Any business, store or company that provides a fee-based service must comply with Spanish laws in Spain, which also include complaint forms. This is called “hoja de reclamación” in Spain, and if someone asks for it, they must give it away for free. These complaints forms apply to everyone, including if foreigners in Spain are dissatisfied with the service or product provided.
Complaint forms are official documents issued by the regional authorities of the autonomous communities and standardized throughout Spain. These should always be available to consumers and customers so that they can record incidents or conflicts that occurred while obtaining a product or service.
Complaint forms should always be handed to the customer/consumer without apology if they request it, including if they have not used a service or product. In a store, supermarket, bank, clothing store, hotel, car rental company, online store, etc., the availability of complaint forms for the customer must be clearly indicated on official paper.
If you are visiting Spain, while on holiday or if you live there, you can also request a complaint form containing the following sentence: “Quiero la hoja de reclaciones!”. The shapes themselves depend on the autonomous regions and look different in each region. For example, in Catalonia, all text is written in three languages (Catalan, Spanish, English), in Comunidad Valenciana in three languages (Valencia, Spanish, English) and in Andalusia or Madrid in two languages (Spanish, English).
the Spanish Consumers Association OCU Provides a description on this site of what to do in the event of a complaint.
1- First try to find a solution immediately in a friendly way. If this is not possible, you can request a complaints form (hoja de reclamación). This must be issued, without excuses (see below). If they do not want to do this, you should call the police or contact them.
2- Complete the complaint form (which must also be in English) by answering all the questions. The form itself consists of three sheets: one for the company and two for the client, one for the authorities and one for the client. Don’t forget to sign and hand the copy over to the company.
3- You must hand over one of the other two copies that you are allowed to take or send to the authorities. In most cases, this is the “Oficina Municipal de Información del Consumidor” which can often (but not always) be found in the city hall in Spain. Make copies and keep one of the three forms for yourself. This office may request further information such as receipts, invoices, emails, etc.
4- After the competent authorities receive the complaint form, they will investigate it. This is taken very seriously by the autonomous communities, both regarding complaints made by Spaniards themselves and by foreigners complaining about a product or service provided. The client/consumer will be informed of developments by the Authority.
Excuses
The complaints form is a serious matter in Spain, but not everyone takes customer complaints seriously and tries to avoid the issuance of the mandatory document through excuses and excuses.
In the case of foreigners in particular, people often try to avoid complaining, but a dissatisfied customer/consumer should sit still, even if just to put pressure on the company and let them know that you are taking the complaint seriously.
Excuses you hear most frequently:
a- “This is not shipping, and you are not entitled to the dear opportunity of call-upsOr “President/Director/Owner is not present, you are not authorized to issue a complaint form.” This is the classic excuse but it is completely unjustified. A complaint form should always be issued when someone requests it, no matter who. This is stated on an official poster and is the right of the customer. /Consumer in Spain.
B-“We have no duties, and there are no dutiesOr “We don’t have complaint forms, and we’re not obligated to have them.” In general, every store, supermarket, clothing store, souvenir shop, hotel, restaurant, bar, car rental company, etc. should have a complaint form. However, each autonomous region has its own rules that exclude, for example, lawyers, economists and medical workers.
C-“If we have any feelings, we cannot declare” Or “They are gone, sorry, you can’t file a complaint”. This is also classic but absolutely illegal. The company should always make sure that there are enough complaint forms available. If documents are not available, the customer/consumer can always file a complaint in different ways. Others, including the lack of complaint forms (which is serious).
Dr-“Since we gain nothing and consume nothing, we cannot be customersOr “Because you have not purchased or consumed anything, we are not permitted to issue a complaint form, you are not a customer.” This is incorrect. You do not have to be a customer to request and receive a complaint form.
Why are you complaining?
Many customers/consumers will wonder why they file a complaint, because the authorities will definitely not do anything with the complaint. However, this is not entirely true. Autonomous regions are obliged to take complaints seriously, for example, if there are many complaints about a hotel, restaurant or bar, it can be closed.
However, there will be many people who accept the complaint and simply decide not to return or take advantage of something. But this does not help anyone and the company will continue to provide bad service or product to other customers.
The only important thing is that a service, service or product should always be paid for. If the customer/consumer does not do this, he has no right to file a complaint. By filing a formal complaint, you can get a refund.
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