Latest news with #Arcep
Local France
4 days ago
- Business
- Local France
Cost of a stamp in France to rise 7.4 percent in 2026
This change is part of the multi-year rate framework decided by regulatory body the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse (Arcep), and is intended to 'ensure the sustainability of the universal postal service with high quality in a context of continuing decline in mail volumes.' The cost of posting letters and parcels will increase by an average of 7.4 percent from January 1st, 2026, while rates for Colissimo parcels sent by individuals will increase by an average of 3.4 percent for all destinations (France and international). Meanwhile the cost of sending an international letter will rise from €2.10 to €2.25. Advertisement The timbre rouge (red stamp), which guaranteed next-day delivery for letters, was abolished on January 1st, 2023 . It has been replaced by the e-lettre rouge, a digital service that allows urgent mail to be sent, printed, and delivered by La Poste the next day. The lettre services plus service offers projected two-day delivery for letters and small parcels. La Poste's 2026 price increases are highlighted here. Changes in postage costs in France 2025 2026 Lettre verte €1.39 €1.52 Lettre services plus €3.15 €3.47 e-lettre rouge €1.49 €1.60 Lettre recommandée (up to 20g) €5.74 €6.11 Lettre internationale (up to 20g) €2.10 €2.25 Sticker « suivi » €0.50 €0.50 In 2025, households were expected to spend €28 on annual postage costs, a figure set to fall in 2026 by a forecast 6 percent. Official letters If you need to send letters for official purposes, such as cancelling a gas or electricity contract or sending legal letters, you will usually need to send it by lettre recommandée , or tracked letter. You can also send a lettre recommandée online - La Poste offers an online service which not only sends your letter via a tracked service, it also gives you a model for what to write. Official letters usually require rather formal French, but the La Poste lettre recommendée section gives you several models for common types of letters, so you can just fill in the relevant details like names, dates, places etc. You can find the service HERE .
Local France
27-01-2025
- Business
- Local France
Revealed: The most common French telemarketing phone numbers
France's Assemblée Nationale is currently considering legislation that would drastically reduce telemarketing phone calls. But as the legislation is likely to take some time, here are some steps you can take in the meantime to avoid nuisance calls and telemarketers. Check the number The first and easiest option is to look at the first four numbers of the phone call. Since 2023, France's regulatory authority for electronic communications, Arcep, has required that commercial cold callers use certain phone numbers. If you see a call coming from a number starting with the following four digits, then you can know it is a canvasser or a marketing call; 0162 or 0163 0270 or 0271 0377 or 0378 0424 or 0425 0568 or 0569 0948 or 0949 Sometimes the call might come up as +33. If this is the case, then the "0" at the start will be dropped and it will begin with the number (eg +33 1 62). Check the time There are also rules about when telephone canvassing is allowed. Legally, it is only permitted from Monday to Friday, from 10am to 1pm, and from 2pm to 8pm. The above hours cover marketing calls - people asking if you want to upgrade your phone contract, switch electricity suppliers or buy new windows. They might be annoying, but there is nothing criminal about them. However, if you get a call outside of those legally defined hours, it's more likely to be a scam, RMC reported. Text messages As well as calls, some companies will also send text messages, and simply deleting the message will not stop whoever is at the other end from trying again later. For something more definitive, you can reply to the number - as long as it is a five-digit one beginning with 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 (for example, 36001) with a simple message: STOP. Reputable businesses will respect your instruction to be removed from their database of numbers. Similarly, if you send the word CONTACT to the sender, they should text you their customer service phone number. Both the STOP and CONTACT message will cost you the price of a standard text. Understand the difference between 'spams' and 'scams' Spam refers to unsolicited calls or messages sent to a telephone line or to email address. It may be commercial, like an unsolicited cold call offering to sign up for better internet plan. Meanwhile, a scam would involve an attempt to extract money directly or to steal your personal data. For cold callers and spam messages, you can request they stop contacting you. For phone calls, try signing up for the government programme, Bloctel, which removes your phone number from commercially-available telephone lists for a period of three years. In theory, this means that you should be protected against telephone solicitation with the aim of selling you products or services, but it is not always as effective as it should be. In contrast, scammers would not respect your requests not to be contacted. You can tell a scam message based on whether it asks you to open attachments, send money or enter personal data. Common scams include messages telling you that you owe postage fees before a parcel can be delivered, that you are on your last chance to pay a fine or that your carte vitale needs updating. The difference between scams and genuine messages on these topics is that the scammers will ask you to open a link and type in personal details or bank details. If you are in any doubt at all, ignore the message and login directly to the relevant account (eg Ameli if the message concerns a carte vitale).
