Si algún compañero lee este mail, que se de por "informado"
As I understand the situation, EU regulations relating to the free movement of goods and services means that a person qualified in one EU member country may provide theiservics in another - provided that they hold a qualification of equal or higher value than that which is required in the forien country. As far as Spain is concerned, I do not think that you will have the slightest problem.
You may be interested in some new legislation, which came into force in the UK at the end of December 2009, which will have a bearing on how you coduct your investigation business in the UK:
Provision of Services Regulations 2009
Article by Ian Stevens
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 came into effect on 28 December
2009, and implement the EU Services Directive (2006/123/EC) in the UK. The
aim of the Services Directive and the POS Regulations is to encourage the
provision of services between EU Member States by simplifying the process
for providing those services.
This is achieved by imposing a number of obligations on service providers in
relation to how they interact with actual and potential customers. These
obligations centre on the provision of basic information, the handling of
complaints, and the prohibition of discrimination.
Background
The Provision of Services Regulations ("POS Regulations") applies to
"service providers" - any individual or organisation providing a relevant
service for which they normally charge. It is not necessary for a service
provider to provide cross-border services in order for the POS Regulations
to apply, so a UK service provider providing services to UK customers will
also be subject to the POS Regulations.
The POS Regulations only apply to individuals resident in an EEA state, or
organisations established in an EEA state, that use or wish to use a
relevant service.
The services that are subject to the POS Regulations are broadly defined to
include any economic activity that is normally provided for remuneration. As
a result, the POS Regulations will apply to most service sectors, including:
* B2B services such as consultancy and professional services,
marketing, advertising, and commercial agents;
* B2B and B2C services such as architects, catering services, estate
agents, financial advisers and distributive trades; and
* B2C services such as tourism, restaurants, private schools and
universities, leisure services, plumbers and electricians.
Certain services are expressly excluded from the scope of the POS
Regulations, including financial services, employment contracts, transport
services, healthcare services, and gambling activities.
Information provision requirements
Service providers operating in the UK are required to make certain
information available to their customers, in accordance with the
requirements set out in Part 2 of the POS Regulations, regardless of where
they are based or established. In practice, this obligation is likely to
have a minimal impact on most UK service providers, as they are already
subject to information requirements under other legislation, such as the
Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations, the Distance Selling
Regulations and the E-Commerce Regulations. Some trade and professional
associations also impose specific requirements.
Information to be made available
Regulation 8(1) of the POS Regulations requires the following information be
made available to all customers:
* Contact details, including a postal or email address or fax number,
a telephone number, and the service provider's official address;
* Name;
* Legal status and form;
* Geographic address of where the service provider is established;
* Contact details for rapid and direct communication;
* Details of any registration on a public register;
* Details of any authorisation scheme to which the service provided is
subject;
* VAT number;
* Details of any professional title granted, if carrying on a
regulated profession;
* General terms and conditions;
* Any contractual terms, if any, regarding the governing law
applicable to the contract;
* The existence of any after-sales guarantee that is not legally
required;
* The price of the service;
* The main features of the service; and
* Any professional liability insurance or guarantee the service
provider is required to hold.
Information to be provided upon request
In addition to the above, if a customer so requests, service providers are
required to provide the following information: the price of the service, or
an estimate of the price, or at least details of the method to be used for
calculating the price; a reference to any professional rules applicable in
the EEA state in which the service provider is established; information
about any other activities the service provider carries out which are
directly linked to the service in question, and any steps taken to avoid a
conflict of interests; and any codes of conduct to which the service
provider is subject.
Method and timing of provision of information
The POS Regulations give service providers a choice of four methods for
making this information available to the customer: on the service provider's
own initiative; easily available where the service is provided or the
contract is concluded; easily available electronically; or in any
information document which includes a detailed description of the services.
All the above information should be considered as pre-contractual or
pre-service commencement information. The service provider should therefore
make it available, or provide it if asked, in good time before signing the
contract or, if there is no written contract, in good time before the
service is provided.
Complaints handling requirements
All service providers operating in the UK must comply with the complaints
handling requirements set out in Part 2 of the POS Regulations, irrespective
of where the service provider is based or established. Under Regulation 12,
a service provider must respond to a complaint from a customer as "quickly
as possible". Since complaints can vary in complexity and seriousness, there
is no set time limit or definition in the POS Regulations. The Department
for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has provided guidance on this
point, saying that factors to be considered when establishing what might
constitute 'as quickly as possible' would include the means and ease by
which the customer can be contacted; the nature and complexity of the
specific case; the availability of the customer; whether information is
needed from a third party; and any language issues.
In addition to the above, service providers are subject to a requirement to
use their "best efforts" to resolve the complaint in a way in which the
customer could reasonably be expected to be satisfied. It should be noted
that this obligation does not apply to vexatious complaints - complaints
that are clearly unsubstantiated or malicious, not those that are merely
annoying or inconvenient.
Prohibition on discrimination
Under Part 5 of the POS Regulations, all service providers operating in the
UK who are based in the UK or another EEA state must comply with the
obligation not to discriminate, in their general conditions of supply,
against customers who are individuals because of their place of residence.
Discrimination in this sense would include offering the services on
different terms, providing a different service, or refusing to provide a
service.
This prohibition will not apply if the service provider can show that the
difference in general conditions is directly justified by objective
criteria. There is no definitive list of objective criteria, since these
will vary from service provider to service provider, and from service to
service, but examples of such objective criteria include: lack of adequate
IP protection; additional costs; additional risks due to different rules in
EEA states; and changing market conditions.
These objective criteria can be used as a basis for an outright refusal to
provide a service. However, such a blanket refusal will be more difficult to
justify than any refusal or adaptation on a case-by-case basis. In order to
justify an outright refusal, a service provider must be sure that providing
the service to the relevant location would put "excessive strain" on the
business.
Enforcement
When a breach of the POS Regulations by a service provider harms the
collective interests of all consumers, an enforcement body (such as the
Office of Fair Trading) will have the right to take action under the
Enterprise Act 2002. However, individual consumers cannot bring complaints
or actions under the Enterprise Act and will need to seek redress for any
breach of the POS Regulations through the court.
Summary
Many service providers will already fulfil all or most of the information
provision obligations imposed by the POS Regulations, as they will be
subject to similar requirements under other legislation. Where a conflict
arises between the POS Regulations and any other EU legislation, the other
legislation will take precedence. It is therefore unlikely that the POS
Regulations will cause any major changes or problems for UK service
providers, but it is nonetheless advisable for businesses to undertake a
review of their processes to ensure compliance with the information
provision, complaints handling and non-discrimination requirements of this
new legislation.
