Posted in: Legal
We have won many litigation cases against Banks and Insurance companies now, many of them Class Actions. A Class Action or Group Action can be of advantage to the clients, as it can appear to have more strength. Also the costs of the Clerk of Court and Barrister can be shared. Another advantage of these cases is that generally clients can win their money back. There is not the risk of the other party being insolvent by the time the case has been won.
We have won many cases against Banks for floor clauses, whereby a minimum interest rate was put in the mortgage contract. Thus the client did not benefit from the good interest rates as the interest rate was lowered but they were still paying a minimum rate. Floor clause is known as “cláusula suelo” in Spanish.
Following a European Court of Justice ruling many thousands of bank customers have had a lawyer check their mortgage deeds and an extract of their mortgage payment and been able to claim a great deal of money back. This can also include expenses for setting up the mortgage if there is also a clause relevant to this in the mortgage. Most Banks are completely unwilling to provide clients with copies of their deeds or any information so it is quite difficult if you have not kept paperwork to get the necessary documentation for us to review if you have a case. Also if the mortgage was paid off more than four years ago, we do not have a claim.
The first thing for us is to check your mortgage deed to see if there are abusive clauses and you may have a claim. Thus clients need to scan and send us the “Escritura de prestamo hipotecario”. We can then advise. The same also applies for multi-currency mortgages which have also been declared illegal and abusive. If any client has a multi-currency mortgage they should send us the deeds to review. We have won many cases against Banks for the previous mentioned floor clauses, multi-currency mortgages, expenses for setting up the mortgages. Also bank guarantees, credit card fraud, abusive interest, and many other issues. We are specialist solicitors in these areas and in Class Actions.
We have handled many claims against Insurance Companies in Spain for not paying out when they should have done. For instance, we have dealt with clients unfortunately who have suffered a serious house fire and the Insurance Company refused to pay out the full value of the claim. We have experience in putting the pressure on these companies using the law, and sometimes the Courts, to force them to pay. In addition, many clients have had problems after a traffic accident and need our help. The most unpleasant cases are perhaps those where someone has died and the Insurance Company for the mortgage has refused to pay out the insurance for the mortgage. Often we have had to help clients with these claims.
If you require any assistance with claims against Banks or Insurance Companies, please let us know and provide us with the history, contract for the insurance and proof for the claim.