Spam calls are something of a problem in Spain; anyone who lives here can tell you that. The government has tried to do something about it, though rather ineffectually so far.

READ MORE: Why Spain’s law to ban spam calls has failed

It’s been a year since the Spanish government first brought in legislation to try and stop spam calls, but for practically everyone in Spain these infuriating marketing and advertising cold calls nonetheless continue.

According to a survey by consumer rights group Facua published at the beginning of July 2024, almost everyone polled (98 percent) continue to receive unsolicited sales calls. 

READ ALSO: Spain to roll out another law banning cold calls by energy companies

Despite the legislation, almost seven out of ten had received more than five spam calls in the last month. 

So, what can you do about it? Is there anything you can do about it?

Many in Spain turn to the Lista Robinson (Robinson List) to try and find a solution to these bothersome cold calls.

What is the Robinson List?

According to the Robinson List website: “It is a free advertising exclusion service, available to consumers, which aims to reduce the amount of advertising they receive.

The Robinson List Service falls within the scope of personalised advertising, i.e. advertising that a user receives targeted to his or her name.”

It’s a list you can add yourself to in order to exclude (or reduce) your name from these sorts of spam mail, cold calls and unsolicited advertising in the post.

It doesn’t cost anything to sign up either: “It’s a free service; there is no additional cost to join the list, nor is there any additional cost to remain on the list or to add new telephone numbers or email addresses.” 

Signing up to the list is quick and easy, and you can add several different phone numbers, e-mail addresses and postal addresses.

However, although it reduces how much unwanted advertising you receive, it doesn’t completely prevent commercial calls and spam mail in the post, as there are lots of companies that simply don’t consult the list before making calls or sending advertising.

It should also be noted that the Robinson List doesn’t stop us from receiving advertising from companies with which we already have a contractual relationship. This basically means that your phone or wifi company could call you up to try and sell you a new deal or offer, and that this would be within the rules even if you’re signed up to the list.

Nor does it include companies that we gave our consent to receive advertising, something we can do in a myriad of ways without even realising we’ve done it.

All in all, being on the Robinson will likely cut the number of cold calls and amount of spam mail you receive, but it won’t stop them completely.

Note that the service is simple and free, but not immediate: it takes around 3 months from the time you sign up for the Robinson List to take effect.

How do I sign up?

• Go to the Robinson List website.
• Click on apúntate a la lista (sign up to the list).
• Register with your details.
• Once you’ve finished your registration and had it confirmed via email, you’ll be able to choose which type of calls and mail you no longer wish to receive including e-mail, telephone (mobile and landline), post and SMS/MMS messages, and add the various numbers and contact addresses you want to be excluded.