Avatel Ends Espic Customer Service Contract Over Performance Failures

Avatel, the Spanish telecom operator backed by Andorran capital, has terminated its customer service contract with Espic, citing persistent shortfalls in performance that harmed client satisfaction.

The decision, approved by Avatel's management committee in March, stems from declining telephone response rates and growing customer frustration. Over recent months, Espic's metrics consistently missed contractual benchmarks, including excessive wait times, high rates of unanswered calls, and spikes in complaints over delays, first-contact resolutions, and staff interactions. Avatel repeatedly flagged these issues and demanded corrective action, but Espic's proposed plans yielded no measurable improvements, prompting the operator to end the agreement.

Espic, the commercial name for Andorrana de Serveis d’Atenció al Client (ANSEAC)—formerly 50% owned by Avatel and 50% by Andorra Telecom—declined to comment. Sources close to the matter suggest the quality drop accelerated after Avatel exited its stake in late 2024 amid ownership changes at the operator. Those shifts involved departing executives like Ignacio Aguirre, an influx of capital from investment fund Inveready (led by former MásMóvil strategist Josep Maria Echarri), and pressure from outgoing partners to retain control of the call centre. High staff turnover at Espic—averaging two to three months per employee—exacerbated delays, with half of incoming calls reportedly going unanswered from September onward, contributing to client losses.

Avatel has launched an immediate transition to new specialised partners and advanced tools, including AI-driven systems to boost first-call resolutions and cut wait times. This fits into a broader digital overhaul positioning the company as a telecom leader in customer experience.

The operator, now 50.1% owned by Andorran firm Vaiia Kapital (linked to Encamp engineer Víctor Rodríguez) and 49.9% by Inveready, faces separate headwinds. Spain's CNMC fined it €1.19 million and €1.81 million last year for inadequate subscriber data handling. A proposed merger with Catalan rival Parlem collapsed over valuation disputes, and an ERE redundancy plan cut 290 jobs—about a quarter of staff. Sources deny financial distress, attributing workforce reductions from 2,200 to 1,800 to strategic refocusing, while subsidy returns for incomplete rural broadband rollouts are standard practice tied to deployment shortfalls.