“Consumer complaints directed at travel booking sites more than doubled in the first half of the year. Complaints about travel agencies have also increased”, reads a statement from Portal da Queixa, which reinforces the warning about scams and recommends that consumers “research the Satisfaction Index of brands and companies to ensure a good experience”.

According to Portal da Queixa, travel booking websites generated 1,253 complaints in the first half of 2024, which represents an increase of 113.5% compared to the same period in 2023, when 587 complaints were recorded.

In total, 54.4% of the complaints received were related to undue charges, specifically the “debit of amounts not authorised and not recognised by consumers”, followed by difficulties in reimbursement, which represented 14.6% of complaints, while problems with cancellation of reservations motivated 8% of complaints.

“5.9% of the complaints registered in the first half of the year were caused by cases of fraud, where consumers reported fraud schemes and claimed to have been deceived”, highlights the Complaints Portal, indicating that problems with the issuing of invoices also motivated 4.2% of the complaints.

Meanwhile, the Travel Agencies category registered, in the first six months of the year, an increase in the number of complaints of 7.1%, with a total of 167 complaints, compared to 156 complaints in the same period last year.

“Problems with refunds motivate the largest share of complaints (25.9%). The quality of service/accommodation accounts for 20.1%, where cases of services that differ from those described at the time of contracting the service are reported”, summaries the Complaints Portal.

The issue of undue charges also motivated 11.5% of complaints, followed by problems with booking cancellations, with 10.8% of complaints, while alleged cases of fraud were the reason for 8.6% of complaints against travel agencies.