Consumer protection in Cabo Verde

Lei nº 88/V/98 establishes the general framework for consumer protection in Cabo Verde. Providers must give clear and objective information about characteristics, composition, price, duration, guarantees, delivery and after-sales service. Advertising must be truthful and clearly identifiable, and a concrete advertising statement can become part of the contract. A contract cannot validly remove statutory consumer rights. For defective goods or services, the consumer may request repair, replacement, a price reduction or cancellation of the contract, depending on the case. The guarantee for movable non-consumable goods is at least one year, while real estate has a minimum period of five years under the researched rules. A defect in movable property should be reported within 30 days after discovery, and a defect in immovable property within one year. Keep the invoice, receipt, contract, guarantee and evidence of the defect. Covered businesses and service providers must provide a Livro de Reclamações, or complaints book, and give the consumer a copy of the complaint. Cabo Verde has no single nationwide consumer ombudsman or general alternative-dispute body evidenced in the researched official sources. A complaint can therefore proceed from the provider to the responsible regulator, ADECO for consumer-support assistance or a civil or administrative court. Consumer law also provides an exemption from advances on court costs, but a regulator does not automatically order compensation or repayment. The competent contact depends on the sector. Banco de Cabo Verde's Gabinete de Supervisão Comportamental supervises banking, insurance and securities services. Financial institutions must publish an up-to-date Preçário and explain fees and interest clearly. First complain internally or through the Livro de Reclamações; the institution should answer within 10 working days. The complaint can then be sent to Banco de Cabo Verde by its form, email, letter or in person. Banco de Cabo Verde checks compliance with financial rules but does not replace a civil judgment. In 2025 it recorded 278 complaints, including 245 about banking and 33 about insurance; 25 concerned fraud, an increase of 150% from the previous year. ARME supervises electronic communications, water, sanitation, energy and urban or interurban passenger transport. A provider or ARME can receive the complaint, and a confidential denúncia is possible. Providers should answer within 22 days. At the research date, ARME's online portal was temporarily unavailable because of an update. Electronic-communications providers must give written information before a contract, explain price, quality and data-protection conditions, give 15 days' information when an offer ends, warn reasonably before suspension and provide a detailed bill. Water and energy bills should be issued monthly and based on an actual meter reading or a permitted estimate. Providers may not impose minimum consumption, and a partial receipt can be requested for a payment. Disconnection commonly follows an invoice more than 30 days overdue, but prior information and the applicable sector deadline still matter. A deposit is primarily connected with reconnection after a disconnection attributable to the customer. Disputes about meters or bills should first go to the provider and then to ARME. Lei nº 41/X/2024 regulates relevant digital-commerce duties. An online provider must identify itself, explain the contract, price and delivery, offer safe goods, use a permitted payment provider and issue an electronic invoice. The consumer has a 14-day livre resolução period without costs or a stated reason for a service from the contract date and for goods from delivery, subject to the legal conditions. An online intermediary must offer a free electronic internal complaint process; a complaint against its decision can be submitted within 30 days, and the intermediary should decide within 10 days. ERIS supervises health-care providers and the pharmaceutical, food and related product sectors. Medicines may be sold only through authorised pharmacies or Postos de Venda de Medicamentos. Report adverse effects and quality problems, and send complaints or denúncias to ERIS through its form or email. Complaints about SNS services can also go to the provider or SNS. Food and cosmetics safety risks belong with ERIS. For travel disputes, ARME's transport role covers urban and interurban passenger transport. No general national tourist or airline alternative-dispute body was evidenced in the researched sources. A complaint about a hotel, airline or package should start with the provider or its Livro de Reclamações and may continue through general consumer law, ADECO or a court. EU passenger rights do not automatically apply in Cabo Verde. Report suspected financial fraud immediately to the bank or payment provider and Banco de Cabo Verde. Criminal deception can be reported to Polícia Judiciária through an online denúncia, including an anonymous report, or the free telephone number 134; attach contracts, messages, payment records and screenshots. Suspected unfair market or competition practices can be reported to Autoridade da Concorrência, while regulatory product or safety breaches should go to ARME or ERIS. Keep records, use goods correctly, request written contracts and guarantees, complain promptly and act in good faith.