New Bank Charges?

[concorde]

Just received my statement from La Caixa this morning (U.K.)

I joked a while ago that they have started charging for international postage at 58c and that was to pay for their sponsorship at our Xmas party where they sponsored a free bar from 8pm-1am

Therefore I was somewhat miffed to find they have slammed a charge of 30euros on for 'Deposit Maintenence Commission'

We don't keep a lot in, and only have electricity and water on standing charge.

This is a first and I will be questioning this when we are over next week.

Has anyone had this from La Caixa or other banks?

Ps. Just gone back through statements on line, apparently there was a charge last year for said above of 12.52e, but this latest one is a huge increase on a lesser balance?

[safeashouses]

We have always banked with La Caixa (23 years - inc. 'it's' previous guise as Banco de Jerez) and have always paid a maintenance charge. Going back on statements to 2002 it has always been €14.42 twice a year. They pay us a very small amount of interest, like you we don't have much in the account just enough to cover utility bills etc.

We now check our account on-line to avoid postage charges, we had to sign something in the bank to confirm no correspondence required. They set us up with an access code and gave us a lesson on how to do it.

[andymc]

im with banco popular, could anyone give a brief outline of what costs i should pay over the year as a non spanish resident, no standing orders coming off and keep my balance between 10 euros and 1000 euros.
I seem to be charged quite often

[concorde]

I can stop the correspondence and just check on-line, I also get charged 12 euro for a card, we had 2 but I cancelled one, and don't mind paying for that. what I do object to is them putting up the cost of maintenance commission and not informing me as to why.
We get charged for this once a year on 16 December and I think a hike from 12euros to 30 is too much, so I'll want to know why.

[Jool]

Spain is not exactly renowned for its communication skills nor for its forward planning or thinking. If you are not satisfied do mention the complaints book to them...........their reply will probably be that they sent you a letter in the post or that they posted the charges somewhere and you would be expected to know both these things!! Personally I would argue that as you are an internet customer then you would expect an e-mail or a secure message on their website at the very least.............and cynic that I am lets not forget banks lost a lot of money last year and need to get it back somehow.....

IMO the banks hide behind the inefficiency of the spanish postal service. We have NEVER received a utility bill before the payment left our bank for instance.........

[karandjon]

I have found that the same Bank in different towns can charge different amounts for the same things!!

The trick is to go to a few Banks in your local town and ask them to write down what charges you would expect each year. Also show them the info from another bank, if the previous bank has quoted lower. Banks have the power to charge basically what they like!

We changed Banks 3 times until we did this, eventually finding one that charges us €7 a year for debit card and €3 a year for account maintenance.

[concorde]

That sounds like good advice karandjon, it wasn't even my choice to join La Caixa but did like their on-line banking.


My Spanish is not really up to speed to argue the toss however, if I just keep repeating 'demasiado' or such like they may get the message.
They did have a fluent English staff member who got moved, however they now advertise they have English and French speakers.

I also know the French for 'too much' as well!

[alisonb]

We bank with Cajamar, and have never been charged anything for routine transactions, even when we weren't living here. The only time we had to pay anything was when we got a cheque from them to buy the car, and I think they charged about 11 euros for a 10,000 euro cheque. Other than that, we haven't paid a penny. They don't pay any interest to speak of, but if you are resident, you can get an account which pays 3%, plus a small amount (credit) for direct debits and pensions etc. Their online banking is available in English.

[jane grant]

Santander dont charge anything!

[karandjon]

jane grant wrote: Santander dont charge anything!



This is a prime example of different branches of the same Bank charging differently. Out of the 3 different spanish Bank accounts we´ve had, Banco Santander has charged us the most, by far!!!

Like I said, the best bet is to go to your 3 nearest and compare!!!

[katy]

The Caja banks are the least expensive. Solbank seems to have some of the highest charges, they are efficient though so I keep an account there for all standing orders. If you think you are being overcharged you can complain to Ausbanc the official banking consumer organisation, they have a website.

[hybridanglo]

...Solbank seems to have some of the highest charges, they are efficient though so I keep an account there for all standingvorders.

When we opened an account with Solbank, we were advised that for 7 Euros a month (for a couple), as long as we remained in credit, the usual maintenance/transaction charges would not apply. Plus we get a huge range of benefits with the account - free international transfers, free withdrawals, translation services, legal guidance etc etc.

Now, the charge might seem high, but having been used to paying £10 a month with Barclays for a similar account, it seems fair enough.

Also, when speaking with a friend in the banking business, she advised that "free banking" of the kind we are used to in Britain, will soon become a thing of the past and customers will be charged per transaction or a monthly fee according to one's requirements.

[j4mes]

jane grant wrote: Santander dont charge anything!



This is a prime example of different branches of the same Bank charging differently. Out of the 3 different spanish Bank accounts we´ve had, Banco Santander has charged us the most, by far!!!

Like I said, the best bet is to go to your 3 nearest and compare!!!

Hmm...My business account is with santander and despite having large sums in there always, the charges are ridiculous.....3 euros every time i do a transfer, so they suggested I use the online banking (and despite them agressively pitching for my (expat) business account they don't offer online banking in english (my prev acc with Cajamar did and was lesser fees)...

anyway, use the spanish online banking and was shocked to find that I was charged between €1.50 and €6.00 per transaction!! i did 7 in one day, so it quickly added up!!!!!!

a swift visit to the manager (with whom i have a good relationship) and the threat of taking the acc back to cajamar, saw him make a call and then tell me that they would now waive all future transaction charges!

[karandjon]

jane grant wrote: Santander dont charge anything!



This is a prime example of different branches of the same Bank charging differently. Out of the 3 different spanish Bank accounts we´ve had, Banco Santander has charged us the most, by far!!!

Like I said, the best bet is to go to your 3 nearest and compare!!!

James - "Hmm...My business account is with santander and despite having large sums in there always, the charges are ridiculous.....3 euros every time i do a transfer, so they suggested I use the online banking (and despite them agressively pitching for my (expat) business account they don't offer online banking in english (my prev acc with Cajamar did and was lesser fees)...

anyway, use the spanish online banking and was shocked to find that I was charged between €1.50 and €6.00 per transaction!! i did 7 in one day, so it quickly added up!!!!!!

a swift visit to the manager (with whom i have a good relationship) and the threat of taking the acc back to cajamar, saw him make a call and then tell me that they would now waive all future transaction charges!"

.....Which is exactly what I said James, so why the "Hmm"?!!