spainrico

Has anyone else been hit with huge bank charges with absolutely no notice or warning from them?

And if so what did you do?

I thought pensioners got free banking - or has that changed?

Joppa

Not specifically about Sabadell, but with almost all banks. Charges keep going up and are levied arbitrarily. I am opening an online account with Spanish IBAN, which is free.

stevesainty

If you have an expansion account with Sabadell and you pay in at least 700 euros per month and
1. the 700 euroes in part includes a pension deposit or
2. you have taken out an insurance policy with Sabadell or
3. you have an investment/ savings plan with Sabadell

then you have free banking, otherwise not.

All banks have been losing money because of the dire straits of the investment markets and they need to reduce costs and increase revenues where they can. Expats who are used to free banking in UK are easy targets.

del.Almendro

If you're UK resident just get a Halifax Clarity credit card and pay all your bills in Euros from the UK.

We dumped our Spanish bank yonks ago and have had no problems.

I guess you have to have a Spanish bank account to service a mortgage, or if you are ES resident.

spainrico

Thank you but I am not UK resident.

Regarding online banks the reviews online for ING are atrocious.

I will go and see Sabadell next week and see what I can negotiate.

stevesainty

If you want a totally free bank that is comparable with both UK an Spanish Market then you need a totally online bank. We have a borderless account with Transferwise which allows you to deposit funds in Sterling, Euros and US dollars. You can convert your deposits into the other currencies and still keep them in your Transferwise wrapper. When you need to transfer euros into your Spanish account it costs you 63 centimos per transfer regardless of the amount transferred. The only other charges are the currency transfers which are transparent and you know exactly how much you will receive in the target currency before you accept. A borderless account will also allow transfers from UK accounts or pension providers with a UK IBAN number/sort code and account number and also direct debits/standing orders/ direct payments into Spanish Bank accounts/ businesses using a Belgian IBAN which is acceptable in Spain ( if you are insistent).

spainrico

Thanks Steve, this is really interesting and I already use them for transfers UK>Spain.

Sorry can I clarify - 'When you need to transfer euros into your Spanish account...' You mean the Euros account part of the Transfer wise or say Sabadell??

Just trying to get my head around it!

Lynn R

What charges have you had? If it a charge of €15 per quarter, Sabadell did actually give notice of this charge being introduced before the end of last year (I started a thread at the time to give people a heads up about it).

Sabadell Expansion Account -Introduction of Monthly Charge

I have an Expansion Account with them and transfer at least €700 per month into it, but as I don't have a directly deposited pension at the moment nor an insurance product or investment account with them, I have to pay this charge. When I start to receive my UK state pension in 2022, I'll be able to have that paid directly to my Sabadell account so should not have to pay the charge any longer (assuming the rules stay the same, that is, everything could well change again before then).

stevesainty

The Euro part of your borderless account. Bearing in mind that we receive free banking from Sabadell. You can use a Transferwise Borderless account, independent of any Spanish bank account, if your Direct Debits/ standing orders are accepted using a Belgian IBAN number (which is totally acceptable throughout Europe) .

spainrico

Thanks Steve this is well worth looking at.

Lynn - 81,20€ for 3 months after never paying a cent before and what really hacks me off (been a customer for 20 years) no prior discussion, not even a letter!

Lynn R

No idea what that could be for, then - obviously you need an explanation from them as to what it's for, which I'm sure you'll be asking for! Good luck.

I just checked my account and the normal €15 charge was debited about a week ago, no other charges have showed up.

spainrico

Looks like the 15€ charge - more than once and Entry fees (??) at 64 x 80 cents...

Been a bad week for banking following last Mondays news about UK banks withdrawing expat accounts!!

Barriej

I have a Santander 123 free account, non resident.
But for it to be free you have to pay in 700 a month and use the card at least 3 times a month for a couple of months and then the 12 euro a month fee is waived.
The nice lady in our branch said to pay into one account and then move the money to the other one a week later. As long as you put, pension, wages etc as the reason the computer doesn't care and it stops the charge.

As to the banking thing, its geared around credit cards. I've spoken to the Nationwide and they stated bank accounts with debit cards will not change.
Even if they do all they should be doing is giving you a non residence account just like the one I have in spain (until our residency is sorted) and the account I have with Barclays in Barbados that I've had since 1983.
And which all UK banks offer anyway.

Moses2013

Currently paying €30 quarterly with Sabadell but non resident and needed account because of mortgage.

Pulaski

A Transferwise bordeless account can certainly be very useful but I wouldn't keep much of a balance in such an account because Transferwise isn't a bank, and in the event that they went bust you could end up losing some of your deposit, I know that Transferwise says that they have the underlying "real" bank accounts that they use, set up in such a way as to to protect customers from this happening, but in reality banks, and businesses can and do fail, and can leave a mess behind for their customers. "Real" banks in the European Onion are required to have deposit insurance to protect their customers, with a minimum of €100,000 (or equivalent value) protected 100% if the bank fails, but with Transferwise not actually being a bank, this wouldn't apply AFAIK.