Consumers who took out mortgages before June 2019, when the new lending regulation went into effect, can claim back notary, registry and administrative expenses from lenders.
The Supreme Court opened up the market to create an equitable strategy to mitigate mortgage expenses.
1. Identifying the Problem
Bank customers who signed mortgage contracts prior to June 2019 – when the new lending law came into force – should file for additional reimbursement funds. It has been estimated that up to 8 Million loans have been affected by this refund clause and that the average of eligible expenses that may be reclaimed ranges between 1.500 euros and 3 euros according to estimates by Asufin (Association of Financial Users).
Clausulae were intended to cover all costs related to mortgage paperwork and closing, such as registration, management, tasacion and notary costs – including registration, management and tasacion costs as well as half of notarial fees incurred at closing. Unfortunately, this measure was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in 2015, prompting financial entities to return this sum back to clients five years after.
Now that we know how much banks require of us as mortgagees, this momentous occasion provides all mortgage holders an invaluable chance to seek reimbursement assistance.
2. Identifying the Cause
In its ruling, the Supreme Court (TS) ordered banks to reimburse all their clients the majority of improperly collected mortgage loan fees after loan completion, including management, tasacion, registration and notarisation expenses. Asufin estimates the average amount owed ranges between 1.500 euros and 3.000 euros per ciento of expenses being sought back from banks.
The new Hipotecaria Law greatly increased legal protection for consumers, mandating banks to shoulder all costs associated with mortgage formation – including management, registration and tasacion costs incurred during formation; notarial services fees as well as registration registration charges must also be covered by banks.
Since June 16th 2019, in cooperation with the European Court of Justice (TJEU), our laboratory has advanced this protection for us. The primary goal was to increase transparency within mortgage contracts while not decreasing expenses associated with their formation; our goal has only recently been met, in terms of cases signed before implementation of Ley Hipotecaria.
3. Identifying the Solution
If you acquired a mortgage prior to June 2019 (when the Rules on Contracts of Inhouse Credit go into effect), your bank may owe you fees related to its establishment, such as administration, registration or tasacion charges. At that point, Asufin asserted that many consumers could claim back these «excessive» charges before various courts.
All clients must gather together all bills related to any charges they wish to dispute against their bank, in order to file a formal grievance. The first step should be collecting all related invoices regarding your mortgage loan such as registration fees and administrative charges.
Attorney Supplied Work (ALW), with all necessary processes and documents in hand to check whether information provided by Your Bank was correct, along with bills from companies providing costs on Your Property are all part of a complaint redress process. As per Supreme Court Orders, Banks now must reimburse consumers all charges already made via Tasseation, Management & Registry; bank accounts should also pay all such expenses; finally in 2021 Supreme Court will conclude its jurisprudence and validate these decisions.
4. Taking Action
The Supreme Court holds that fees associated with registration, management and tasacion may be recoverable as abusive clauses. Clausulae are bills imposed upon consumers that contain costs for document and transaction processing related to companies by law; without being discussed explicitly with consumers first and causing significant imbalance in rights and obligations of users contrary to Good Fe.
Judicial proceedings have been lengthy and contentious, leading to multiple court rulings; but as of January 2019, a new Hipotecaria Law now exists that establishes in an easy and comprehensive way who are the parties obligated to pay each concept.
Clausulas abusives encompass any agreements not negotiated individually and which, regardless of context, create an imbalance between user rights and objectives. Simply stated, they make life more complicated and take more time for accurate execution. Now consumers and attorneys have access to an easy and timely method of recovering these expenses – estimated annually in millions of euros worth. Anyone who took out a loan prior to Hipotecaria Law is also capable of doing this – here can be written a list of specialized work and cases in which abusive loans restitution claims were filed by consumer advocates or lawyers.