A 39-year-old resident of Vigo never thought that 2006 would change his life. He had no liquidity and sought Easy money. First error. "I was bankrupt, so, out of ignorance, I asked two of these entities for money." Talk about financial agile money and without consulting risk. He asked each of them for 2,000 euros. «Things did not improve and I had to increase each credit up to 6,000. Twelve years later, I still owe them money, and I have never stopped paying them," he laments. He (who, like others, requests anonymity) is one of those affected by the cards stirring, a widespread practice to lend express money for consumption that is beginning to reach Galician law firms regularly, and about which the Bank of Spain has recently warned because the interests are high, and it is not even amortized, but the liabilities are even increasing. There is no evidence that he intervened to stop this operation.
After having requested a total of 12,000 euros to the two entities, this affected person accounts: To date he has paid 30,000 euros, and would still owe 4,900. «I have arrived at the court. One of the sentences has been in my favor. They have to return 8,000 euros to me. In the second case, 800. I am going to appeal. Optimistic, he admits having been "very bad." "Every time I see the easy money ads, I can't tell you what I would do." And you are more aware of the interest paid because you have a clear comparison in your hand. At the time he requested those 12,000 euros in stirring, requested another 30,000 from conventional entities. «I have liquidated those without problem. With the other loans they called me to tell me that I could use the repayments again. I didn't know that my conditions were changing. "I was paying more than 24 % of interest."
More cases. For a 48-year-old resident of A Coruña, the opportunity came to his door. A salesman offered him a stirring in your business. «At first I didn't use the card, but then I had a bad time. I paid the first two years without thinking about it, but I realized that it was not paying off and I owed more and more. And my fee was over 400 euros. I asked for 6,000 euros, I paid 10,000 and they still claimed 8,000. They put me on the list of defaulters. They wouldn't leave me alone. I have taken it to court and now they have to return 3,000 euros to me," he says. «Damn the moment they offered it to me. I was paying 30 % in interest. Everything I earned in my business went to pay that loan,” he completes.
Other cases do not come before the judge. It was that of another Vigo man who is going to recover 11,000 euros. «Do you know how much I have already paid? 40,000. He contracted a well-known card through a salesperson who came to his office. «I didn't give it importance. It was in 2009 and I didn't use it in a long time. Then you need money quickly and that snowball starts to form. Specific expenses that you do not know how to calculate precisely. «I am not aware of how much I was spending. I knew it was expensive financing and, luckily, I could have paid it. In an informal conversation I understood what I had gotten myself into. Before looking for a lawyer, he even made a payment plan. «They tell you that they have raised your credit limit. It is a trap and creates need. “Do you know that you can have 3,000 euros available?” they tell you. And one is so stupid that one assumes it.
These cases have quintupled in recent times at Asesority Abogados, by David Alfaya. «We have clients with ten cards. Having the problem, people try to get out by hiring others. They end up in water up to their necks. There are people who come with their parents because they have taken out the loan without knowing it. Others have inherited the debts. And that, in some cases, the cards have not been used for years. There is no transparency or information when hiring.
The Bank of Spain itself has enabled a simulator on its website to calculate when a revolving card loan is finished being paid. For a case of 3,000 euros, with an interest rate of 28 % and a monthly payment of 20 euros, the response of this tool is very direct: it cannot calculate the maturity. "With this fee [20 euros] the debt will become indefinite and will increase over time."
SOURCE: THE VOICE OF GALICIA (READ NEWS ON THEIR WEBSITE)
