avoncliffe wrote:
We to were "cond" by the agent we brought through in much the same way and would like out as they have stopped incoming payments WITHOUT any warning.
Is there a Spain equivalent to the SWITCH system operated by UK banks as I have now to pay Spanish DD from UK which is expensive.
When I complained all they said was "You have to come in and talk to us" Did not understand there phrase "We are currently in UK" - anyone know ?
Really Really poor Customer Service#
TIA
Geoff
This is because, every two years, it is a ECB ruling that everyone with an account should validate and confirm their identity. This is for everyone, residents and non-residents, Spanish and foreign and, yes, a right pain in the butt.
Our bank, Bankia, has a system where non-residents are sent an email about this and will accept a reply by email to stop your account being blocked but you have to attend the bank next time you are in Spain. Residents have to attend their branch with a photo ID.
It won't matter what bank you go with, all banks must now do this although some seem a bit more casual about it than others. The really annoying thing is that you don't get notification before you have to do this. Mine was simply blocked and my wife got a phone call to update her account at the branch but the account had already been blocked.
If you want to change accounts, the bank you are with should provide you with a printout of all the payments you make (DD etc) with the reference numbers. You can take this to your new bank and they will use the references to start the payments. Of course, anything you don't do on direct debit you would have to notify the payee of the new IBAN and BIC.