In Barcelona province, the Provincial Council’s mobile consumer information units, known as UMIC, will visit 70 municipalities in June. The service is aimed at residents in towns that do not have their own municipal consumer office.
All of the municipalities on the schedule have fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and are spread across 11 comarques. The visits include seven towns in Alt Penedès, 11 in Anoia, nine in Bages, five in Baix Llobregat, one in Berguedà, one in Garraf, five in Maresme, three in Moianès, 11 in Osona, five in Vallès Occidental and 12 in Vallès Oriental.
UMIC technical staff provide free advice and support to anyone who approaches the vehicle with questions or complaints. The aim is to help residents exercise their consumer rights locally, even where there is no permanent service in town.
When the mobile units are not in a municipality, residents can still use the Consumer Mailbox. This service offers personalised support by video call, telephone or email, and residents should contact their local town council to request it. For more on local consumer news, see our news coverage.
The UMIC are part of the Provincial Consumer Information Office, or OPIC, programme, run by the Barcelona Provincial Council’s Consumer Policy Support Service. The service sits within the Council’s Department of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Public Health, and it is linked to Sustainable Development Goals 3, Good Health and Well-being, and 12, Responsible Consumption and Production. More information is available on the Barcelona Provincial Council website and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals page.
