Spain introduces new 400 phone numbers to identify sales calls from October 17. Credit : Andrii Iemelianenko, Shutterstock
If you live in Spain and regularly receive unwanted sales calls, a new rule coming into force on Saturday, October 17, could make them easier to identify. Companies covered by the legislation will have to use nine-digit telephone numbers beginning with 400 when making commercial calls.
The measure is designed to help consumers distinguish commercial calls from other communications, rather than ban telemarketing altogether. The rules were formally established in a government resolution published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) on April 16, giving telecoms operators and businesses six months to prepare.
Similarly, commercial telephone calls will now be regulated in a dedicated nine-digit number, and this will enable subscribers to distinguish between commercial calls and ordinary calls and customer services.
However, the legislation includes exceptions, and a call from a 400 number should not automatically be regarded as fraudulent.
What changes for sales calls in Spain from October 17?
Under the new system, companies affected by the law must use the telephone numbers starting with 400 when making business calls to potential customers.
This change is to make the phone call more easily understandable before you even pick up the receiver.
Sales calls could come from different phone numbers in the past, which made it difficult for consumers to distinguish between legitimate calls and marketing calls or scams.
According to the resolution of the Spanish government, which is in the BOE, the 400 series has been specially reserved for commercial calls. The new law establishes a six-month period of implementation, from the date of its entry into force on April 17.
October 17 marks the deadline when the new numbering requirements are due to become fully operational.
Speaking at the Foro CREO event on October 14, Minister for Digital Transformation Óscar López explained that this measure will apply to any company that contacts people who are not their customers to offer their products and services.
The minister explained that the consumers would then recognize the purely commercial nature of these calls, and could therefore choose whether or not to answer them.
The rules are not meant to mean that every call from a company has to begin with 400.Customer service calls are treated separately. Depending on the kind of call, companies use geographical telephone numbers, designated short numbers or the 800 and 900 ranges.
The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has also explained that the legislation allows certain businesses and circumstances to be exempted from it.
Can you call back a 400 number or block sales calls?
One of the most important changes in the new numbering system is that 400 numbers can only be used to make outgoing calls.
The BOE resolution expressly prohibits incoming calls to these numbers. To be clear, if you don’t answer a call from a number beginning with “400,” you won’t be able to call it back.
The numbers are used exclusively for commercial communication and may not be used for ordinary customer service numbers.
There is also a clause in the law enabling the telephone companies to offer subscribers the possibility of blocking calls from the 400 number range.
However, the law speaks of the ‘option’ that service operators can offer upon request, not the automatic blocking that every service provider must have. To avoid such calls, people should ask their telephone service provider if they block the number 400.
Also, consumers should note that a prefix known to the public is no guarantee that the caller is reliable.
If you receive an unexpected call, you should not give out any bank details, passwords or PINs. If a person claims to be from your bank, the power company, the telephone company, or other company, hang up immediately and contact the company independently at the official telephone number of the company.
What happens if a company keeps calling from another number?
The new rules are supposed to make it easier to identify the commercial calls, and prevent businesses from using other numbers for the same purpose.
According to the Ministry for Digital Transformation, telephone companies are supposed to block commercial calls that do not comply with the new rules on calling.
The CNMC is responsible for supervising the allocation and use of the 400 range, alongside the responsibilities of other relevant authorities.On October 14, Óscar López also explained that consumers receiving calls from other telephone numbers can also inform the CNMC about suspected abuses.
However, because the legislation provides for certain exceptions, not every commercial call made from a different prefix necessarily constitutes a breach of the rules.
This new measure, which is part of the Spanish fight against telephone fraud and for greater transparency in communication, is to be found in a new scheme for detecting telephone fraud.
The government had already introduced a number of measures to tackle telephony fraud, including a prohibition on suspicious telephone traffic and stricter controls over the identification of SMS senders.
Anti-fraud measures were said by Óscar López to have blocked more than 400 million calls and 32 million messages in the course of the campaign. The 400 range adds another layer of protection by making it possible to differentiate more clearly between commercial calls and ordinary communications.
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