Business customers of Cajamar, who previously enjoyed free online transfers, woke up to a nasty shock last week when Cajamar, without bothering to tell anyone (or, at least, without bothering to tell me, which is much the same thing) introduced a flat charge of 1€ per transaction for all business accounts.
This, despite the fact that I’m the one doing all the work online.
This was, at first, an irritant. I then started doing the sums – say, 5 or 10 transfers a week (average it out at 7), that’s a new charge of 364€ a year. Hmm.
However, I found a way around it. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t quick (mainly because the girls in the local office had no idea of how this worked, or how to sign me up for the service) but it’s still free, it’s still quick and it still works.
Leaving aside my cleverness (to exist happily with a bank, in my opinon, you must be smarter than the bank), it was a rather low trick of Cajamar’s to do this during August, with no prior notification. I did whinge at the time, much good may it do me.
There must be something in the air !
Last week the EU Commission slated Spanish Banks for being the worst in Europe for hidden charges and smallprint, and since then I have found it totally impossible to pay a bill for Iberdrola, and on closing an account for my daughter I was told I had to call back in 5 working days to collect the cash ( Apparently they didn’t have 400 euros to give me at the time ).
Rather than keep their heads down in the light of the commission’s findings it seems they are ‘upping their game’ to see how much more they can rip us off.