In 2021, legislation was published that obliges companies to create cheaper alternatives to numbers starting with 707 or 808, which have higher costs. The provision of these free phone lines became mandatory from November 2021, and the application of fines for those who do not comply with the new rules is applicable from June 2022.

This is the regime applicable to the making available and disclosure of consumer contact lines, which applies to consumer contact lines made available by suppliers of goods or services and by entities providing essential public services.

The supervision of compliance with the provisions of this regime, as well as the investigation of the respective administrative offence proceedings and the application of sanctions, are the responsibility of the administrative regulatory authority of the sector in which the infraction occurs or, in the absence of a sectorially competent entity, the Food and Economic Safety Authority.

Obligation to provide information

Thus, any entity that makes telephone lines available for consumer contact must disclose, in a clear and visible manner, in its commercial communications, on the homepage of its website, in invoices, in written communications with the consumer and in contracts concluded with the consumer, when these take the form of writing, the telephone number or numbers provided, which must be associated, in an equally clear and visible manner, with updated information on the price of calls.

Information regarding numbers and prices of calls should be made available starting with freephone and geographic or mobile lines, followed, where appropriate, by the number and price of calls to other lines in ascending order of price.

Where for these purposes it is not possible to provide a single price for the call because it varies between the originating and terminating networks, the following information should be provided instead, as appropriate:

The cost to the consumer of calls made to telephone lines made available by the supplier of goods or services for contacting him in the context of a legal consumer relationship may not exceed the cost of his basic tariff.

“Basic tariff” is the cost of a common telephone call that the consumer expects to pay according to the respective telecommunications tariff.

The supplier of goods or service provider must make available to the consumer a free telephone line or, alternatively, a telephone line with a geographic or mobile numbering range.

In the context of a consumer relationship, telephone contact by a consumer with a supplier of goods or services is considered to be contact by telephone.

Telephone calls that constitute an autonomous supply of a service unrelated to the supply of any good or service to the consumer, such as telemedicine and televoting calls and calls intended for fund-raising campaigns, are not to be regarded as telephone calls within the scope of the consumer relationship. In such cases, the consumer may not be charged both the price of the call and an additional price for the service provided, but must pay a single price for the call made.

Telephone lines of an entity providing essential public services

The entity providing essential public services is obliged to make available to the consumer a line for telephone contact, which must be a free line for the consumer or, alternatively, a telephone line with a geographical or mobile numbering range.

For these purposes, “entity providing essential public services” is considered to be the company that provides essential public services, namely water supply, electricity, natural gas and piped liquefied petroleum gases, electronic communications, postal services, wastewater collection and treatment, urban solid waste management and passenger transport, as well as other services that may be qualified as such.

Where, in addition to the freephone or geographic or mobile numbering range telephone line, an additional telephone line is made available, the supplier of goods or services and the provider of essential public services shall not provide a service over the additional line which is manifestly more efficient or faster or on better terms than they provide over the freephone or geographic or mobile numbering range telephone line.

Prohibition of advance charging of other amounts

The supplier of goods or provider of services and the provider of essential public services who are obliged to make available a free telephone line or a telephone line with a geographical or mobile numbering range are prohibited from charging the consumer in advance any amount other than that allowed, on condition that it is refunded to him at the end of the call.

Misdemeanours

From 1 June 2022, the violation of the duty of information referred to above constitutes a serious economic offence.

It is a very serious economic offence:

• setting the cost to the consumer of calls made to telephone lines made available by the supplier of goods or services to the consumer in the context of a legal consumer relationship above the basic rate;
• the unavailability of a free telephone line or, alternatively, a telephone line with a geographic or mobile numbering range;
• charging the consumer both the price of the call and an additional price for the service provided;
• in the context of the telephone lines of an entity providing essential public services, the unavailability to the consumer of a line for telephone contact, free of charge or a telephone line with a geographical or mobile numbering range;
• in respect of the additional telephone line, the provision of a service which is manifestly more efficient or speedier or on better terms than that provided over the freephone or geographic/mobile numbering range telephone line;
• the prior collection of other amounts, on condition that they are returned at the end of the call.

Telephone lines of public entities

From 1 November 2021, all public entities that provide telephone lines with special numbers, with the prefixes “808” and “30”, must create an alternative telephone number with the prefix “2”.

Entities that are part of the central, regional or local public administration and concessionary companies of the central, regional or local public administration are covered by this measure.

As of that date, companies providing essential public services, namely the supply of water, electricity, natural gas and piped liquefied petroleum gases, electronic communications, postal services, collection and treatment of waste water, management of solid urban waste and passenger transport are excluded.

Framework

The regime currently in force establishes that the provision of a telephone line for contact within a consumer legal relationship does not imply the payment by the consumer of any additional costs for the use of that means, beyond the basic tariff, without prejudice to the right of telecommunications operators to bill for those calls.

The application of this rule has been hampered by the absence of a common understanding of the concept of basic tariff, besides the fact that the European directive, which gave rise to the Portuguese legislation, speaks of a “basic tariff”, and the national legislator chose to use the expression “base tariff”.

While the term “basic tariff” refers to an idea of an ideal tariff recommended for all consumers, the term “basic tariff” conveys the idea of a normal tariff for each particular consumer.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in May 2017, held that the concept of the basic rate corresponds to the normal cost of a usual communication that the consumer would expect to bear, i.e. it refers to the usual tariff for telephone communication, without any additional costs for the consumer. It concluded that the cost or price of a call relating to a consumer contract concluded, made to a customer helpline operated by a professional, may not exceed the cost of a call to an ordinary fixed geographical telephone line or to a mobile telephone line.

It is this and other issues that this regime aimed to clarify. On the other hand, the opportunity was taken to definitively regulate the issue of telephone lines made available by entities providing essential public services.

References

Decree-Law 59 2021 numbering of call centres – DR no. 135/2021, Series I of 14.07.2021
Law n.º 24/96, de 31 de julho
Judgment of the Court of Justice No C-568/15 of 2 March 2017

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Golden Executive – Consultores, Lda | Technical Advisory Department

This text is merely informative and does not exempt the reading and interpretation of the supporting legislation in force, as well as for taking any decision or action that may affect your assets or business you should consult Golden Executive – Consultores, Lda.