But it seems that Telefónica will stop at nothing to try and desperately hang on to its clients – not even outright deceit. So we want to make sure that you are all aware of the latest trick to watch out for, because it’s a big one!

Telefónica are sending letters out to their landline subscribers, asking them to fill out and return an attached form. (Click on the images below to see samples of the letter and form).

The first time you read the actual letter in Spanish, it sounds like Telefónica are asking for your written consent to allow other operators (like Direct Telecom) to handle your call traffic. But read it a few more times and especially look at the small print on the form and it’s a whole other story!

What Telefónica actually want is your consent for them to cancel any preselection or low-cost call routing to other operators, so they can make all your calls go through their own system. But this intention is cleverly disguised until you get to the following text in the form that you have to sign:

“Solicito que procedan a inhabilitar total o parcialmente la preasignación del/de los numero/s arriba relacionado/s, para realizar, por defecto, estas llamadas con Telefónica de España S.A.U.”

Which translates to:

“I request that you proceed to totally or partially disable the preselection facility on the number(s) above, to route all calls through Telefónica de Espana S.A.U. by default.”

It is very possible that these forms, once signed, will actually be further used by Telefónica to prevent or hinder their clients from being able to sign up with competing Low Cost Call companies at all! If you have ever faced the incredible red tape and delaying tactics you get when you try and cancel your Internet subscription with Telefónica, you’ll know that we are not exaggerating about this.

On a similar note, we have had five complaints over the last few days about Telefónica technicians turning up at clients’ homes out of the blue, saying they have to make some changes to the line. Once the changes are done, the client is told that they now have a new phone number. This seems to be a way of prolonging the client’s contract with Telefónica so they will not be able to switch over to another telephone operator when the time comes.

If this has happened to you, call Telefonica’s 1004 helpline and say that you want your old number back or you will go to the police. We are told that this has been successful in getting the operation reversed.

We believe that Telefónica are getting ready for the big hit they are going to take towards the end of this year, when companies such as Direct Telecom will be able to take over the line rental from them, and are doing whatever they can to try and prevent this. As they are about to lose the battle to retain their monopoly, Telefónica are resorting to fighting dirtier than ever. But forewarned is fore-armed, so please let your friends and family know about these tricks so they do not fall for the scams.

¿Como funciona? Una vez registrado su numero móvil, llamara a un numero de conexión en Madrid.  Nuestro sistema reconoce su número y le dará tono de llamada con el cual podrá realizar su llamada internacional.
¿Mi operador Móvil que me cobra?  Aquí­ esta la clave para que este sistema le sea lo más barato posible ya que su operador móvil le cobrará la llamada nacional al número nuestro en Madrid.  Lo ideal es conseguir contratar un plan y/o asignar nuestro número de conexión como un número “favorito” para que la llamada desde su móvil a nuestro número de conexión le cueste el mí­nimo.  Por ejemplo, con Vodafone podemos contratar el plan Vitamina 60×1, con el cual pagamos por 1 minuto y hablamos 60.  Esto funciona perfectamente con GlobalFone ya que sólo pagar a Vodafone 0.35 € para hablar la hora completa, y GlobalFone le cobrará únicamente la cantidad de minutos que ha hablado con su destino.  Para hablar 50 minutos con muchos países Europeos tendr­á un coste TOTAL de sólo 1.99‚€.

En resumen, tenemos a su disposición una solución para ahorrar mucho dinero a la hora de realizar llamadas internacionales desde su propio móvil.  Ahora podrá realizar llamadas con tarifas de locutorio ¡desde su móvil y en cualquier parte!

¿Que tengo que hacer para utilizar GlobalFone?
Muy sencillo.  Visite http://direct.online-manager.co.uk/NewCustomer.asp?lang=espanol y regí­strese como cliente gratis.  Registre su número móvil y agrega crédito mediante tarjeta de débito, crédito y/o Pay Pal.

Una vez esta registrado como cliente, podrá entrar en su cuenta online y añadir más móviles a su cuenta (utilizarán su crédito) o podrá agregar más saldo a su cuenta cuando le haga falta.

¿Donde puedo ver una lista completa de tarifas internacionales?
Visite http://direct.online-manager.co.uk/callrates.asp

¿Donde puedo encontrar más información sobre GlobaFone?
Visite http://castellano.direct-telecom.es/llamadas-internacionales-desde-su-movile.asp
También nos puede llamar al 902 51 28 30 para cualquier duda o aclaración.
¡Que lo disfruten!

Years of perseverance have now paid off and we will very soon be in a position to offer you the possibility to completely migrate your Spanish fixed telephone line and related services to Direct Telecom. This means that you will finally have a choice and a say about which telecommunications company you want to choose something long overdue, as anyone living in Spain will surely agree.

