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La Caixa on Camposol

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 12:44am
21 replies1003 views7 members subscribed
Michael19

Posts: 73

19 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 1 Oct 2019

Hello,

Is there anyone who is non-resident with a holiday home on Camposol and banks with the local La Caixa bank? The reason I ask is that they have made significant changes to their terms and conditions (mainly in extra charges) which I have only recently discovered. They posted the changes on their website in April 2020, however, presumably due to the pandemic they are not implementing the changes until October 2020. The main changes are detailed below viz:

Starting next October, the Day to Day program will be applied with significant changes in the price of the services we offer you and that affect your contracted accounts.

We remind you that, in order to take advantage of all the free benefits of the Day to Day program, you must:

1. Have your payroll (over € 600) or pension (over € 300) domiciled or have more than € 20,000 in certain products.

2. Have three direct debits or make three card purchases per quarter.

3. Accept the authorization that appears below.

4. If you are unable to fulfil the above you will be charged €60 per quarter.

Seems like daylight robbery to me - any comments??


/

Spanglish

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 2:07am

Spanglish

Helpful member

Posts: 145

83 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 11 Jun 2017

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 2:07am

That bank is like most in Spain 

Shocking !! And expensive!!!

We now use caja rual far less fees but still some. 

Good luck finding a value bank in Spain 

Roland

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:06am

Roland

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 3519

2581 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 23 Feb 2018

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:06am

Michael19

Ludicrous charges that's why I moved my bank account from Bankia bank.

Have a look at the thread on the link below.

You CAN get free banking from among others, Cajamar Bank with their Wefferent account.

I opened an account with them in January.

Free banking

Michael19

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:22pm

Michael19

Original Poster

Posts: 73

19 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 1 Oct 2019

Posted: Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:22pm

Hello,

Following on from my message I posted about La Caixa on Camposol - does anyone know if there is a similar switching service between banks in Spain (which includes utility direct debits etc) as there is in the UK? 

Thanks......

LeginSenoj

Posted: Wed Aug 5, 2020 5:26am

LeginSenoj

Very helpful member

Posts: 578

691 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 29 May 2018

Posted: Wed Aug 5, 2020 5:26am

Hi there, 

We bank with Caixa, initially a non resident account, and now a resident account. It may be worth going to see Paloma, the manager at the Camposol branch. We have found her very helpful in trying to find ways to reduce bank charges.

Good luck

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Roland

Posted: Wed Aug 5, 2020 10:24am

Roland

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 3519

2581 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 23 Feb 2018

Posted: Wed Aug 5, 2020 10:24am

Michael19 wrote on Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:22pm:

Hello,

Following on from my message I posted about La Caixa on Camposol - does anyone know if there is a similar switching service between banks in Spain (which includes utility direct debits etc) as there is in the UK? 

Thanks......

As far as I know there is no similar system to the UK, could be wrong of course.

I asked my solicitor, who has POA, to change all mine for me.

RachelBensonC21EstateAgent

Posted: Thu Aug 6, 2020 10:14am

Posts: 22

18 helpful points

Location: Mazarron

Joined: 1 May 2020

Posted: Thu Aug 6, 2020 10:14am

Michael19 wrote on Tue Aug 4, 2020 10:22pm:

Hello,

Following on from my message I posted about La Caixa on Camposol - does anyone know if there is a similar switching service between banks in Spain (which includes utility direct debits etc) as there is in the UK? 

Thanks......

Hi Michael,

I seems to vary depending on the bank you move to. I moved to Santander last year after 17 years with Sabadell (initially the CAM), a move provoked by the ridiculously high level of fees that they applied when, due to a drastic change of circumstances, I no longer met the minimum income level needed to have free banking. The staff at Santander organised the switching over of my direct debits, but there was one that didn't get picked up somehow, so do make sure that you check things yourself as well, just to make sure. I had to give the Santander a list of the debits, though, so it won't be entirely hassle-free as we are used to with UK banks.

Another thing to be aware of is that banks also seem to continue to allow money to be taken from the account even after you have closed it. I don't see how they can do that, but they do. I've closed my Sabadell account and since had two occasions when they have informed me my account is overdrawn. When I've investigated, it has been because a direct debit was paid even though the account was closed. This was how I discovered a debit that had slipped through the switch-over organised by the bank. Not all payments are regular, so you don't always realise until after the event.

