spain

we all know that the banks here can be a rip off

anyway, checking my accounts yesterday and realised that so far this year I have paid just over 100€ in charges - thats just "maintenance" fees

so I emailed the bank (Barclays - apparently nothing to do with UK Barclays) and asked how I close my account as I was going to move to another bank with less or even no charges. Low and behold they emailed back and said they could take off 66€ straight away and if I got anymore to let them know and they will make a refund

So today Im going to email again and say I have found a bank with no annual fee or charges for "maintenance" see if they refund the rest......watch this space

Had the same thing with Banesto a few years ago and had the whole lot refunded in the end

EsuriJohn

Hi Spain,

There is such a bank if you are retired Grupo Banco Popular have just such an account if you pay your pension in direct they do not charge any fees and it has lots of useful bits for expat pensioners.

Regards,

John

spain

no Im not retired few years away yet

Mitzyboy

I guess theres two sides to this arguement. For instance in the UK I had an account with RBS and paid £10 a month .... but that entitled me to free travel insurance and a few other things.

In Spain I was screwed royally by Banco de Valencia on fees for money paid in, which i really do object to.

At Solbank I guess I pay about the same as you mentioned Spain, in credit card charge and annual maintenance fee.

But I guess the big question is, as with everything else, you are getting a service so why shouldn't you pay for it ....... Mmmmm

montgomail

I am with SolBank and have been meaning to check mine as I know it will be similar!

PS Off topic. Keep an eye on the "Happy Birthday Lynn" thread as there may be a NCBlanca meet this weekend.

Responding to Spain but Mitzy posted simultaneously.

spain

yes agree there, the same Barclays wanted to charge me 1000 euros to pay in money from a house sale here and draw it out same day in fact at the same time !!!! after some "negotiating" I got it down to 200€ but even then its a rip off

lmj50

Hi all,
I have seen this comment a few times about Barclays ES being "nothing to do with Barclays in the UK".
Well it is part of the global group Barclays bank. So Barclays France is "nothing to do with UK" as is Barclays South Africa etc..
They are run as different companies but still use the brand name.However you can use internet banking for your UK account and ES account, and the website plays on the connection.

The fees I have seen mentioned are ridiculous so I would speak to them and complain.

Also there are many banks that offer free banking both in UK and ES, and yes some you will pay a charge for services, or there will be a minimum amount required to be paid in per month.
e.g. Alliance & Leicester free travel insurance, Lloyds TSB in UK for example.
Cajasur and Banco popular in ES are free as far as I am aware since I have had no fees on my accounts.
Regards,

LMJ

scampicat

We have never had any fees applied to our account at Caja Granada.

However, we have only recently found out that it is a non-resident's account (although the statements all come to our house here in Spain). We opened it when we were non-resident. There is only ever at the most around £3k euros in it as we transfer money from England periodically.

I believe we should change it, but will there suddenly be any charges? If there are, we'll leave it. As long as we do not go into our own branch, we are OK!

EsuriJohn

Hi Mitzyboy,

I am with Banco Andalucia but not yet entitled to the retirees account but Kath is, we have been treated well so far but all the branch staff have just changed and (lo & behold) small charges have begun to appear. I shall ask for a refund at our next visit in December and look at changing to a retired account for Kath who has a state pension.

I am thinking of opening an account with Solbank with fixed fees of €18/qtr and using it as our main account in Spain from next October when we move over, Do you think this is a good plan?

Regards,

John.
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Mitzyboy

Solbank are really helpful when you have problems .... I don't mind paying the service fees because you do get something for it ...

I wouldn't use a bank over here unless it had contracted fixed fees, and solbank does

Econ

Many banks here have a set fee for various transactions as I am sure they still do in the UK, the main one I use has but I have found if you talk to your bank manager or sub manager these can generally be reduced or eliminated, at least that's what I have found anyway and it doesn't hurt to ask.

Some charge you through the nose while they also make a lot from your money, is it any wonder Banks are some of the richest companies around! Banks have been paying between 1 and 1.5 million for 100 to 150 M2 locals all over the country, more than several new locals have been opened in Fuengirola within the last 2 years alone and I know over 1 million was paid for at least 5 of these small locals, granted not all by the same company but this is one town!

lic

BANCO HALIFAX do not charge; as long as you have a minimum 600e in the account.

Mitzyboy

What rate of interest do they pay on the €600?

lic

I am a none resident, so they would not pay me interest.
I do not know how much they would pay to a resident.#
Transefers between the UK and Spain area also free if you use a Halifax account, but I do not know the exchange rate. A mate of mine used them and said that the rate was good, but I'm sure it depends on the market at the time.

LittleWeed

I´m just moving from Solbank to a small local bank (RuralCaja). The staff in the branch (Oliva) are always helpful but their charges have risen a lot over the last few years and to me now look expensive.