The most significant data for the OMIC for 2020 are:

–Website visits: 133,149 (20% more than in 2019)
–Unique users: 99,782 people (17.5% more than in 2019)
–Pages visited: 241,189 (25.5% more than in 2019)
–Online support provided: 9,695 enquires handled (compared to 5,839 in 2019)
–Phone support provided: 10,094 enquiries handled (compared to 4,815 in 2019)

Face-to-face support was provided in 3,383 instances in 2020, compared to 11,569 in 2019.

Phone support was boosted during the pandemic and a new financial advice service was set up for SMEs, the self-employed and business consumers. The new proactive callback channel ‘L’OMIC et truca’ was also set up to attend to citizens requesting appointments, as well as the service for people without digital devices or the knowledge to use them.

A specific advice service was also set up for customers of electricity companies in February 2021.

The OMIC is a free municipal service with the goal of helping people understand their rights and duties on consumer affairs.

The Barcelona Consumer Arbitration Board, which arbitrates on discrepancies between consumers and businesses, handled 778 enquiries in 2020.

OMIC services:
Request information from the OMIC.
Lodge a claim/complaint with the OMIC.
Request an appointment with the OMIC.