Several court rulings in Asturias agree with clients who demand their money back from the banks. The Provincial Court of Gijón condemns the BBVA to return around 1,500 euros to a client who reported the entity for the abusive interest on her credit card, which amounted to 24.6%.
Although there is still some reluctance among those affected by revolving cards in Asturias to take the step and report their case to the courts, the reality is that There is an increasing number of sentences in which the Asturian justice system decides in favor of the client and condemns the bank. It is a product that offers quick money with the possibility of paying it back in installments, but which sets a disproportionate interest rate. Today the latest court ruling was announced that ruled in favor of the citizen. The Provincial Court of Gijón has just rejected the appeal filed by BBVA against the sentence handed down by Court number 6 of First Instance of Gijón in the month of July, and also confirms the sentence filed by the court against said banking entity. If it does not file a new appeal, BBVA will have to return the amounts it "improperly" charged, which amount to around 1,500 euros., as well as the payment of the costs of the process. The court also considers void the clause that established an abusive interest rate for deferred payment with an APR of 24.60%, and the one that established the default interest rate of an annual APR of 26.82%.
These types of contracts work in the following way: They increase the credit limit as the outstanding debt is paid off, so that the amount owed grows until it becomes "infinite.", and the consumer ends up paying “disproportionate and disproportionate” interest for the credit granted. The one who explains it is Rubén Cueto, managing partner of Vallverdú Abogados, an Asturian firm specialized in banking and financial law, which has just won this latest case before the Provincial Court of Gijón.
It was the bank that offered his client (a woman from Gijón about 80 years old) the possibility of obtaining a credit card and having 1,500 euros by paying a fee of 60 euros per month. He contracted the product in 2002, and two years later the bank renewed his card. From there, his lawyer explains, he made different purchases and ended up with around 3,000 euros. After years without using it and assuming that the debt no longer exists, "it is her daughter who realizes that it was barely paid off and that is when, after asking the bank for explanations, they come to our office." The reality they found is that their client had 3,000 euros and returned 4,510 to the bank, that is, "she generated interest from 50% on the amount she used.". In this contract, BBVA established an interest rate of 24.6%. So, without going into exact amounts, it can be said that of those 60 euros in fees that he paid per month, 54 were used to pay the interest generated, and only the remaining six were used to pay off the debt. "What happens is that you amortize very little and pay interest on interest," he emphasizes.
This case is just one more example of those that Rubén Cueto deals with every week in his office. In fact There are cases where the amount claimed by the bank is even higher than this 50% since it depends on the amount and type of card. The trickle of patients treated is constant. In January they already plan to file six lawsuits against banking entities. Note that there is no specific profile. Revolving cards do not depend on age, sex, or profession. «In the case of my client, she did not need that product and it was the bank that offered it to her. In other cases, they go to the bank to hire it. Regardless of the reasons, the problem is that they are not informed of the excessive interests," he clarifies.
After years of experience in financial law, Rubén Cueto does not hesitate to describe revolving cards as "one of the most dangerous financial products, in which consumers are forced to pay absolutely exaggerated and abusive interest rates for which they are not even compensated." informs. In fact, Own Bank of Spain is already warning about this type of formula. But up to that point, that is, it does not execute and does not oblige the bank to return the amount.
SOURCE: THE VOICE OF ASTURIAS (READ THE NEWS ON THEIR WEBSITE)
