One of the most hated strategies by anyone who has had to contact a company’s customer service is to check that the company has chosen a number that begins with 902.
In Spain, these numbers are licensed for use special pricing Thanks to which companies make money because people call there. It is somewhat similar to the premium rate numbers used for erotic calls, contests, and horoscopes, but at a lower price.
The problem is that, when we call a 902, it is not because we are bored or with the highest temperature of the account, but because we have a problem, a fault or a doubt with a product.
The Ministry of Consumption prohibits charging more for calls to 902
In recent months, the Spanish government has already shown itself against these practices and, as we see in the BOE published today, the possibility of using this type of pricing in customer service has been eliminated.
The new law does not oblige companies to have a free customer service number, but it does oblige that the price is not higher than that of a normal call to that location.
That is, if we have a mobile or fixed rate in which we pay for calls because we do not have minute bonuses or unlimited call packs, we will pay for those calls to a 902 at a price that, at most, will be the same as that of a normal call.
The only possibility that companies have a paid number as up to now is that they in turn provide a service with another that is free, and that they advertise it in the same way.
It remains to be seen that this is not a way to avoid the new regulations by making the waiting time much longer in the free than in the paid one.
Certain customer service numbers will be free
Where we can call for free from the entry into force of this rule is the customer service services of companies with basic functions, such as supplying water, gas, electricity, financial and insurance services, postal services, transport, health protection, sanitation and waste.
It is curious that telecommunications do not enter, this being a good as necessary as water or electricity for many users.
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