the Portal da Queixa, of which 67.5% were registered in October, mainly against the Ministry of Environment and Energy and large retailers such as Worten and Rádio Popular, indicates a statement sent to newsrooms.
Failures in benefits, technical problems, unexpected costs and operational difficulties in stores led to dissatisfaction among beneficiaries in the first phase of the program – the second phase, remember, reopens on December 11th.
“The Complaint Portal analyzed the biggest challenges that consumers face during the process, from applying to purchasing equipment in store. The volume and nature of complaints registered by beneficiaries show that, despite the positive potential of the program, the implementation faces significant flaws”, it can be read.
Of the 228 complaints, 154 (67.54%) took place in October, “reflecting the pressure and difficulties felt by beneficiaries during the peak of the process relating to the first phase”.
Analysis of the program revealed that problems with benefits and support, which represent 25% of total complaints, are the most frequent, followed closely by technical and system problems, responsible for 23.25% of occurrences. Administrative and procedural errors and deficiencies in service quality also have a significant weight, each accounting for 19.74% of complaints. Legal and compliance issues account for 10.53%, while environmental and sustainability issues only arise in 1.75% of cases.
“Taken together, these failures translate into difficulties in accessing support, errors in applications, failures in the electronic platform, lack of transparency, delays in analyzing processes and problems in the execution of services associated with vouchers — from incomplete installations to unexpected additional costs”, indicates the note.
One of the most recurrent problems is related to refusals of applications due to verification of the NIF, with frequent reports from beneficiaries informed that “the completed NIF does not hold an electricity contract”, even when they present valid documentation. Situations also arise in which the system indicates that “social tariff beneficiary – does not exist”, preventing approval, as well as processes being refused despite the user guaranteeing that they have an active contract associated with their NIF.
Even among beneficiaries already approved and with a voucher issued, there were problems in participating stores, with multiple reports of unexpected additional costs, including charges between €50 and €100 for installation, unreported travel fees, requests for €80 for the collection of old equipment and even the need to cut countertops or marble, generating surprising costs. These extra costs ended up almost completely canceling out the value of support for these consumers.
Indications of limitation or discrimination in the choice of equipment were also reported, cases in which more economical models appeared “out of stock for E-Lar customers”, but were available to regular customers, as well as proposals focused on more expensive equipment and a lack of clear information about mandatory or optional services.
Complaints are also accumulating about delays and failures in service, with appointments that are not kept, processes that remain without contact for weeks, lack of response from stores and technical assistance, and even incomplete installations that leave consumers without a functional stove for several days.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy concentrates the majority of complaints (60.09%), which is mainly justified by problems with NIF validations, unexpected rejections of applications and failures in the verification system
Among retailers, Worten stands out with 21.93%, followed by Radio Popular (7.02%), Agência para o Clima (2.63%), Castro Electrónica (2.19%) and Leroy Merlin (1.75%).
The highest incidence of complaints occurred in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (29.82%) and in the district of Porto (14.47%), followed by Aveiro and Setúbal (9.65% each), Braga (6.14%), Coimbra (5.70%), Faro (4.82%), Santarém and Viseu (3.95% each) and Leiria (2.63%).
For Pedro Lourenço, Founder of Portal da Queixa by Consumers Trust, “the pressure generated by the E-Lar program demonstrates a structural flaw: the promise of support is not aligned with the real capacity for execution”.
“The majority of complaints do not just report specific errors, but rather an overloaded system, a lack of coordination between public entities and participating stores and a process that, in practice, has placed consumers on an obstacle course”, he added, defending: “With the second phase about to begin, the data highlights the urgency of strengthening the response capacity of the entities involved and ensuring transparent communication to avoid a repetition of the problems recorded in the first phase.”