La Caixa refusing to pay out on life insurance.

Acer you are entitled to your opinion, some on here may well agree, but I doubt those like DANNI1 would agree, who have taken 12 years in court to get their own money back.

I think Mickyfinn post said it all.

Spanish Banks and insurance companies are notorious for not paying out life assurance claims. In fact my bank manager confided to me once that having life insurance is a waste of money because they will forensically examine the contracts to find fault and avoid paying out claims. They will also make you or your dependants jump through hoops for years until you give up.

It’s entirely wrong but that is unfortunately how it works. They happily take your money but the flow is only one way.

Are we talking about the La Caixa who often repossess indebted properties but fail to register with the Land Registry and can take up to one year before they actually pay any Community fees due, demanding Administtrators and Communities run through hoops to get money owed by law.

A great example to good business practice.

Spanish Banks alone still owe Billions to Communities throughout Spain and most do the best they can to delay or even avoid payments.

PS, it was me that mentioned insurers having had the experience of our Community insurer wanting to up Community Insurance by 50% because they made no money.

When we gave notice of cancellation they said they would do it for a 5% increase.

I ll leave you to work out my response.

I can understand all sides in scenario.  I don't share the unpleasant adjectives used by Kavanagh, which is certainly not my experience, but as a generalism the Spanish are not good business people. 

Presumably they wanted to increase your premiums as they had made losses, which is not unreasonable.  But although there were losses on paper they didn't want to actually lose your business as they will have also made a turn on the re-insurance placement.  So there is some logic there, but not followed through as you would expect. 

They often don't seem to realise that these days British consumers have little loyalty - they invariably go with the cheapest and expect the best terms up front.

But this is very different to the unkind comments from Kavanagh that Spanish banks and insurance companies "have a gutter reputation of trickery and deceit" - absolute nonsense.

Ok Guys, I don't want to get into arguments about this, I don't live in Spain so have no comments.

I will try and clear a few things up, acer I don't really know where your comment:  "You have to view the situation from La Caixa's viewpoint - they have asked for a "un certificado de titularidad de la cuenta corriente" which you have not provided.  You have then tried to bully them and involved a solicitor, but still not provided a "un certificado de titularidad de la cuenta corriente ".   came from, you obviously havent read the post properly. I will reiterate a few things and add a few.

Solicitors where involved from the start because my Mother hadn't written a will so I believe under spanish law in this case proceeds form the insurance policy go to the state.
We involved the solicitor to get the necessary paperwork so that the proceeds could be passed to my Father, my original post listed all the paperwork, translations etc we have had to pay for, every time we provided something, the bank then seemed to ask for something else. Finally after 2 years the bank agreed to pay out and asked us for details of where to pay the proceeds, we provided them with my Fathers bank account details in the UK and this is when they then asked for the "Certificate" so as the UK banks do not have this particular document, we sent bank statements and a letter from the branch manager to confirm they dont have that document in the UK and that indeed my father was the account holder. This is still not enough and they are refusing to pay out unless we provide this non existent "certificate" 
Another point is that my Father still has a bank card for the bank, we asked the bank to check if his account is still open so the proceeds could be paid into that, we sent them an image of the card, however they said they could not tell us if the account was still open as we have to provide the account number, unfortunately in the 2 years and my Father moving we cant find any paperwork with this on, so the bank knows his name, knows his spanish address has his card details but still cant tell us if his account is still open.
Finally as to my Father going over, he is 83 years old, has Bi-Polar and would not be able to travel on his own, which would mean somebody else going with him, a costly exercise with still no guarantee of receiving the funds.

From a recent experience re a simple query about my HSBC account via a phone call ..to goodness knows where....financial institutions even in UK won’t process any information without providing the details they want.

Annoying and frustrating as it is, whether or not we agree,  due to numerous fraudulent practices and money laundering  that is the way banks WW HAVE work these days.

 Keeno65, As you are unable to either give  the bank the details they want and your father is unable to travel then suggest you draw a line under it...and carry on with your lives 

And the moral is...do as requested and make a Spanish will.

Keeno65, with respect you seem to be blaming La Caixa for problems which are self inflicted (lack of will) and now being perpetuated by yourself. 

I totally sympathise with the situation you have, but why do you blame the bank?  That is a rhetorical question. You must try harder to view the situation from the other perspective.  And keep it simple!

I'm not going to repeat myself - you can issue lots of complaints and tell your problem to lots of websites, who no doubt add pointless expletives, but you really need to communicate properly with La Caixa, no one else.

If you ask nicely for their help it could be sorted quickly, but you need to listen and treat them with a bit more respect.

Well what a condescending pair you are, my Mother should have made a will, communicate properly, draw a line under it, brilliant advice. For your information acer as I know you probably still havent read my initial post properly, I have had no direct contact with the bank, it has all been done through my Spanish solicitors, who believe it or not actually speak Spanish. If you honestly think that the bank has no blame in this and they are not trying everything to prevent paying  out, then you are deluded.
 

