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What Is PROFECO?
How to Resolve Consumer Disputes in Mexico
How to Resolve Consumer Disputes in Mexico
A furniture store takes your deposit but never delivers. A hotel adds charges that were never disclosed. A dealership refuses to honor its warranty. Or an online purchase arrives damaged, and the seller stops answering your messages.
In Mexico, these disputes do not always require hiring an attorney or going to court. They may fall under PROFECO.
PROFECO stands for Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor. It is the federal agency responsible for protecting consumers and enforcing Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Law. Created in 1976, it was the first institution of its kind in Latin America.
Its role is to help balance the relationship between consumers and the businesses selling them goods and services. That includes purchases made in stores, through websites, or on digital platforms.
What PROFECO Does
PROFECO handles much more than complaints about defective products.
The agency provides consumer advice, mediates disputes between customers and businesses, inspects commercial establishments, tests products, monitors advertising, and verifies that businesses comply with rules involving prices, warranties, weights, measurements, labeling, and promotions.
It can become involved when a business:
Refuses to honor an advertised price or promotion
Adds charges you did not authorize
Fails to deliver a product or service
Refuses to honor a warranty
Provides something substantially different from what was promised
Uses misleading advertising
Sells a defective or unsafe product
Includes abusive terms in a consumer contract
PROFECO also publishes product comparisons, price information, safety alerts, and buying advice through resources such as Revista del Consumidor and Quién es Quién en los Precios.
Can Foreigners File a Complaint?
Yes. Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Law defines a consumer as a person or company that purchases, uses, or enjoys a product or service as the final recipient.
It does not restrict consumer status to Mexican citizens.
That means temporary residents, permanent residents, and foreign visitors can seek help from PROFECO when they purchase a covered product or service in Mexico.
What matters is not your nationality or residency status.
What matters is that you were the consumer and can document the transaction.
Keep your receipt, contract, invoice, warranty, bank statement, emails, WhatsApp messages, advertisements, photographs, and any other evidence showing what was promised and what went wrong.
What Happens After You File?
PROFECO is not a criminal court, and filing a complaint does not automatically mean the business will be fined or prosecuted.
For an individual dispute, PROFECO generally tries to resolve the problem through conciliation. The agency brings the consumer and provider together to negotiate a solution, which might include a refund, replacement, repair, delivery, cancellation, or another agreement.
That can make PROFECO especially useful when a company has ignored your requests but may respond once a federal consumer authority becomes involved.
Not every dispute belongs with PROFECO. Complaints involving regulated banks, insurers, pensions, and many other financial services generally fall under CONDUSEF (Mexico's National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services) instead.
Employment disputes, noncommercial professional services, and criminal fraud may also belong with other authorities. Mexico’s consumer law specifically excludes several categories from PROFECO’s jurisdiction.
How to File with PROFECO
It's usually best to first contact the business and request a solution in writing.
If the company refuses or fails to respond, you'll need to decide which type of filing best fits your situation.
If you're seeking a refund, replacement, repair, or another solution to your own problem, you'll generally file a queja (complaint).
If you're reporting a business for practices that may violate consumer protection laws – such as misleading advertising, hidden charges, incorrect prices, or unsafe products – you'll generally file a denuncia (report). A denuncia may trigger an investigation, but it doesn't necessarily result in personal compensation.
Once you've determined which process you need, you can contact PROFECO through any of the following channels:
In person: Visit a local Oficina de Defensa del Consumidor, commonly called an ODECO. See list of locations.
By phone:
55 5568 8722 in Mexico City and the metropolitan area
800 468 8722 from elsewhere in Mexico
Online web chat: Some complaints can be handled through Concilianet, but only when the provider participates in that system. Contact an adviser through PROFECO’s online chat service.
Email for reporting violations:
[email protected]
Include the business’s legal or commercial name, its complete address, and a clear description of what happened.
For an individual claim, you should also be prepared to provide identification and proof of the purchase or contract.
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