Spain requires sales calls to use numbers starting with 400

From 17 October, companies in Spain must use 400 numbers for sales calls to promote products or seek new customers.

The numbers will have nine digits, and the 400 prefix is reserved for commercial calls.

The prefix lets people identify a sales call before deciding whether to answer.

These numbers are for outgoing calls only, so people cannot call them back.

Calls about customer service or existing services are not covered by the sales-call rule.

Telecom operators must block commercial calls that do not use 400, and people can report such calls to Spain’s competition and markets regulator, the CNMC.

The rule is part of a wider law on customer service and adds to government measures against phone and text-message scams.