It is no longer a David against Goliath fight or as the Spanish would put it, it is no longer a fight against windmills, banks actually have to give money back to those who signed abusive clauses with them or rather, were made to sign abusive clauses.
I am talking about the famous ( or infamous) floor clause. A floor clause is a clause included in many Spanish floating-rate mortgages where the lender sets a limit on how low the interest rate can fall in tandem with the benchmark rate. This clause makes impossible for the mortgage buyers to fully profit from the record-low interests rates.
Usually the interest rates are tied to the Euribor, that is the Euro interbank rate. The floor clause means that, regardless of how low Euribor falls, mortgage customers would continue to pay interest at the fixed minimum rate.
How can you know that you have a floor clause for your mortgage. It is quite simple, really: was there a decrease in your mortgage payments since 2008? If the answer is no, it is very likely that your mortgage contains a floor clause.
This clause was deemed illegal by the Spanish high court in 2013. At the same time, the court decided that this ruling should not have retroactive effect, meaning that banks should not have to pay back the excess money they received as a result of the floor clauses before the ruling. This was nevertheless challenged by mortgage buyers, and the Luxembourg-based European Court sided with them in its final ruling.
So, what should you do?
Contact us at Fernandez Cuevas Lawyers and ask for a study and revision of your mortgage. Our Banking Law specialists have an extensive experience in the representation of floor clause claims.
After knowing if you have an abusive clause in your mortgage, we will proceed to formalizing your claim against your bank. Not only will we claim the money back, but also assure a reduction on your mortgage interest.
We will eliminate for you the floor clause without upfront payment and recover every cent that you´ve overpaid.[:en]It is no longer a David against Goliath fight or as the Spanish would put it, it is no longer a fight against windmills, banks actually have to give money back to those who signed abusive clauses with them or rather, were made to sign abusive clauses.
I am talking about the famous ( or infamous) floor clause. A floor clause is a clause included in many Spanish floating-rate mortgages where the lender sets a limit on how low the interest rate can fall in tandem with the benchmark rate. This clause makes impossible for the mortgage buyers to fully profit from the record-low interests rates.
Usually the interest rates are tied to the Euribor, that is the Euro interbank rate. The floor clause means that, regardless of how low Euribor falls, mortgage customers would continue to pay interest at the fixed minimum rate.
How can you know that you have a floor clause for your mortgage. It is quite simple, really: was there a decrease in your mortgage payments since 2008? If the answer is no, it is very likely that your mortgage contains a floor clause.
This clause was deemed illegal by the Spanish high court in 2013. At the same time, the court decided that this ruling should not have retroactive effect, meaning that banks should not have to pay back the excess money they received as a result of the floor clauses before the ruling. This was nevertheless challenged by mortgage buyers, and the Luxembourg-based European Court sided with them in its final ruling.
So, what should you do?
Contact us at Fernandez Cuevas Lawyers and ask for a study and revision of your mortgage. Our Banking Law specialists have an extensive experience in the representation of floor clause claims.
After knowing if you have an abusive clause in your mortgage, we will proceed to formalizing your claim against your bank. Not only will we claim the money back, but also assure a reduction on your mortgage interest.
We will eliminate for you the floor clause without upfront payment and recover every cent that you´ve overpaid.