I tend to agree with you, La Caixa are indeed well known for squirming out of paying and most solicitors won’t take then on as they get work back from them.

as an example, La Caixa would not accept the Administrators minutes of an AGM in order to pay fees, they needed signed Minutes.

Bankers and many lawyers are the supposed elite in Spain and difficult to fight.

Yes of course with hindsight we should understand the problems banks have with identity fraud and documentation and we should all make out wills but not everyone does and although it can be a longer process, no reason why it can’t be sorted by the bank other than being so intransigent, especially if you have sent them as much relevant information as it appears you have.

Sorry for the loss of your mum.

Once again an OP, when the replies don't go their liking resort to be, at the least impolite, to the downright rude...AND once again such posts get a “like”!!!!!!!

Have to ask WHY anyone  would be asking unknown people on a forum when a professional Spanish lawyer, and the bank, have already explained how to resolve the problem ....and whose advice I am unable or refuse to undertake.

Something definitely amiss here...

floella, enlighten me, you say the lawyer (solicitor) and the bank have explained how to resolve the problem, how do I resolve the problem, what advice am I unable or refuse to undertake?

Something amiss? Why am I asking unknown people on a Spanish Banks Forum? 
Do you actually read what you write?

Lol, I thought everyone was unknown on Internet Forums.

I also thought Forums were the place to come to try and illicit some help or advice if desperate.

I personally have learned a lot from reading on here especially not to believe the first thing you are told in Spain.

Ask 4 Spanish lawyers and you are likely to get 5 opinions.

The OP has asked a serious question that could happen to many, they have provided as much information as should be necessary to prove ID other than a Spanish Document that does not exist under EU Laws.

Give new posters a break if unable to add constructive ideas.

There woukd be no Forum without new posters and new questions.

Perhaps first  keeno65 you would like to enlighten us and explain what proof you can give the La Caixa the your father is the same person ...not a person with the same name who now has an account in U.K.... as that on the bank card of an Spanish account whose number he cannot recall.

Who mentioned anything about a Spanish Banks forum.....certainly not me. .....perhaps you should read what you write 🙄

Forum, yes, where not only are most of the names fictitious but trolls abound.

Derrrr

EyeOnSpain Message Board, titled Spanish Banks.

Surely if you believe posters are Trolls, just ignore them, they will,soon get bored.

Hugh, headings only highlight what a discussion is about. Anyone who thinks the replies are from experts.....well...mind boggles.

And, yes I do ignore trolls once they become remotely obvious.

Anything else ?

Hugh, headings only highlight what a discussion is about. Anyone who thinks the replies are from experts.....well...mind boggles.

And, yes I do ignore trolls once they become remotely obvious.

Anything else ?

Hugh, I can see from your previous posts that you're a generous fellow.  But personally I would prefer an OP who doesn't arrive asking for advice as that they don't know Spain, nor never spoke or had contact with the alleged miscreant - and yet somehow already decided it's all their fault.  The logic of that is not easy to follow.

Incidentally Michael Lewis was a good call - The Big Short was mindblowing, thanks for that.

Do you know what floella, I think you should just quit before you dig your hole even deeper. I know there are no experts on here, what I was hoping for was some constructive ideas from people living in Spain who have experience with the Spanish system, speak English and may give me some ideas that may help me. Quite frankly, the only troll on here has been yourself with acer coming a close second, by the way funnily enough a couple of years ago my Father did actually tell me he wasn't my Father but his twin Brother and he had come to help my Dad escape, this was when he was in Hospital with his Bi-Polar, maybe the bank got wind of this. acer you talk double dutch and make no sense whatsoever, you seem to just throw in random comments with no substance whatsoever, I think you should just stop as well.
To everybody else, I appreciate your comments and advice, to be honest I was hoping somebody had come across this "certificate" issue before and may point me in the right direction, however it seems nobody has.
hugh_man, thank you for your support, however I do hope your team lose tomorrow against mine.
Also to Kavanagh, thanks for posting the address of the London branch of Caixa bank, I will be calling them next week to see if they can help me sort this out.
Generally to (nearly) everybody thank you for all you comments I hope I can get this sorted soon, for such a relatively small amount  it is now more the principle that I want this to get paid out, it is obvious the bank is putting any obstruction they can in the way to prevent paying out. This behaviour would simply not be tolerated in the UK with regulators and ombudsmans ready to step in and sort it out. Thanks all.

👋👋👋👋👋👋👋😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

keeno65

You might wish to ponder what you are seeking to achieve.

You and Kavanagh are supreme optimists if you really think that an approach to La Caixa in London will achieve anything.  You need to communicate yourself with the La Caixa branch involved, as no doubt you will be told.  You would have been better off doing this a long time ago.