Last Friday, February 27, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved a new version of the Customer Service Bill .
This regulation aims to guarantee the right of consumers to receive quality, personalized and accessible attention , with one of the main novelties in this area being the reduction of waiting times to respond to consumer requests for information or complaints.
The Bill establishes minimum quality parameters for consumer services, which will be mandatory for both private and public companies that provide essential services in Spanish territory. as well as any company, regardless of the sector, with more than 250 employees or a turnover exceeding 50 million euros.
Main points of the new law
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Management and traceability of incidents, complaints, claims and queries
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Personalized attention to vulnerable groups
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Omnichannel service
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Relevant sale
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Satisfaction collection system
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Reporting and audits
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Continuing education
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Complaint or claim: Any manifestation relating to the defective provision of the service or the non-fulfillment of the same.
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Incidents: Any problem relating to the execution of the contract or the commercial offer made.
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Consultation: Request for information or advice in relation to the contracted goods or services or a personalised commercial offer. This category will include queries related to savings, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Management and traceability
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Traceability: the company must provide customers with an identification code for any query , complaint or incident processed by consumers or users, so that a simple reference to it allows customers to follow the status of their processing in an easily accessible, viable and agile manner.
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Evidence: QRIC receipt provided by the company without the need to be requested by the client. If it is presented by phone, it must be recorded. The receipt will be delivered by the same means by which the QRIC was presented.
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Resolution: 15 days maximum . (except if the sector regulations dictate otherwise)
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Basic services: 2 hours to report causes and resolution time
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Calls: 95% answered in less than 3 minutes .
Personalized attention to vulnerable groups
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Accessibility: Ensure accessibility to care services for vulnerable people , such as those with disabilities or the elderly, promoting the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and universal accessibility.
Customer service across all channels
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Omnichannel: Any contracting channel must have the option of being able to open queries, incidents or claims .
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Personal assistance: The use of answering machines, conversational bots or other similar means must provide the possibility of requesting assistance from an agent and a supervisor.
Relevant sale
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Goods, services, offers...: Only if they are related and imply an improvement of the service.
However, if some of the companies fail to comply with these new obligations, the bill includes sanctions ranging from 150 to 100,000 euros in the most serious cases. The quality of the services offered will be evaluated by an external audit on an annual basis , which will decide whether they comply with the law or whether, on the contrary, they deserve a fine.