All you will have to do is authorise us to make the switch and Direct Telecom will take charge of your phone line so that you won’t have to deal with Telefonica again or receive any more bills from them. In fact, we will be able to provide you with everything you need as regards fixed telephony, ADSL and mobile services , with everything combined into a single bill to make it easier for you to keep track.

So, when exactly will you be able to say goodbye to Telefonica and switch over completely to Direct Telecom? That must be the obvious question on your mind and the answer is hopefully around September 2008! Our new clients can already check the appropriate box in the sign-up agreement if they want their phone line to be automatically transferred when the time comes. We know that many of you can’t wait, but, of course, this does not depend entirely on us.

As many of you already know, we have been fighting for a very long time to break Telefonica’s monopoly on fixed phone lines in Spain, in order to offer our clients and the Spanish public at large a competitive and viable alternative. The situation that has prevailed so far is totally unacceptable, especially in a modern European country and has proven to be highly detrimental to the consumer in more ways than one. At long last, things are about to change!

In a nutshell, the way this service works is that you use your mobile operator’s preferential calling rate (such as ‘favourite numbers’ or ‘friends and family’ packages) to contact Direct Telecom’s system from your mobile phone, and this allows you to access our Low Cost Overseas Calls service at the same prices we offer to our landline clients. In other words, you can enjoy the convenience of Direct Telecom’s rock-bottom international call rates (PDF) while on the move, from wherever you are in Spain, with just a tiny overhead (typically a couple of cents a minute) that you pay your mobile operator for the call to us.

“The success of this service is due to the high demand for consumers to drastically reduce the costs of communicating from their mobile phone, combined with the easy-to-use, high quality service we offer,” says Mike Broeckaert, Direct Telecom’s Commercial Director. Mike adds, “We are constantly working to find new communications solutions, which drastically save our clients money without jeopardizing quality.”

Save still more with BT Mobile from Direct Telecom
As another example of Direct Telecom’s commitment to bringing our clients the best prices, we have recently teamed up with British Telecom to distribute the new BT Mobile service in Spain. Spanish mobile phone users finally have a real, cost-effective alternative to the exorbitant mobile call rates they have had to pay over the years.

Everyone knows that the big mobile phone operators in Spain spend ludicrous amounts of money on colossal advertising campaigns – for example Vodafone spends millions of Euros a year on Formula 1 sponsorships alone. It goes without saying whose pocket all that money ultimately comes from, and it is no surprise that mobile phone calls have always been so expensive until now.

On the other hand, BT España has chosen the prudent route, preferring to pass on the savings to its clients – just one of the many reasons why it makes so much sense to switch to BT in Spain.

Direct Telecom is now proud to offer you the new BT Mobile service in Spain, as one of the very few authorised agents chosen to represent BT in the country. Needless to say, we are delighted to add this exciting, new mobile phone service to our range of value-for-money telecommunications deals – another big step in our ongoing quest to offer you the best communications alternatives at the best prices.

According to Spanish law, mobile operators must share their infrastructure and the BT Mobile service in Spain runs on the Vodafone network, which has the most powerful and extensive coverage in the country. This makes BT Mobile in Spain a powerful mobile phone operator in its own right, and means that you can now enjoy a top quality mobile phone service in Spain at very competitive rates.

FREE mobile phones for our BT Mobile clients

But there’s more good news in store! All our new mobile phone clients and those of you who switch to BT Mobile from another operator will get a FREE new mobile phone courtesy of Direct Telecom. And, of course, you can keep your old mobile number when you switch to BT Mobile in Spain.

Still, the best part of the BT Mobile deal has to be the exceptionally low across-the-board rates of 10 Euro cents per minute, together with the BT 10 choice of call plans that will allow you to save even more by enjoying a mobile phone service tailored to your needs. There are special calling plans covering internal calls to phones on the same contract, national landlines, and more, even including international calls.

With your BT Mobile subscription from Direct Telecom, you can also browse the Internet while on the move, thanks to the two great data packages on offer. The standard Internet price plan is activated by default for all BT Mobile clients and is ideal for occasional mobile Internet browsing, while regular data users can enjoy the best rates with the Internet Premium package.

Click here for full information and prices of our mobile calling plans and mobile Internet service (PDF).

Make the change – Enjoy the difference!

If you’re tired of the same old mobile phone operators in Spain and think that there ought to be something better out there, the new BT Mobile service is just the alternative you’ve been waiting for.

Get ready to enjoy the difference in both quality of service and substantial savings on your mobile calls month after month. Contact Direct Telecom now for full details and information and to sign up to this exciting brand new BT Mobile service.

DIRECT TELECOM INTRODUCE
INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SERVICES!!