Marbella, April 2009. Even though Telefonica can be an absolute nightmare, especially for residents who don’t speak Spanish, remember the following: In Henri Ford’s automobile factory there used to be a sign ‘If it works, don’t fix it’.
Telefonica in English advertises all over, offering services via telefonicainenglish.com. Their website looks just like the original Telefonica.es. However, never touch the English one because it will cost you dearly and you probably won’t get your a phone line or internet connection.
We applied for telephone and internet via this site, providing Telefonica in English with all required personal information, address and bank data. We got a confirmation from Telefonica in English. We found it strange that the email sender had the following email address:
We informed lifechat that we did not want to have anything to do with Telefonica in English. They responded that ‘they never received any application’. However, a few days later they attempted to take € 2.000 out of our bank account.
Avoid Telefonica in English and in case you already contacted them, immediately block your bank account for them. If money already has been stolen you have 14 days to get it reimbursed by your bank.
Also beware of Orange Telephone and internet. A sales representative called our house and talked to the gardener. Some days later we suffered some technical phone problems and called Telefonica. Our line and telephone number had been taken away from Telefonica by Orange. It took quite some time and efforts to get it back. Shortly afterward our internet connection went down. Also hijacked by Orange. Fortunately we also informed our bank to bounce any requested transaction with Orange.
Presently Telefonica is in the process of getting the internet connection back from Orange, which may take up till ten days because Telefonica has his hands full with similar cases. Meanwhile there is no internet connection and our old mail address can no longer be reached by senders or ourselves.
Most of the foreign people in our neighborhood in Marbella have similar experiences.
The same horror stories circulate about Spantel and others.
So, if you get a phone call from a sales person offering you competitive telephone and internet rates, just disconnect. If you need a phone call Telefonica, if you applied with Telefonica in English, inform your bank.
Telefonica may be quite a disastrous company. They seldom deliver the promised internet speed, don’t keep their word to fix the problem and are not very client friendly, especially to foreigners. But, keep the thought of automobile pioneer Ford in mind: ‘As long as it work, don’t fix it.’
This article was contributed by Simon Hammelburg, retired Bureau Chief for Dutch radio and television in the United States.