Legislation Proposing enhancements in Customer Service: Advancements and Developments
In a significant move towards enhancing customer protection and service quality, the latest Customer Service Draft Bill is set to bring about a series of changes that will impact essential services, large companies, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) alike.
The key modifications include tighter complaint resolution timelines, language responsiveness, call answering standards, audit requirements, and adaptation periods.
**Complaint resolution deadlines** have been tightened significantly. Companies must now resolve complaints within 15 working days, but for issues affecting the continuity of essential services of general interest, resolution must be within 2 hours. This marks a significant shift from the previous general deadline of 1 month.
**Language of responses** is another area of focus. Customer service responses must now be given in the same language as the query, replacing the earlier requirement to respond in the contract language.
**Call answering standards** have also been strengthened. At least 95% of calls should now be answered in less than 3 minutes, introducing a quantitative threshold for the first time.
**Audit frequency based on company size** is another notable change. Companies not exceeding both 250 employees and €50/43 million in turnover or assets can conduct the mandatory annual audit on customer service quality every two years, providing relief for smaller companies or SMEs.
A **six-month** period from the Bill's entry into force is provided for companies to adapt to the new requirements.
Essential service providers face the strictest complaint resolution timeline (2 hours), while large companies must meet robust call answering and auditing standards. SMEs benefit from relaxed audit frequency (biennial instead of annual) and a six-month adaptation timeframe.
These changes reflect a push for greater effectiveness, accessibility, and customer protection, balancing stricter requirements for critical services and larger firms with practical flexibility for smaller businesses.
The Draft Bill also prohibits the exclusive use of automated answering systems and guarantees transfer to human agents upon the consumer's request. It retains several pillars already set out in the Preliminary Draft, such as the principles of free-of-charge service, effectiveness, accessibility, inclusion, non-discrimination, and assessability in customer service.
Regional consumer authorities and sectoral supervisors will retain inspection and sanctioning powers. SMEs falling outside the scope of application remain subject to general provisions on customer services established in consumer legislation.
Breaches in customer service are classified as minor or serious offences, which may be sanctioned with fines of up to €100,000 or six times the unlawful profit obtained.
The Draft Bill affects the customer relations strategy of large companies and providers of essential services, and is currently in the amendment submission stage and nearing enactment. It partially amends and repeals customer service regulations affecting financial entities and amends the General Telecommunications Law, expanding customer service obligations for operators.
The Draft Bill maintains the obligation for an audited customer satisfaction measurement system with publicly available results. It also requires immediate issuance of a receipt on a durable medium with a tracking code so that the consumer has proof of their complaints.
The Draft Bill recognizes the specific regulations in the financial and telecommunications sectors and expressly excludes them from its scope to avoid overlaps.
[1] Source: The Customer Service Draft Bill, 2022.
Telecommunications law is amended to expand customer service obligations for operators, following the Draft Bill's recognition of specific regulations in the telecommunications sector. The enforcement of technology, such as audited customer satisfaction measurement systems and receipt issuance on a durable medium with a tracking code, is a critical component of the new customer service requirements outlined in the Draft Bill.
