Numbers with the 118 prefix offer telephone information services on subscriber numbers. They are used to get the contact of a restaurant, a store or individuals. Much more used in previous years -it has gone from 19 million calls in 2016 to 1.2 million in 2021 according to the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC)- its mechanisms can become a scare on the bill, as alerted from the body.
You have to be careful because they can become a nuisance for those who use it. For example, many web pages advertise the numbers 118XX as a claim to manage a prior appointment, and in reality what they provide is the number that must be dialed to request said appointment. What matters is that a high amount has already been charged for the call.
In these services, it is also customary to keep the connection on hold for longer than necessary, which can reach up to 10 minutes, the maximum duration allowed, for which they charge around 2.5 or 3 euros per minute.
Sometimes they even offer what is called “call progression” whereby instead of providing the requested number, they offer to make the call themselves. In this way they continue charging as if they were talking to 118-, considerably increasing the cost.
Trying to imitate companies, the original call may start by contacting another number, but then the user is asked to dial 118, or they will call again to start charging money by the minute. In some cases, they can even divert calls to erotic services or tarots, raising (even more) the price of the connections.
The CNMC (National Commission for Markets and Competition) has sanctioned several operators with the number “118” for illegal practices such as those mentioned.
To prevent the bill from skyrocketing at the end of the month, when calling one of these numbers, keep in mind that the information requested must be provided efficiently and quickly, without unjustified waiting times.
The maximum duration of a call that begins with 118 will be 10 minutes and the price of the service will always be based on time, without being able to apply any call establishment fee. Calls whose price is higher than 2.5 euros per minute will only be possible if the user expressly requests it.
When using these numbers, some recommendations must be taken into account, such as not trusting customer service numbers that use a 118 prefix or accepting that the call be transferred to us, only providing the requested number.
On the other hand, if what you want is to make an appointment with an official body such as the issuance of ID, Treasury or Social Security, it is advisable to use the official channels, which are mostly free or have the same cost as a local call, instead of these numbers.
If, despite everything, one believes that they have suffered an incident in the use of this type of telephone number, a claim can be filed with the telephone company and even demand reimbursement if at the beginning of the call there was no initial locution to inform of clear form of your price per minute.
