Spanish Bank rip offs.

RiojaDave

As soon as the pandemic lockdown started, my bank in Spain (Bankia) upped its monthly charges to €14 despite doing nothing other than pay 2 monthly DDebitss. It also charges €28 for a card I dont want or use and other miscellaneous charges they cant explain other than "maintenance". So the have drained hundreds of euros from my a/c until it was empty, but didnt tell me. They refuse to do anything (close account, change DDs, cancel card, etc. ) unless I visit my own local bank in Spain in person. Can anyone advise if this is a legal rip off, or just the way totally innefficiemnt Spanish banks work?

eskbanker

You're not the first to complain about high Spanish bank charges but as a UK site, the knowledge of Spanish law and banking regulations on here will be limited, so your best bet will be to visit sites frequented by expats there....

born_again

RiojaDave said:

As soon as the pandemic lockdown started, my bank in Spain (Bankia) upped its monthly charges to €14 despite doing nothing other than pay 2 monthly DDebitss. It also charges €28 for a card I dont want or use and other miscellaneous charges they cant explain other than "maintenance". So the have drained hundreds of euros from my a/c until it was empty, but didnt tell me. They refuse to do anything (close account, change DDs, cancel card, etc. ) unless I visit my own local bank in Spain in person. Can anyone advise if this is a legal rip off, or just the way totally innefficiemnt Spanish banks work?

So do you not monitor the account?

Don't know about Spanish banks but in the UK you would always get 90 days notice of any changes. 
You have not said where you are living at the moment, so if it is the UK you may have a big pile of mail from the bank at your Spanish property.

greyteam1959

Riojadave

I am afraid it's the way Spanish banks work.
They seem to be a law into themselves.
You will have to go into your bank branch in person to close the account.
No way round that unfortunately.
You really need to open a Wise.com euro account & pay your DD's with that account.
No charges, excellent exchange rate & very fast transfers.
If you really want a Spanish bank account open a Cajamar Wefferent account no fees at all.
Snag is as a non resident you will have to go into a branch to do this.

Thrugelmir

Free banking is an almost unique UK model. In other countries banks have a different business model. Where the cost burden is more evenly shared

SpanishBlue

I lived and worked in Spain for 10 years.

They always seemed to dream up new ways to take various amounts from my account.

In those days the amounts were relatively small, but still annoying nonetheless.

It's one of the few downsides of living in Spain I'm afraid.

[Deleted User]

Thrugelmir said:

Free banking is an almost unique UK model. In other countries banks have a different business model. Where the cost burden is more evenly shared

'Free banking' is available elsewhere but usually requires a specific balance, taking other products or mandated salary.

UK features include zero credit interest and sub-prime APR levels for overdrafts (circa 39%) too.

RiojaDave

born_again said:

RiojaDave said:

As soon as the pandemic lockdown started, my bank in Spain (Bankia) upped its monthly charges to €14 despite doing nothing other than pay 2 monthly DDebitss. It also charges €28 for a card I dont want or use and other miscellaneous charges they cant explain other than "maintenance". So the have drained hundreds of euros from my a/c until it was empty, but didnt tell me. They refuse to do anything (close account, change DDs, cancel card, etc. ) unless I visit my own local bank in Spain in person. Can anyone advise if this is a legal rip off, or just the way totally innefficiemnt Spanish banks work?

So do you not monitor the account?

Don't know about Spanish banks but in the UK you would always get 90 days notice of any changes. 
You have not said where you are living at the moment, so if it is the UK you may have a big pile of mail from the bank at your Spanish property.

Didnt monitor the account as had more than enough cash to pay the fees for a year or so (pre lockdown). But they upped the fees without advising and drained the account and didnt even advise when it got low, Mainly because they can then 'fine' you with another huge charge when you go in the red, I have since found out..

pokora

You could try to switch to a basic account that only cost 3€ a month, still a rip off but at least is less.

Also remember Bankia was absorb by Caixabank, so conditions will change and cost will go up in the future.

colsten

Are there no suitable challenger banks in Spain, such as N26? https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/expats/money/n26-bank-account-for-spain-detailed-review.html?

greyteam1959

There is no need to have a Spanish bank account these days.
Just open a Wise.com euro account and use this to pay all your Spanish direct debits.