Financial services

what is financial services? 

Financial services refer to a broad range of economic activities provided by financial institutions and organizations. These services include banking, lending, investment, insurance, wealth management, and more. They help individuals, businesses, and governments manage their financial resources, make investments, protect against risks, and achieve their financial goals. 

Financial services Include:

-Bank contracts 

-commissions Bank cards

-Revolving cards 

-Mortgage loans 

-Records of defaults 

-Quick loans 

BANK CONTRACTS 

Credit institutions must provide you with all legally required pre-contractual information free of charge, so that you can compare similar offers and make an informed decision before contracting a banking service. 

This information must be clear, timely and sufficient, objective and not misleading and must be given to you with the necessary advance, depending on the type of contract or offer, and in any case before you decide to contract, All information, documentation and communications to customers must be on paper, in electronic format or in any other durable medium and must be written in terms that are easily understood and clearly legible. 

The banking institutions must give you a copy of the contractual document. Carefully review all contracts before signing them and make sure they don't contain any abusive clauses. 

Keep the contracts, as well as possible subsequent communications modifying the initial conditions. 

commissions Bank card

The Spanish regulations give freedom to the banking entities to set the rates or the prices of the commissions. 

Commissions must respond to services actually rendered or justified expenses. 

You cannot be charged for services that you did not request or agree to. 

The entities can also pass on the justified expenses they have had to pay to third parties in order to be able to provide the service you have requested. 

The information on the fees that apply most frequently must be available on the internet and in the offices of the entities.  Each entity must include them in the contracts and must notify you in advance of any changes. 

In the event of disagreement with the entity, address a claim to the customer service – or customer advocate, if it has one using the official claim form or call the toll-free number for incidents and claims and ask for the number corresponding reference. 

If you have not received a response within 30 days, or if the response is not satisfactory, contact the public consumer service that corresponds to you according to your municipality (for more information see the Inquiries and complaints section ). You can also address your claims to the claims service of the Bank.  

Bank cards Inform yourself in detail about the card's contracting conditions, especially with regard to commissions and expenses and, in the case of credit cards, about the interest rate and payment methods. 

The entity must give you the contract on paper or in any durable medium – examine it before signing – as well as the card and the secret key for procedures that guarantee security and privacy. 

Keep both the contract and any subsequent communications modifying the initially contracted conditions. 

Review the settlement documents and supporting documents for each payment or withdrawal, as this will allow you to spot potential errors or discrepancies. In the event of disagreement with the entity, address a claim to the customer service – or customer advocate, if it has one – using the official claim form or call the toll-free number for incidents and claims and ask for the number corresponding reference. If you have not received a response within 30 days, or if the response is not satisfactory, contact the public consumer service that corresponds to you according to your municipality (for more information see the Inquiries and complaints section ). You can also address your claims to the claims service of the Bank. 

Revolving cards 

Revolving credit cards are credit cards in which the user has a certain credit limit that can be paid back in installments, through low periodic installments that can be fixed or a percentage of the existing debt. This credit is automatically renewed at its monthly maturity, so it is comparable to a permanent line of credit, with the danger that the debt, as well as the interest, commissions and other expenses generated, will increase indefinitely. 

It is important to practice thoughtful and informed consumption to avoid unsatisfactory contracts and situations of over-indebtedness or destabilization of the family economy. If you have to deal with certain unforeseen or extraordinary expenses, it is advisable to consult and compare all the products on the market and find out in detail the conditions of contracting, especially with regard to commissions, expenses, interest rates and payment methods. 

Credit institutions must provide free of charge all pre-contractual information that is legally required, in order to be able to compare similar offers and make a well-informed decision before contracting a banking service. This information must be clear, timely and sufficient, objective and not misleading and must be delivered with the necessary advance, depending on the type of contract or offer, and in any case before making the decision to contract. All contracts should be carefully examined before signing, and copies should be kept after signing. 

Banks are required to provide a copy of the contractual document. Any non-compliance can be reported to the Catalan Consumer Agency. 

