If you have a pay as you go Spanish mobile phone, you are in danger of losing your number. The new Spanish Data Retention Act becomes law as from November 9 th 2009, this requires phone operators to register the personal details of all pay as you go users – if you have a contract, nothing will change.

Text messages have been sent out but many people will have either not understood them or deleted them thinking they are yet more advertising spam. Perhaps the most at risk group are the regular visitors to Spain, that keep a mobile especially for their trips, these may be laying in a draw in the UK awaiting their next switch on – but by then it may be too late.

If you are in Spain, just pop into one of your networks shops and show your passport or residencia details-no later than 8th November. If you are in the UK, you can get someone to do this for you, give them your details, address phone number etc, and a copy of your passport inside back page. Don’t expect the shop staff to roll out the red carpet for you, the service is FREE and just more unpaid work for them. Anyway, must go I think that’s the phone ringing.