Expat fears over bank embargoes

Brits report accounts frozen “without warning”

By Richard Torné

WORRIED expats in Almería have been flooding banks with enquiries following reports that accounts have been frozen in a bid to clamp down on tax evaders.

The move follows a recent report in the Costa Almería News that the Treasury had tightened bank controls governing the status of non-residents and residents.

The main issue for banks is to ensure that clients who reside all year round in Spain pay 18 per cent tax to the Spanish government on the interest accrued in their account.  

By contrast, non-residents are exempt as double taxing is illegal under EU law.
The measures are seen as an attempt to clamp down on tax evasion.

Signs that some banks were toughening their stance came to light in a recent incident last month when an 88-year-old British woman who suffers from senile dementia had her Cajamar account in Mojacar frozen after she failed to produce a Residence Certificate.

A request from the woman’s son-in-law, Mel Hughes, to pick up the relevant forms and take them personally to Betty Hilbourne, who is confined to a wheelchair, was flatly rejected by the bank. 

To make matters worse, Mr Hughes was told that his mother-in-law would have to then queue at the Oficina de Extranjeria in Almería city to obtain a Residence Certificate. A day later the account was frozen.

A furious Mr Hughes claimed the bank had also prevented Mrs Hilbourne’s grandson Daniel from withdrawing funds from the account which he shares with her, and accused the bank of not notifying clients of the new regulations.

“We received no warning at all from the bank on this matter other than the phone call the previous morning,” he said.
He ridiculed the idea of taking Mrs Hilbourne to Almería. “She wouldn’t understand what the person was talking about even if they spoke in English because of her illness,” he said, adding that the family was contemplating closing the account. Unconfirmed reports say the accounts of four other expats have been frozen.

According to Cajamar’s Mojacar branch director, Andrés Carrasco, the bank was merely following the letter of the law. He said: “We are instructing EU nationals with bank accounts which are more than two years old to update their records.

“If they don’t, we are obliged to freeze their accounts.”

He said anyone who is physically or mentally disabled should appoint a legal representative to access the person’s account, but that in any case “people who are impaired that way should not have a current bank account”.

Sr Carrasco said the only documentation the bank would accept is a passport for non-residents or a Residence Certificate. “The NIE number alone is not sufficient, because the number is also supplied for tax reasons to non-residents when they buy a property,” he said.

However, he rejected claims that accounts could be embargoed without prior notice. He said: “Sometimes we are unable to get hold of the person, but anyone can take cash out from an account that has been frozen.”

A spokeswoman for the Mojacar branch of Barclays Bank, where up to 96 per cent of clients are non-resident Brits, said they had not changed their policy towards expats’ accounts.

She said: “We apply the same rule to all clients when they open an account and we follow the rules set by the Bank of Spain.” She said clients were not normally asked to provide a Residence Certificate, and only those who were non-residents were obliged to present proof of their status every two years.
Cajasur’s branch manager in Mojacar, Ramón Valverde, said the bank presented clients with their own document stating their residence status “every two years”.

Other banks consulted confirmed that, with one exception, no accounts had been embargoed and confirmed that they had an obligation to notify clients before freezing an account.

Free books for all

‘Back to school’ less expensive as government pays for text books

By Jackie Bragg

PARENTS in Almería will take their children back to school this September with a little more money in their pockets following the announcement this week that all state school educated pupils will no longer have to pay for obligatory text  books.

Families will save an average of 150 euros per child for the new autumn term in the new initiative from the regional government, which forms part of the Plan de Apoyo a las Familias de Andalucia – ‘Help for Andalucian families’.

Estimated costs of books for infants for the year are 86 euros, 175 euros for primary school children and up to 260 euros for those studying at Baccalaureate level.

According to government representative for education in Almeria, Francisco Maldonado, 78,000 students in the province will gain from this new programme, which amounts to some eight million euros.

Advice is also offered to save on inflated prices for uniforms, due to the increase in all products across the board, with oil prices affecting transportation and impacting on high street prices.

Consumer association FACUA reminded parents that they are not obliged to buy either text books or school uniforms and to look out for establishments that offer discounts on items such as sweat shirts and joggers for use in sport.

They advise buying such necessary items well before the term begins, when commercial enterprises often up the prices with demand.
They also advocate not buying ‘brand’ names that could double the price of any item of clothing.

Fifty-year-old expat builder Mark Tobin has two teenage children at local Spanish state schools. Speaking to Costa Almería News, he said: “It makes so much more sense. It was madness before, every child having to buy the same books every year, just to make money for the book shops really.
We have spent fortunes over the years in buying books, although some friends passed some on to us.

“I remember as a child that our text books belonged to the school and you really had to take care of them, as someone else had to use them afterwards.
Now in Sorbas college, we have to give the books back at the end of the school year. It should have been done years ago.”

Parents of children at private schools could suffer more as matriculation alone in the local area soars above 250 euros - apart from fees, books and uniform all having to be paid for.

Raging fire halts Mojacar’s fiesta fun

Events cancelled as inferno takes three hours to extinguish in tourist village

By Jackie Bragg

A blaze at a Mojacar village souvenir shop village brought annual summer festivities to a stop last week.

As the fire rapidly spread to the second floor on Friday at around 5pm, firefighters - who had been called to the scene from both Turre and Albox fire stations - managed to contain the flames and no-one was hurt.

Smoke and fire damage to the building and surroundings was extensive and local council workers were called in for a major clean-up operation to enable the fiesta to continue.

Twenty residents living nearby were evacuated as a safety precaution but were allowed to return to their homes later that evening.

Local police, Guardia Civil, Cruz Roja and Endesa Sevillana also attended the scene, the latter to cut off electricity power.

All advertised events were cancelled for the early part of Friday’s fiesta of San Agustin, giving a sour note to what is usually one of the major highlights of the year for both residents and the swelling number of visitors attracted to the famous fiesta spot.

Initial reports in the Spanish press suggested a short circuit as a possible cause, although police sources said it was too early in the investigation to know exactly what had started the blaze.

Local Mojacar police officer Paco Pérez, speaking exclusively to Costa Almeria News, said the road in front of the shop was now safe to pass for both cars and pedestrians.

The building housing the souvenir store ‘Angela’s’ in the Plaza Nueva square contained shop stock including rugs and carpets, which could have increased the ferocity of the fire on the upper levels.

Angela’s, known previously as Sondra’s, is reportedly owned by the wife of ex-Mojacar mayor and ex-senator Bartolome Flores.

(Photo: Lenox Napier)