With the publication of Decree-Law no. 134/2009, of 2 June, the provision of services through call centers is subject to a new legal system which shall take effect on 29 November 2009.
These new rules apply to professionals, as well as to essential public services, that make available a call centre to consumers, in the scope of an economic activity that operates commercially, and establish a set of prohibited practices, such as hold time above 60 seconds, and rules on disclosure of telephone numbers of services and their operation period.
A different set of prohibited practises is also laid down, such as call routing to numbers that imply an additional cost for the consumer without his/her explicit consent and advertising during hold times. Moreover, the service telephone number and its operation period, especially the personalised service operation period, must be disclosed and be visibly made available in all communication support materials of professionals.
In order to respect the consumer’s right to privacy, calls by professionals must be made between 9 am and 10 pm, and an option to cancel the provided service must be made available.
