Complaints to banks fell 2.8%, but complaints about mortgages and consumer loans rose sharply

During 2023, the Bank of Spain processed 33,191 complaints from bank customers, 2.8% less than in 2022, again driven by mortgages, current accounts and cards. Despite the decline in claims in 2023, the agency warned that the pace picked up in the second half of the year and intensified in the early months of 2024. In the first half of the year alone, 38,619 claims were registered. close to the historical maximum reached in 2017 (40,176 files). After correcting their actions, businesses returned €4.38 million to their customers in 2023, down 27.4% from 2022, which recorded the highest figure in the last decade, as detailed in the 2022 Claims Report .

The Bank of Spain has clarified that the regulation of the claims procedure does not have among its objectives either the compensation of possible economic losses of the plaintiff, nor the establishment of compensation for damages or losses. For this reason, in most cases there is no information about the amount in dispute underlying the claim or what may have been agreed upon between both parties. The organization collects only the information declared by the parties, without subsequent verification when processing the file. However, the decline is due to fewer cases ending in a raid, recall or final report.

Mortgages accounted for the most complaints about products last year, with 10,145 cases, up 63.9% from the previous year, largely due to a sharp rise in the number of complaints motivated by the cost of taking out a mortgage. In particular, the Bank of Spain emphasized that specialized law firms actively promote the right of clients to claim reimbursement of mortgage costs, emphasizing that they are not subject to a statute of limitations. In any case, the organization reminds in its report that it has no jurisdiction over the offending provisions.

The increase in clearance cost reimbursement requirements was extended until 2024, which Financial Conduct and Banknotes CEO Alberto Rios called a “star issue” both late last year and this year. In any case, the vast majority of claims are inadmissible for this reason, since the Bank of Spain does not have the power to rule on the abuse of reservations or their nullity, which is the most common complaint of clients.

Complaints about cards came in second place – 9,635 complaints (-24.6%). The most common reasons continue to be payments made as part of fraud or deception, as well as failure to provide documentation. Next come 5,046 complaints about current accounts, which is 32.9% less than in 2022, and is motivated primarily by disagreement with the collection of fees, as well as blocking or cancellation. Transfers are the fourth most popular product with 2,972 files, up 37.8%, while personal loans grew 2.5% to 1,172 files.

The report also states that the Bank of Spain responded to 49,620 requests in 2023, down 1.9% from 2022. Of these, 10,876 were made in writing and 38,744 by telephone. Particularly noteworthy are questions about accounts and deposits, mortgages, payment services and claims settlement procedures.

Of the 33,191 claims received, 39% were accepted for processing, that is, 12,937 claims, and the remaining 17,968 were unacceptable due to incomplete information, transfer to other organizations, due to return to Customer Service (CAS). organizations or for other reasons. In 79.8% of the claims accepted by the Bank of Spain, that is, 9,586, the client’s claims against the organization were satisfied either by raid or dismissal.

The report provides a breakdown of the issues on which reports favorable to the applicant have been published so that transactions where the organizations were “most deficient” can be tracked. Thus, those related to mortgage loans (43.2% of the total), fraud (19%), current accounts (13.1%) and cards (8.8%) stand out. In the case of mortgages, the Bank of Spain ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, especially in relation to the application of the Code of Good Practice towards mortgage debtors, due to improper commissions or due to disagreement with the calculation of the contribution paid.

The largest number of complaints was concentrated in Madrid (24.2%), followed by Barcelona (11.2%), Valencia (5.9%), Seville (4.4%), Alicante (3.4%) and Malaga (3.2%).

The report also details the organizations that received the most complaints, which corresponds to their weight in the Spanish market and does not mean that customers received a positive resolution: CaixaBank (9,474), BBVA (5,904) and Santander (3,763). They are followed by Unicaja (2381), Sabadell (1662), Bankinter (1242), ING (1197), Ibercaja (1118), Abanca (946), Wizink (673), Kutxabank (673), Cajamar (536) and Deutsche Bank (337). The rating changes in percentage terms due to reports favorable to the plaintiff: Kutxabank (39.4%), Unicaja (35.9%), Deutsche Bank (35.5%), Banco Santander (35.2%) and Ibercaja (35 %), as reported by Europa. Press.