Spain's rules
My number transfer failed, was delayed, or was done without my consent
The official steps, and a place to count your complaint.
Who this covers
Problems moving a mobile or landline number, or home internet, to another Spanish operator: delays, refusals, loss of service, or a switch made without consent (slamming). Not ordinary cancellations without changing operator (es-telecom-cancellation).
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
-
Request the switch through the new operator
Deadline: One working day from the date agreed with you.
The new (receiving) operator runs the switch and number transfer, and you do not need to cancel with the old one: the transfer ends that contract automatically when it completes. Your number must be activated within one working day from the date you agreed, and you cannot be without service for more than one working day.
Official source ↗ -
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.
Complain to the operator responsible (usually the new one) with the dates agreed and what went wrong. If the transfer failed, the old operator must reactivate your number or service until it succeeds. 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.
Official source ↗ -
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. Refusal or delay in number portability, and contracts you did not ask for, are among the matters it resolves. If your line was switched without your consent, it can cancel the bills issued or charged wrongly. It has six months to decide, and the operator must comply with its decision.
Official source ↗ -
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.
Official source ↗ -
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.
Official source ↗
Your written complaint
To: The new operator's customer service, and the old operator's if it keeps billing or refuses the transfer
Must include
- Your full name and the account holder's ID (DNI/NIE)
- The number(s) affected and both operators' names
- The date you requested the transfer and the activation date agreed
- What happened: delay, refusal (and reason given), days without service, or switch you never agreed to
- What you ask for: complete or reverse the transfer, restore service, and cancel undue bills
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 transfer request or its confirmation from the new operator
- Any SMS or email about the transfer or its refusal
Your rights
-
You cannot be switched to another operator against your will or without your explicit consent.
Official source ↗ -
A contract made by phone in breach of the rules on unsolicited calls is presumed made without your will to contract and is void.
Official source ↗ -
If the transfer fails, the old operator must reactivate your number or service and keep providing it on the same terms until the new operator activates its service.
Official source ↗ -
The old operator can only refuse a valid transfer for these reasons: a change of address, incomplete or wrong data, another transfer already under way, technical impossibility or force majeure.
Official source ↗ -
After ending a contract you keep the right to take your number to a new operator for at least one month, unless you give it up.
Official source ↗ -
With prepaid service, the old operator must refund your remaining credit on request; a fee is only allowed if the contract says so and must be proportionate.
Official source ↗ -
The law says that delays and abuses in switching operator and number transfer, and missed service or installation appointments, give you a right to compensation on the terms set by royal decree, which is also to say when it is automatic. The law itself sets no amount.
Official source ↗ -
If your line was switched to another operator without your consent and the contract is found to be irregular, the bills issued or charged wrongly, or the activation or cancellation fees, can be annulled.
Official source ↗ -
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.
Official source ↗ -
In court claims of up to 2,000 euros you can act yourself, without a lawyer or a procurador.
Official source ↗