 Mortgage loans 

Remember that when the mortgage loan is intended for the purchase of a home, there are two contracts, the sale contract - with the seller of the home - and the loan contract - with the entity that grants it to you. In the case of the mortgage credit contract, the formalization costs are broken down as follows: Main expenses Notaries management Property registration Appraisal of the home Documented Legal Acts Tax (AJD) Property insurance Other expenses associated with services of the bank that grants the loan Opening of the mortgage (for the procedures and management carried out by the entity) Associated current account fee (in case you have to open a new account to make credit payments) Associated products or additional services (life insurance, etc.) mail Regarding the payment of these expenses, you should know that: Generic clauses that impute all costs to the consumer can be considered abusive. In accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Catalonia, you have the right to have a copy of the mortgage contract 5 working days before signing to review it in detail. In the case of notarial expenses , those for setting up the mortgage - or if a modification or renewal is made - are shared equally between the banking entity and the consumer ; on the other hand, cancellation fees are the responsibility of the consumer, since he is the interested party. As for the cost of the copies of the deeds, it is up to the person who requests them. The costs of the management service are borne by the lender, that is, the financial institution.  Since the party interested in registering the loan deed in the property registry is the bank , it should bear the cost. In the case of mortgages signed after June 16, 2019, the appraisal costs are borne by the consumer and, before that date, correspond to the bank . In any case, the financial institution cannot impose the appraiser on you, so you can choose an independent approved professional to appraise the home. The cost of the Documented Legal Deed Tax must be borne by the financial institution if the mortgage is signed after November 10, 2018 ; before that date, it corresponds to the consumer. The entity may require you to take out insurance to guarantee the payment of the debt - for life, for example -. You are not obliged to take out the compulsory property insurance with the same entity that grants you the credit. The bank can offer you, as a bonus, a reduction in the interest rate – which will lower the monthly mortgage payment – ​​if you take out additional products such as insurance, cards, pension plans, home alarm, etc. You can always negotiate with the financial institution the various fees associated with the mortgage loan. And before signing the mortgage, we advise you to consider: The various offers on the market to assess your needs and the ability to cope with payments over a long period of time. The total cost – interest, commissions and expenses – of each of the mortgage offers. The total amount of the loan and also the installments (part of the installment will correspond to the capital you are repaying and the other will be interest). The currency in which you take out the loan (the most common is to do it in euros, but there are multi-currency mortgages that allow you to do it in a foreign currency). The interest rate – fixed, variable or mixed – that is to say, the price the institution will charge you to lend you the money. The term (time during which, under normal conditions, you will be paying the installments). 

Record of Default 

They may only include your personal data in a debt register if there is a true, overdue and enforceable unpaid debt and after the creditor has required payment from you. The credit institutions themselves must inform you if you are included in such a file. If your data is included in a record of defaulters, the owner of the file must notify you within 30 days, from the date of registration, and must inform you of the right of access to the all the data contained therein. You have the right to rectify or cancel personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete. If you have documentation certifying the cancellation or non-existence of the debt, send it to the holder of the record, together with a photocopy of your ID. They must respond to you within 10 days of receiving the letter; otherwise, report the facts to the Spanish Data Protection Agency. 

Quick loans 

If you need money urgently to cover certain unforeseen or extraordinary expenses and take out a quick loan: Consult all the products on the market, to find the one that best suits your needs (normally, in this type of credit, the interest is quite high and the repayment period is very short). Look at the interest rate you will be charged. Don't get carried away by advertising, monitor your budget and monthly expenses to see if you can handle a new fee. Demand from the financial institution that offers you the credit a binding offer in writing (a document with the terms of the credit that is valid for 14 calendar days), in order to read it calmly. Save this document. Read the contract carefully before signing (don't sign anything you don't understand). Check that it contains the same terms as the written offer and that there are no unfair terms.  Remember that you can request the contracts in Catalan. In the event of disagreement with the entity, address a claim to the customer service – or customer advocate, if it has one – using the official claim form or call the toll-free number for incidents and claims and ask for the number corresponding reference. If you have not received a response within 30 days, or if the response is not satisfactory, contact the public consumer service that corresponds to you according to your municipality (for more information see the Inquiries and complaints section ). Or you can address your claims to the claims service of the Bank.