Spain's rules
My operator raised the price or changed my contract terms
The official steps, and a place to count your complaint.
Who this covers
A Spanish telecom operator announcing or applying a price rise or other change to an ongoing mobile, landline, internet or bundled pay-TV contract, and the right to leave without cost. Not general penalty disputes (es-telecom-permanence) or price rises by non-telecom subscriptions (es-subscription-price-increase).
Add your complaint
Rantr counts your complaint and shows you others who have it.
No promise of a fix or refund. Do not name private people or include private details. This does not send a complaint to the company.
Your official route
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Check the notice: date, what changes, and your right to leave
The operator must tell you about any change at least one month in advance, clearly and on a durable medium, and tell you at the same time that you may end the contract at no extra cost if you do not accept.
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If you don't accept, end the contract in writing
Deadline: Within one month from the notice.
Say that you are ending the contract because of the change notified on that date. You owe no penalty; the only possible charge is for a subsidised device you keep, capped at its prorated value or the remaining fee until the end of the contract, whichever is lower. In a bundle with internet or a phone line, these rules apply to every part of the bundle.
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Complain to your operator in writing and get a reference number
Deadline: Within one month from when you learned of the problem; complaining to the operator in that time is required before you can go to the OAUT.
If they charge a penalty or refuse, attach the change notice and your termination, and ask them to cancel the charge. Use the channel you used to sign up, or phone: the operator must accept both. It must give you a reference number for your complaint. If you complain by phone, ask for a document that proves you filed it and what it said.
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If there is no answer within a month, or you disagree, complain to the OAUT
Deadline: Within three months from the operator's answer, or from the end of its one-month period to answer.
The Oficina de Atención al Usuario de Telecomunicaciones (Ministry) handles complaints from individuals, self-employed people and microenterprises. File online (with a digital certificate) or on paper, and attach the operator's reference number, bills and contract. Not being told about contract changes is one of the matters it resolves. It has six months to decide, and the operator must comply with its decision.
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Instead of the OAUT: consumer arbitration, if your operator accepts it
Deadline: To keep the OAUT open, ask for arbitration within the same three months.
You can take the dispute to a Junta Arbitral de Consumo; it only works if the operator submits to it. If the operator refuses arbitration, your three months to go to the OAUT count again from that refusal.
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Last resort: court
Before suing you must have tried to negotiate, and you need written proof of that attempt: for example, proof that the company received your request to negotiate or your proposal. If it does not reply within 30 calendar days of receiving it, the attempt counts as ended without agreement.
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Your written complaint
To: Your operator's customer service (the channel you used to sign up, or phone)
Must include
- Your full name and the account holder's ID (DNI/NIE)
- Customer or contract number and the affected services
- The date and channel of the change notice, and what changed (old and new price or terms)
- That you do not accept the change and end the contract, with the date
- What you ask for: no penalty, cancel any penalty charged, and a final bill only up to the termination date
Keep
- The reference number the operator gave you
- A copy of your complaint, with the date and channel used
- The bills involved
- Your contract or contract summary
- The change notice (email, SMS, letter or the bill that contained it)
- Proof of the date you ended the contract
Your rights
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You may end the contract at no extra cost when the operator announces changes, unless the changes are only to your benefit, purely administrative with no negative effect, or imposed by law.
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The operator can only change the contract unilaterally for valid reasons stated in it.
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When you have a right to end the contract early, you owe no compensation except for a subsidised device you keep.
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If you have a bundle that includes internet or a number-based phone service, the contract duration and termination rules apply to all its elements.
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The operator must give you a reference number for every complaint or request, and accept complaints through the channel you used to sign up and by phone.
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In its decision the OAUT can cancel bills, order refunds of amounts billed wrongly and take other measures to restore your rights.
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Read your bills: operators sometimes include mandatory notices in them, such as price changes.
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If a consumer arbitration board has started a procedure, you cannot use the OAUT unless the request is closed without a decision on the merits or the parties withdraw from arbitration.
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In court claims of up to 2,000 euros you can act yourself, without a lawyer or a procurador.
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