- Please visit our social media pages
A question that pops up frequently, whether banks are allowed to charge commission on bank accounts that are used exclusively for payment of mortgage or other kinds of loans.
FACUA-Consumers in Action have denounced 10 banks for charging commissions for services that have not been solicited nor explicitly approved by the accountholder.
The banks that have been denounced are Santander, BBVA, La Caixa, Bankia, Banco Popular, Bankinter, Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN), Liberbank, Caixa Ontinyent and NGC Banco (Abanca).
The legal justification for the denuncia can be found in Law 10/2014, of June 26th, article 5 that states that “sólo podrán percibirse comisiones o repercutirse gastos por servicios solicitados en firme o aceptados expresamente por un cliente y siempre que respondan a servicios efectivamente prestados o gastos habidos que puedan acreditarse”. Translation: Commissions may only be received or expenses charged for services firmly requested or expressly accepted by a client and provided that they respond to services actually provided or expenses incurred that can be accredited.
Moreover, the Bank of Spain has included in their 2012 Report on Reclamation Services, that account holders of accounts that are only opened and used for the payment of interest on a deposit or a mortgage loan, should not be charged any commission, not for maintenance, nor administration.
FACUA further argues that these charges stem from an abusive clause, prohibited under the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users, referring to article 62.2 of that law.
The often quoted obligation to take out debit cards on such an account, is considered abusive as well, falling under art. 87.5 that deals with charging for products or services that in effect have not been used or consumed.
We strongly suggest that each one of our members review their mortgage contracts and also check all charges associated with these accounts as soon as possible.
