Press room

Most common enquiries

• Is it possible to make enquiries?

  Yes, as long as these are questions about generic issues relating to banking products or services.

  Enquiries about specific operations with a specific institution cannot be resolved, and no claims in respect of such operations shall be accepted.

  Answers are intended solely as guidance for the person making the enquiry and are given on the basis of the information provided and are not binding on the Claims Service in the event that a decision is subsequently issued regarding a filed claim based on the specific enquiry.

  Enquiries may be presented either online or by post, and must include:

  • Name and surname(s) or company name, DNI or CIF, address for notification purposes and e-mail address where relevant.
  • The enquiry, in writing, presented in a clear and simple way.

  Enquiries are also possible by telephone.

• Is it possible to make a claim against an institution in another country?

  In general, the Claims Service only deals with claims against institutions operating within Spain.

  If the financial service that the claim is being made about was provided outside Spain, the claimant should apply to the body that is equivalent to the Claims Service in the country in question, should such a service exist (customer protection systems vary from country to country).

  You may look at the website of the FIN-NET network to find out whether there is an extra-judicial claims body that may have authority in your case.

  Another option is to send the claim to the Claims Service, which will let you know whether or not there is a competent body to which it can send your claim, following authorisation from you.

• Is the interest rate review carried out by my institution correct?

  To be able to know for sure whether the interest rate review carried out by an institution has been done correctly, it is necessary to consult the contents of the clause on interest rate review stipulated in the contract.

  This clause will set out the time at which this review must be made and the date of publication of the applicable reference rate that the institution must use.

  The reference rates are applicable only after the corresponding resolutions have been published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), which normally happens a few days after these are disseminated by the Banco de España.

  The Banco de España has decided to bring forward the publication of the EURIBOR index, which is used as the main reference for setting the interest rates for mortgages granted by Spanish credit institutions, to the start of each month.

• Are institutions allowed to charge commissions that are not contained in the account contract?

  Yes.

  In relations that are for an unlimited period, institutions may charge commissions even if these have not been agreed in the contract, as long as the customer has been given sufficient advance warning about the new conditions.

  Information must be given about the maximum charges that can be applied to customers for regular services offered to them. The commissions must be registered with the Banco de España.

  More information is available on page 83 and the following pages of the Claims Service's 2007 explanatory notes.

• What are the requirements for obtaining Government aid for paying mortgages?

  The latest aid measures approved for mortgage payments are contained in Royal Decree 1975/2008:

  "Article 5. Conditions for obtaining aid.
  1. Mortgage debtors, as referred to in Article 3 of this Royal Decree, must have been in one of the following situations prior to 1 January 2010 in order to be able to benefit from the measures included in this chapter:

  1. Workers who are legally unemployed, and have been in this situation for at least three months immediately prior to the application being made, and have a right to contributory or non-contributory unemployment benefits.
  2. Self-employed workers who have been obliged to cease their economic activity over a period of at least three months.
  3. Self-employed workers with certified total income less than three times the monthly amount of the Public Multi-purpose Income Indicator (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples) over a period of at least three months.
  4. Pensioners widowed after the mortgage was agreed, and in all cases after 1 September 2008.

  Article 3 of Chapter II, Moratoria on mortgage payments, states that: "The application of these measures will, in all circumstances, require the prior agreement of the claimant and the creditor institution".

• Is it compulsory to buy insurance from a financial institution when signing up for a mortgage?

  In general, there is no regulation requiring the signing of any kind of insurance contract when taking out a mortgage or when subrogating a pre-existing one.

  However, it is common practice for an institution, before granting a loan, to require the borrower to fulfil one or several additional requirements (such as having their salary paid into the account, buying a pension plan, taking out one of several specific kinds of insurance policy, etc.).

  It is therefore important to check whether or not the obligation to take out any such insurance policy is contained in the contractual conditions, and if this is the case, the exact terms governing it.

  Likewise, the borrower should also find out whether it is possible to change insurance provider at a future date. Even if there is a contractual requirement to maintain insurance over the lifetime of the loan, there is no reason for this not giving the borrower the option of changing insurer. This normally requires the lender to agree to the new company taking over the insurance.

  In all cases, once the operation has been formalised, the obligations of the parties shall be governed by the clauses and conditions signed in the corresponding contractual documents.

• Are institutions obliged to send their customers bank statements to show the operations they have carried out?

  The regulations governing the obligation to send customers regular statements is contained in Annex VI of the Banco de España Circular 8/1990 of 7 September 1990, which states the minimum contents these must indicate (date of movement, the concept of the transaction, symbol, value date, balance of the previous statement and final balance), and additionally that no charges are to be applied if the statement is sent out monthly or less than once or month.

  In any case, although institutions are not obliged to send out general information or communications about movements and operations over long time periods, statements or duplicate statements specifically requested by customers must be provided to them in the interests of clarity and transparency, with the set fee for such services being charged.