Closing a bank account with Cajasur Bank

I wonder if any of the readers can help me. I have retired now and sold my holiday home in Spain. I haven't left the UK for two years and have no real desire to. We may go on foreign holidays again but I don't feel any immediate need to. When I sold my holiday home in Spain there was a small balance in my Cajasur bank account which I reduced to just a few cents by making an online transfer. I then wrote to Cajasur asking them to close the account as having sold the property, paid all taxes etc I no longer needed a Spanish bank account. They replied that we needed to attend in person to arrange this. I advised that we were now back in the UK, had no intention of going back to Spain and that surely they couldn't be insisting in this day and age that two pensioners (joint bank account) would need to undertake two international flights simply to close an account with about 30 cents in it.

This correspondence batted back and forth for about 6 months or more until eventually one member of staff said she would take this up with her superiors to try and get a decision. Again I heard nothing further until l sent her an email enquiring as to progress and she advised she no longer worked at my branch and someone from there would contact me in due course. I should add that I have put further funds into my Cajasur account as with the application of charges the account became overdue, possibly about 50 euros or so.

Things are still not resolved, the account is still open and when the next application of charges arrives it will go into the red again. I don't know how to resolve this. I'm only asking to close a current account. I've offered to return the bank card to them in the post and that I would cut it up in advance however the card has actually expired anyway. I don't know how to take this matter higher as I don't speak or write Spanish but I can't believe that in this day and age anyone would seriously expect two people to fly about 3500 miles or so (there and back) simply to give instructions face to face to close a bank account but that in essence is what the Cajasur staff are saying I need to do. Have they not heard of global warming and unnecessary flying taking place?

I know this might sound fantastical but this is really happening to me. How can I end this saga without going back to Andalucia. I don't have to go to my own branch but I must go to one of their branches and they are only in Andalucia.

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Holmome 7980 - as you say it's absurd that the bank wish you to travel all that way just to close the account (they maybe just quoting their rule book. 

Personally I reckon you've made your intentions clear, so I wouldn't bother.  The Spanish tend to be pragmatic folk so I doubt if they really expect you to do so either.

Perhaps a short email to them suggesting they just close the account and donate any surplus funds to a local charity?

Have you considered reaching out to the bank's customer service via email or their main office contact number, explaining your situation in detail and requesting assistance in English? It might also help to seek out expat forums or local community groups online, as someone may have experience dealing with similar issues and could offer advice or even translate for you. Red Light Green Light Additionally, looking into potential consumer protection agencies in Spain that handle grievances might provide further options to escalate your case. 

Arthur and Acer thank you for your kind replies. I will try and see if there are any other sites that might be able to suggest a solution. I did try writing to the bank's customer service department. One of my friends here in Scotland actually was taking Spanish classes as a hobby in retirement so we cobbled together an email in Spanish and sent it to the Bank's head office customer service department. Guess what. Not even an acknowledgment. So either his Spanish might not be up to scratch or nobody really cares. Having said that because of the application of charges to an account I don't want I owe them about 60 euros again. Do the Spanish have a banking ombudsman like we do I wonder. This would be the last resort in our country to resolve a problem like this but alas I don't know if something similar exists in Spain.

Hello holhome7980,

There's a very apt expression..."when in Rome..." of course I appreciate you're not in Spain, but I suggest you adopt their attitude and their way of doing things (or not doing things, as in this case). 

As a general rule the Spanish do not write letters.  I've bought and sold many properties over the years and never received one letter in return, not that many emails either!  It's all done verbally.

As I said previouslyYou've made your intentions clear, so I wouldn't bother.  The Spanish tend to be pragmatic folk so I doubt if they really expect you to do so either.

Perhaps a short email to them suggesting they just close the account and donate any surplus funds to a local charity?

They will get the message, but it may take a while.