Banking fees

[Sam F.]

I use to be in Caixa Catalunya bank - in ALicante. It was swallowed by BBVA, and now in Gran Alacant. However, I have not been impressed, all information they send me, even in letters by snail mail is only in Spanish, and latest they took some 60 euro from my account, calling it "Settlement of interest-commisions-cost" on the account statement. (at least english - but no idea what it covers), but will ask them next time I come down. ANYWAY - if I decide to change to another bank, what can You all recommend? I HATE fees, especially when transferring money from home up north to Spain, and other fees like for credit cards, account statements etc. Any suggestions?

[John H]

From my limited experience if you arn’t a resident you will have a problem waiving all fees, however if you have a Spanish mortgage to pay or spend a few euros on your visits Sabadells expansion account may be suitable
I attach the details

Regards all

John


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[Tony Gillam]

My Spanish a/c was with BBVA. They are very partial to fees for anything that moves and even for stuff that doesn't. I used to run mine in a way to minimise it as far as possible but was unable to eliminate it.

[Sam F.]

Anyone here using Deutsche bank?

[Blue and white stripes]

I've been with BBVA for 18 years and I don't like fees either but I've never had a problem with them in all the time I've been with them so have never changed.
Part of the problem is we all get free banking in England. I remember having to pay bank charges on my old Midland account in England just for having one.

[Aficionado]

Anyone here using Deutsche bank?

Yes - been with them for 10 years now, always found them to be very helpful. Contact Jorge Ortega in the Plaza Mayor branch for info.

[Spurs]

I’ve been with Deutche bank 18 years always been good but the fees do keep coming

[Michael]

I've been with Deutche Bank for 15 years.  I find them to be very good as well.  I've always found them to be helpful, there's always someone in the bank who speaks good english, and the online banking facility is good too. 

[Tony Gillam]

As a retail banker in a previous life, I would agree that there is no "free" banking anymore than a solicitor or plumber will work for nothing. However, I found the level of charging for some banking services bordering on the "stand and deliver" scale.

[sunseekers]

Sabadell expansion account under the terms shown by John, no fees.

[johnm]

 I was moved from Cam bank when it floundred  ,where I paid 35 euros a year fees + 15 euros for a debit card, to Sabadel Cam where the charges have steadily increased to a whopping 210Euros ( this did include 60 euros for the non resident certification) and the rest was for administering 6 direct debits!The charges were shown in the latest " certificate of transparency" which they now issue every year.
 I was originally with BBVA (Gran Alacant) and transfered to Cam because of the ridiculous amount of queing time at BBVA ,20 people and one teller!!!.
However, BBVA are are now offering an on line account with no fees or administration charges and a free debit card !
Has any body tried this yet?
I am making an appointment at BBVA when I `m back in Gran Alacant tomorrow.,so I`ll see how it goes.

Also, I understand that the bi annual charges for non resident confirmation which all Spanish Banks are compelled to supply to the authorities can be negated by supplying the bank with a certificate of non residency available on production of documentation at any police station.Quite how they achieve this I don`t know.
Has anybody any info on this?

[BeachLife]

Hi John - I can fully understand why you left BBVA back in the day. But I have stuff stuck with them (despite the queues). I don’t need to actually go and join the line to see Mr Misery much - how he must love his job. You can do lots of stuff at the ATM as it has a barcode scanner so you can pay any bills such as SUMA charges without joining the line. The BBVA app on my i-Phone is pretty good, easy to access, in English and quite intuitive.
None of them (the banks) are great but BBVA seems to work OK for me.


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[Spurs]

Often seen people paying bills in the machine while in the queue to pay my bin tax bill in there do you need a BBVA card or can I use a Duetche bank card in that machine to pay it ?