Changing banks - Page 2

I think all banks in Spain charge if you don’t pay in a regular monthly amount of €600 plus, I’m charged €30 a quarter by Sabadell which I don’t think is bad, and their banking app is excellent. 

Thank you all for comments think I will stay with Sabadell 

Hi I have moved from Sabadell to Bankinter without a fuss. Got a list of DDs and most were moved others just notified of new account details. Chargers are less than Sabadell and service better.

I did bank with Lloyds/TSB/Halifax but when they were taken over by Sabadell I was told I had to upgrade my account. Bank manager lied to me, got charged for 2nd set of cards although I was told they were free. Promised refunds, phone calls just excuses and lies.

Bankinter staff are much more pleasant all be it less convenient as I am in Campoverde and my bank is in La Florida. 

Been with Bankinter in Playa Flamenca for 14 years.   No problems.   Always very helpful, wish I could say UK banks were as good.  Asim Dastigir in particular is excellent.

Been with Bankinter for 18 years. When we bought our property they saved us a bomb by suggesting we use a different transaction process as the one we had planned. Always someone who speaks English available and their on-line web site works very well. Peter

Sabadell closed my account because they realised they hadn't had a copy of my passport for 9 years. They never requested a copy, just closed the account without telling me. This meant that several bills usually paid by direct debit weren't paid and because I only used the account to pay bills I wasn't alerted until a top-up payment bounced back. They were rude and most unhelpful and because I was in the UK over the winter I had to sweat for the following 3 months until I returned to Spain to resolve. Even getting my money out of the cancelled account was a nightmare and I would never use them again. Deutsche Bank on the other hand were brilliant and their banking app is easy to use. 

Is there a branch of Bankinter in Torrevieja ? how much do they charge to handle Direct debits, etc - I think I'm paying Sabadell 30euros per quarter  for the Account I currently have - which is 120e per annum for doing nothing!

Also does Bankinter have the same banking hours as the rest of the Monetary institutions in Spain?  I'd love a bank that just different! 

I know of 2 the first in Playa Flamenco and the 2nd in Quasada but I am sure there are more, the opening hours are much the same as everywhere else. We changed and decided to ditch a debit card and pay around E55p/a. We still have the non residents tax to pay every 2 years.

All Spanish banks have charges. There's no such thing in Spain as free banking - However certain accounts if you pay in a certain amount like your pay or a pension can be free to use.

We have been with 4 banks (2 closed down) and been with  Sabadell for about 4 years and they have been the best that we have found. The charge per month is much better than some banks who can charge for  each transaction like getting cash out of machines etc. (they also have accounts to choose from with no charges if you pay a lump sum in monthly)

Sabadell also have brilliant online banking , very easy to use and they are easily contacted by email and Twitter for any account queries. (In  English too) 

We were with Bankinter in the early days (years ago) and put a small lump sum in there to open the account while we were waiting to have our house built and without us using the account at all we were shocked to find our money was disappearing in random charges. TBH we were unfamiliar with Spanish banking then admittidly,  but we were totally shocked and withdrew the bit of dwindling cash left in there next time we were in Spain and opened another account.

I'm sure most banks are better now as they have to compete with eachother but never had any problems with Sabadell.

I think the issue of charges in Spanish banking comes to the fore when you are a non resident. I use my account to pay around 24 direct debits per year, it has increased since electricity is now charged monthly. Paying E120 per year or E5 per direct debit tended to stick in my throat with Sabadel even more so when we had issues.

If you are resident the accounts on offer from all banks are far superior with lower charges.

Its a case of everyone working out whats best for themselves as each branch of the same bank seems to offer differing levels of service.