Yet another thing to know - bank branches are more autonomous than we are used to in the UK, so sometimes you can only do things in your own branch. If there are several local branches of the bank you choose, think about the longer term and which one is likely to be the best one for you to have as your 'home' branch. It'll save you hassle in the future!

Good luck!

RichT

Posted: Fri Aug 7, 2020 11:23am

RichT

Super helpful member

Posts: 1134

1259 helpful points

Location: Lorca

Joined: 13 Sep 2019

Posted: Fri Aug 7, 2020 11:23am

Michael19 wrote on Tue Aug 4, 2020 12:44am:

Hello,

Is there anyone who is non-resident with a holiday home on Camposol and banks with the local La Caixa bank? The reason I ask is that they have made significant changes to their terms and conditions (mainly in extra charges) which I have only recently discovered. They posted the changes on their w...

...ebsite in April 2020, however, presumably due to the pandemic they are not implementing the changes until October 2020. The main changes are detailed below viz:

Starting next October, the Day to Day program will be applied with significant changes in the price of the services we offer you and that affect your contracted accounts.

We remind you that, in order to take advantage of all the free benefits of the Day to Day program, you must:

1. Have your payroll (over € 600) or pension (over € 300) domiciled or have more than € 20,000 in certain products.

2. Have three direct debits or make three card purchases per quarter.

3. Accept the authorization that appears below.

4. If you are unable to fulfil the above you will be charged €60 per quarter.

Seems like daylight robbery to me - any comments??


/

'Free' banking is something that we Brits have come to expect, but it's not common in many countries.

The banks expect to pay all their costs and make a profit from a). the interest they charge on loans / mortgages; b). from the investments they make using our deposits; c). the fees they receive from retailers from debit card payments.

Due to competition from online banks that don't have the same historic overheads of branches, staff, etc. and extremely low interest rates, they are unable to make as much money from loans / mortgages as there is less room for margin (however, clearly very low interest rates are good for people with mortgages, etc.); and due to the downturn in the economy due to Covid, they are losing money on investments, so they need to find a way to maintain operating income, let alone profits.

If a customer doesn't provide much money in savings or regular income for them to use to invest, or use their debit card so they receive fees, then they are providing staff, branches, ATMs, etc. at a loss.

I don't have a solution - other than change bank as others have suggested - but 'free' banking is becoming a thing of the past...

Michael19

Posted: Sat Aug 8, 2020 4:20pm

Michael19

Original Poster

Posts: 73

19 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 1 Oct 2019

Posted: Sat Aug 8, 2020 4:20pm

RichT wrote on Fri Aug 7, 2020 11:23am:

'Free' banking is something that we Brits have come to expect, but it's not common in many countries.

The banks expect to pay all their costs and make a profit from a). the interest they charge on loans / mortgages; b). from the investments they make using our deposits; c). the fees they receive from retailers from debit card payments....

...

Due to competition from online banks that don't have the same historic overheads of branches, staff, etc. and extremely low interest rates, they are unable to make as much money from loans / mortgages as there is less room for margin (however, clearly very low interest rates are good for people with mortgages, etc.); and due to the downturn in the economy due to Covid, they are losing money on investments, so they need to find a way to maintain operating income, let alone profits.

If a customer doesn't provide much money in savings or regular income for them to use to invest, or use their debit card so they receive fees, then they are providing staff, branches, ATMs, etc. at a loss.

I don't have a solution - other than change bank as others have suggested - but 'free' banking is becoming a thing of the past...

Thank you for your reply and indeed I can see the point of view from the banks perspective. However, for the amount of banking I do, (almost everything online) with only two utility direct debits and one annual IBI direct debit the proposed charge of €60 per quarter does seem excessive. I have been advised to check out the Cajamar Wefferent account, maybe that's the way forward.....

Michael19

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:23pm

Michael19

Original Poster

Posts: 73

19 helpful points

Location: Camposol

Joined: 1 Oct 2019

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:23pm

Hi Roland and thanks for that, however, I also have a POA with Costa Calida Property Services on Camposol who have advised me that "lots of rules have changed and most Banks will not allow us to open a new account for clients as they wish to have a signature. It is not as easy as it used to be" As a non-resident and due to the current travel restrictions this is impossible at the moment. But thanks for your input.

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