Overview
- The new rule, which took effect on 17 October, requires covered companies to place sales calls from nine-digit numbers beginning with 400 that cannot receive return calls.
- The obligation applies to large firms and providers in essential sectors such as electricity, gas, water, telecoms, transport, postal services and finance while small suppliers under a 5% market share are exempt.
- The SAC reform also forces firms to give a separate customer-service phone at ordinary-call cost and declares contracts made through non-consensual sales calls null.
- The Ministry of Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030 has opened a sanctioning proceeding against a major telecom company under existing consumer laws even though the 400 rule itself does not set a bespoke fines schedule.
- Consumer groups welcome the transparency but warn the prefix will not stop spoofed or foreign scam calls and are pressing for a public registry linking each 400 number to its company plus clearer, dissuasive penalties.