No more unexpected or disguised spam calls: Companies will be required to make all commercial calls from a specific number. This regulation is part of the latest measures introduced by the coalition parties PSOE and SUMAR in the Customer Service Law currently being debated in the Chamber of Deputies and expected to be passed in the coming months.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Protection, this legislative amendment, introduced through an agreement with the other parliamentary groups, aims to “prevent” spam calls. Companies must identify their commercial calls with a set numerical code. To ensure compliance with this regulation, telephone companies are required to block all calls from companies that do not use this code.
Another measure stipulates that all contracts concluded through non-consensual telephone calls can be declared void. Furthermore, companies must renew users’ consent to receive calls every two years. These amendments are currently being negotiated with the other parliamentary groups in the congressional committee.
Measures of the future law:
The Customer Service Law was submitted to the House of Commons just over a year ago, and several amendments have been announced since then. The most recent amendment was reached just a week ago, when PSOE and Sumar reached a compromise on the obligation for companies to inform their consumers when a subscription is about to renew. Under this new rule, platforms such as Spotify and Netflix must notify customers 15 days before the renewal date so that they have the opportunity to cancel the renewal if necessary.
In summary, the bill aims to improve the user experience. Other measures include limiting phone waiting times to three minutes, prohibiting companies from offering exclusively machine-based support, and reducing the response time to complaints to 15 days. It also provides for special services for the elderly or disabled. Companies that fail to comply with these requirements after the law comes into force face fines of between €150 and €100,000, depending on the severity of the violations.
The Consumer Law also includes provisions for users affected by incidents such as supply disruptions to essential services (such as electricity, water, gas, or internet). Companies are required to report the cause of the problem and find a solution within a maximum of two hours. Furthermore, a family’s supply may not be interrupted while a request for restoration is made.
In principle, however, only companies or groups of companies (public or private) that meet certain criteria are affected: they must have more than 250 employees or a turnover of over €50 million. In the case of essential services, however, all companies in the sector are affected, regardless of their size.
