We can’t get our €7,000 back from account in Spain
The Readers’ Champion probes a world of scams and scandals
P.H. writes: We sold a property in Spain. The proceeds were transferred to us here in the UK, but we kept our Santander account open in Spain to pay utility bills and until we received a Spanish tax rebate. In June last year, we asked to close the account and withdraw the balance of €7,000 (about £6,360), but despite phone calls and emails to the branch and to the Santander head office, we have had no response.
YOUR very frustrating experience highlights the difficulties customers can run into when they have a bank account in one country but live in another. Your account was blocked online, so a simple transfer t o your British bank account became impossible.
You even gave your Spanish lawyer power of attorney to act on your behalf and cl ose t he account, but this failed too, even t hough he supplied Santander with copies of your passports and other proof of identity.
Five weeks ago, I asked officials at Santander UK if they could help by contacting their colleagues in Spain. To give them their due, they tried more than once but could get no explanation, let alone a transfer of your money. I think they ended up feeling almost as frustrated as you. Then a fortnight ago, staff at Santander in London copied me in on one of their emails to the bank’s head office in Madrid.
Using what’s left of my schoolboy Spanish ( thank you, Liverpool Institute High School), I followed this up by sending my own email to the Spanish capital.
I reminded the bank just how long your problem with the account had dragged on, and I said that in the absence of any explanation or action, my only option would be to issue a warning that opening an account with Santander in Spain might lead to difficulties later. Slightly to my surprise, this worked. Helped by a further nudge from Santander in London, the bank in Spain contacted me last Thursday to say your account had been unlocked and it was arranging to transfer the balance to you.
A spokesman told me: ‘To protect customers from fraud, we require them to provide identification before completing certain transactions. In this instance, that delayed the closure of Mr and Mrs H’s account. We are extremely sorry for the time it has taken to resolve this matter.’
There are no more details, but I can add that Spanish banks often ask customers to renew the proof of their identity every several years. If this was the problem, then it should have been explained many months ago, along with a request for whatever further proof the bank needed. Your €7,000 should arrive very soon in Britain, but needless to say, if nothing materialises, then do let me know.