‘Let’s copy Spain’s crackdown on firms that don’t pick up the phone’

New consumer laws will force big companies and utilities firms in Spain to answer calls within three minutes or face fines of up to €100,000 (£85,000).

Parliament is now facing calls to do the same in Britain after customer service standards plummeted during the pandemic and have not recovered.

Plans for new customer service rules in Spain, approved by ministers on Tuesday, will force large consumerfacing companies to answer phones faster and cut the use of pre-recorded messages.

The rules will apply to firms with more than 250 staff that make more than € 50m a year. The law will also cover all companies that offer public services, such as water and energy companies, postal services, broadband and telephone providers and financial services firms, regardless of their size.

Consumers will have the right to be put through to a human on the phone, rather than having to deal with an automated system, and the amount of time firms have to resolve complaints will also be halved from 30 working days to just over two weeks.

Companies that fail to comply with the new regulations face fines of up to €100,000, according to reports in the Spanish press. The rule changes will now be passed to the Spanish Congress to be made into law.

The development has sparked calls for similar steps to be taken in Britain, where callers have suffered long delays when they try to renew passports or driving licences.

Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park and the party’s business spokesman, said: “During this cost of living crisis countless people have had to ring their energy providers for help with their bills or call their bank for assistance. It’s not right that pensioners spend hours on hold before someone answers to help.

“The Government needs to get a grip on big firms, which must show they care about their customers and drastically cut their waiting times, so that people can actually get the help they deserve.”

Government agencies including the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, the Office of the Public Guardian and the Passport Office have all taken longer to answer inquiries from the public since the pandemic began.

Energy firms including British Gas have also come under fire for failing to promptly answer queries from customers struggling with rising gas bills. The charity Citizens Advice said last month that customer service levels had sunk to their lowest for five years.

Meanwhile airlines have been criticised for poor customer service after cancelling thousands of flights because of staff shortages. Last month telecoms regulator Ofcom said waiting times at phone and broadband companies were still getting worse.