Reclamo, queja or denuncia: which one do you file in Peru?

Three words, three different things

In everyday Spanish they get used interchangeably. In the statute they are not.

Reclamo: about what you bought

A reclamo is a grievance about the goods or the service. The product that fails, the delivery that never arrives, the charge that should not be there, the service that is not what was offered. It goes in the business’s complaints book, and the business must attend to it and answer within fifteen business days.

It is the only one of the three that argues the merits between you and the company. That is why it is the natural first step before a consumer case.

Queja: about how you were treated

Article 3.4 of the regulation, as worded by DS 101-2022-PCM, defines a queja in two ways: a grievance that “no se encuentra relacionada a los bienes expendidos o suministrados o a los servicios prestados” (is not related to the goods or services provided), and the “malestar o descontento del consumidor respecto a la atención al público” (the consumer’s discontent with customer service). Everything that is not the product: the attention, the wait, the attitude of staff, the state of the premises.

Since DS 101-2022-PCM a queja carries the same fifteen-business-day response deadline as a reclamo. Its function is different, though: it puts something on record. It does not by itself open a discussion about the product.

If the problem is the product and you tick queja, or no box at all, the rule puts the burden on the business:

“En el caso que, de la lectura del detalle de la reclamación, se evidencie que se trata de un reclamo, aun cuando el consumidor haya marcado erróneamente la opción “queja” de la Hoja de Reclamaciones o no haya marcado ninguna opción, el proveedor deberá darle el trámite de un reclamo, conforme a lo establecido en el presente Reglamento.”

(If the details show it is a reclamo, even though the consumer wrongly ticked “queja” or ticked nothing, the business must handle it as a reclamo.)

Still, tick reclamo: that way you do not depend on the business reading your sheet correctly. The rule does not cover the opposite case, a queja ticked as reclamo.

Denuncia: the formal filing before Indecopi

A denuncia does not go in any book. It is a written filing to Indecopi, today almost always through its Mesa de Partes Virtual, asking it to open an administrative sanctioning procedure against the business. Indecopi investigates, the business defends itself, and it can end in a fine.

Indecopi separates it from the reclamo with a sentence worth memorising: “Un reclamo no es una denuncia ni inicia un proceso sancionador contra un proveedor.” Many people fill in the book, wait, and believe they have reported the business. They have not.

A denuncia carries a filing fee. We have not confirmed the amount, so we do not print one.

And Reclama Virtual?

The third route that gets confused with the other two. Reclama Virtual is Indecopi’s portal for lodging a reclamo with the agency and seeking a conciliation with the business. It is free and you identify yourself with your document. It sanctions nobody: if you want a sanction, that is a denuncia.

If you are not sure which box to tick, the Reclamo or queja? tool tells you in three questions.

Which to choose

• You want a refund, replacement or repair → reclamo in the book, then Reclama Virtual if they do not answer.
• You want the poor treatment on record → queja in the book.
• You want Indecopi to investigate and sanction → denuncia through the mesa de partes.

You can do more than one. What you cannot do is file one believing you filed another.

Was the problem with a taxi or a ride-hailing app?

Rides booked through apps like Uber or Cabify sit in a legal gap in Peru: there’s no unified national law for these platforms. Check taxi and ride-hailing apps in Peru: passenger rights to understand what you can claim and to whom.