One of the main complaints of clients regarding their relationships with banking entities derives from the many expenses that the contracted products entail, whatever they were (savings accounts, mortgage or personal loans, credit or debit cards, deposits, purchases and sale of shares, etc.). In many of the occasions you will have to assume more costs than initially raised, even in the designs to save. And that you have surely lived in the first person on more than one occasion. They can even misalign your household budget at some very specific moment.
These are not very pleasant situations, and from which you should flee to promote savings with the banking products that you have formalized, or are in a position to sign in the coming months. It will not be an easy task, of course not. But you know defend your interests as a client that you are, you will soon achieve the desired success. To the point that you can give yourself more than one whim from now on. Do you want to know how? Now we explain it to you, so that you can apply it without further delay.
A timely knowledge of the rights you have as a banking user can help you plan and save in your domestic economy, as well as not face unexpected disbursements for any banking operation you carry out. And of course through a very in-depth knowledge of banking products that you are going to subscribe. And that depending on each of them, it will require a different treatment to understand their interests, commissions, penalties, and even if you can cancel them at any time.
Information on funding sources
Undoubtedly the greatest relevance will affect the credits you hire, whatever their nature. Not in vain, the euros that are at stake will be many, when the demand for these banking products can reach up to 100.000 euros, even more on certain occasions. You should not leave anything to improvisation, but you want to have more than one negative surprise from now on.
The Interest rate it will be the most important factor in controlling expenses. You shall know the real rate that they will apply to you in your banking operations, and that in a good part of the occasions it will not have anything to do with those that mark the publicity. In addition, you will include among the expenses, the possible commissions and expenses that are applied, and of course their exact percentage. They can be derived from their study, opening and early cancellation, among other variables. Even the penalty that you would have to face if you do not comply with the agreed payments, and also in the installment deadlines.
Any appearance of these payments may significantly raise the expense that will be generated by the demand for the credits, up to far exceed the budgeted amount. Before signing the contract, you will have no choice but to explain what you are really going to pay, it is also necessary that you carefully read the fine print of the contract, and avoid future problems with the bank or financial intermediary.
Caution with products to save
Although they are not so relevant, it also requires your attention. How many times have you been surprised that they did not pay you the money that you considered it had to be? So that this situation does not happen to you from now on, you will be obliged to analyze the characteristics of these banking products. And where you can not miss the nominal interest rate that will be used for the settlement of interest, the periodicity with which it will accrue and the formula or methods used for its calculation. Your knowledge, therefore, will be the best antidote to avoid last minute surprises.
It will also be necessary for you to gather the correct information on exchange rates (for those operations for the sale of foreign currency or foreign banknotes whose amount does not exceed a certain amount in the amounts accrued), especially useful when you have to travel abroad, for any reason . You will be able to save more than you think.
In any case, it will be advisable that you know, that banks can freely set fees They charge for operations and services, but in any case they have the obligation to inform you. Any variation that occurs must be notified to each client, generally through a letter. And if an incident occurs, you will always have the possibility to appeal the decision through a claim.
Another great aspect for your information is that the credit institution will be obliged to provide a supporting document for each settlement that occurs (either asset, liability or other service). This document will include the necessary data so that the client can verify the settlement made and calculate the cost or effective net product of the operation. It will be the statement where the financial outlay you make, interest, commissions, rates to save, etc. will be reflected.
Greater vigilance with investment products
If there is a section where customer complaints are manifested, that is none other than investment. Or to be more precise, in the channels they use to make their savings profitable, either in equities or fixed income. Not surprisingly, there is a lot at stake for users. In addition, they carry a series of fixed expenses that will be different in each contracted product. And that with some frequency they are unaware every time they take positions in the financial markets.
Among them, the most important are those derived from operations such as the purchase of financial assets or the contracting of investment products. To avoid any problem with the payments of the operations carried out, they should receive information about the bank commission rates, the expenses that may be charged and the valuation standards of the credit institution. These data must be registered with the Bank of Spain and, therefore, with access to all users. And in any case, they will not be able to charge you more money than the law.
That does not mean that within the commercial margins of the banks themselves, they have a liberalization of their rates, with a presence to save. With this scenario, it is not surprising that some entities charge higher commissions than others. In this sense, your action should focus on looking for the most adjusted rates, and from which you can obtain the greatest savings every year. Even take advantage of the many offers and promotions that banks have been doing to promote their investment products.
Without forgetting at any time that when you subscribe any model to make your savings profitable, whatever it may be, you will have a series of rights, and that each time they are violated you can claim them using the channels enabled for these occasions. And where It should not be missing that the rights that assist both parties (entity and user) regarding the modification of the agreed interest or the commissions that have been incorporated must be communicated to the users with sufficient advance notice.
Through the Semiannual Report of the Claims Service that the Bank of Spain publishes regularly, you can check the number of claims made by bank users, and realize that there are other people in the same situation as you. If this official report is carefully reviewed, you will come to the conclusion that the most demanded matters are those that are linked to the granting of some kind of financing.
Some tips to defend your rights
There is no better way to protect your rights as a banking user than to provide all your actions with a high degree of transparency in operations. You must demand that they provide you with the information documents of the products you have contracted. And where you should read even the fine print so that no conditions in the hiring are left to improvisation. Since you will probably be the ones who have the most to lose in this process that can be opened between both parties.
In order for you to be calmer in your relationship with the bank, and what is more important, that you know that they are going to charge you the amounts adjusted to the current banking regulations, you will have no choice but to pay attention to some of the main tips that we expose you from this article.
- Before signing any product with the bank, it will be necessary that you read all their subscription conditions, and you must demand that they give it to you so that you can check which product you are going to hire in the next few hours.
- If any of the conditions change, in the interest rates, commissions, penalties, terms of permanence, etc., they will have to notify you with some anticipation through a letter. In which you will expose the new conditions of the banking product.
- Review all bank statements that they send you, to check if there is an error, or failing that there has been a change in the conditions that you have previously signed.
- To save expenses, banks may no longer send you the information of your main movements. If so, you will have to check it from the computer through an access code that will be provided by the entity
- In case you are unhappy with any of the movements in your checking accounts, you will have no other solution than file a claim with the bank, but as soon as possible, since it is not advisable to spend a long time without communicating the incident.
- Do not hire a product whose mechanism you do not know or operation, since it can create more than one problem for you, and even in the case of investment, even leading you to lose a good part of the amount of your assets.
- And finally, try to expose your bank to be as transparent as possible, and if not, you will always be in time to change entity.