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Spain moves to ban spam calls in long-awaited Customer Service reform
New rules aim to block spam and protect consumers in Spain from hidden contracts
Spain finally looks set to amend its Customer Service Law to block unwelcome telemarketing calls from businesses, something which the government promised to have implemented three months ago. Under the reform, companies will have to use a specific prefix when calling customers, so telephone operators will then be able to stop any unauthorised calls at source.
The measure should drastically reduce the amount of spam calls the average person receives on a daily basis and requires implementing what the Spanish government is calling the ‘National Numbering Plan’.
“There will be a prefix to identify all commercial calls; those without that code will be blocked," explained the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy.
“When someone calls us from that prefix, it will appear as a commercial call.”
Crucially, the Ministry has also introduced another important amendment that renders all contracts agreed upon through unauthorised phone calls null and void, so if you’ve agreed to something after being caught off guard by a spam call, you’ll be off the hook.
From now on, companies will also have to renew customer consent to receive telemarketing calls every two years.
In addition, under the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users, companies will now be required to include all management or handling fees in the advertised final price of a product or service.
What does this mean in practice? Well, if you're buying something like a concert or travel ticket, and there is usually a ‘management fee’ or ‘service charge’ added at the last step before payment. Going forward, that extra cost will now have to be included upfront in the advertised price.
These welcome changes come hot on the heels of an announcement last week that Spain will abolish the automatic renewal of fixed-term contracts, such as Netflix subscriptions, for example. Companies must now inform customers 15 days in advance of their contract expiration date, to give people ample time to cancel if they wish.
Image: Pexels
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