Consumer Law

An accusation of meter tampering turns a consumer into the debtor of an amount they never saw accrue. A consumption recovery charge follows its own procedure and has a limit on how far back it can reach. Above all, it does not allow the power distributor to use a service cutoff as a pressure tactic.

In an order published in the Diário Oficial da União (Brazil’s Official Gazette) on August 17, 2026, Anatel (Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency) set the criteria for the mass-call blocking filters used by phone carriers: they are turned on by default for all customers, at no extra charge, and you have the right to opt out.

Victims of the Brumadinho dam disaster are consumers by equivalence, and their compensation claims become time-barred after five years, not three. Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice set this thesis in a repetitive appeal ruling, and it binds similar cases.

Prescription does not erase the debt. It takes away the creditor’s right to demand payment in court, and that shift defines exactly what a supplier may and may not do once a consumer’s debt has passed the legal deadline for collection.

Health plans must now cover digital mammography with no age or gender restriction. The update was approved by the ANS (Brazil’s National Supplementary Health Agency) on September 3, 2026, and took effect on October 1. All you need is a doctor’s referral.

The service order, the ticket number, and the record of delivering the product to the service center are the proof that lets you count the repair period and demand the alternatives in Article 18 of Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code.

A utility can lawfully cut off an essential service for nonpayment only after giving advance notice and only over a current debt. Old debts must be collected through the proper channels, within the statute of limitations, and without subjecting the consumer to any embarrassment or pressure.

When an online purchase goes wrong, your path depends on the problem. An item that never arrives, a late delivery and a scam are different situations, each with its own rights and remedies under Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code (Código de Defesa do Consumidor) and criminal law.

ANAC (Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency) Resolution 400 guarantees passengers material assistance, rebooking, refunds, and compensation for denied boarding in cases of delay, cancellation, and overbooking. Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code (CDC) adds to these rules and ensures compensation for the harm you suffered.

Abusive bank fees and charges are charges that go beyond what the law allows or put the customer at an excessive disadvantage, and Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code (Código de Defesa do Consumidor) guarantees the right to review a contract when payments become disproportionate or excessively burdensome.

A health plan’s denial of coverage can be legitimate or abusive, and the difference lies in the law: the list issued by Brazil’s National Supplementary Health Agency is the baseline reference for coverage, not an absolute limit, and urgent and emergency care receive reinforced protection.

The legal warranty in Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code is a mandatory floor that applies even without a written statement, while the contractual warranty is an optional extra offered by the supplier. The two do not replace each other. They add up, and consumers keep the protection of the law even when the contract includes its own warranty.

Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code prohibits all misleading or abusive advertising and treats protection against it as a basic consumer right, with remedies that range from correcting the contract to holding the advertiser accountable.

In April 2026, the STF (Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court) upheld setting the existential minimum by decree, required the CMN (National Monetary Council) to review it every year, and ruled that payroll-deduction loans (crédito consignado) must count toward the over-indebtedness calculation.

Article 51 of the CDC (Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code) treats abusive clauses as null and void by operation of law, meaning they have had no effect since the contract was signed, even if the agreement has been performed for some time.