Top European court says homeowners in Spain can claim against banks if mortgage interest rates weren’t properly explained

The European Court of Justice has given the green light to Spanish courts to rule against lenders if mortgages were sold using the ‘more complicated’ IRPH rate rather than the more usual Euribor.

Around one million mortgage holders could benefit from the top court’s ruling as the IRPH rate (an average of market rates) didn’t drop as dramatically as the Euribor in recent years.

The ECJ has upheld earlier judgements that say using the IRPH is only valid if the different way of calculating it is clearly explained in the contract.

Spanish courts will now have to decide on a case by case basis if compensation is due from banks.

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Contact diego@fairwaylawyers.com for more information or call 00 34 952 771 150 or 00 34 606 307 885

About Fairway Lawyers

English, German and Spanish speaking lawyers/abogados serving Spain's Marbella, the Costa del Sol, Granada, Antequera and inland Andalucia. Tel: Telephone +34 952 77 11 50 or email: diego@fairwaylawyers.com If you have a matter that requires immediate attention please contact Diego Echavarria +34 606 307 885 (mobile)

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I would like to say how delighted I am with service I received from Fairway Lawyers. I found them to be very helpful, professional and very easy to talk to. I employed the services of Fairway Lawyers to start and register my new SL company. They dealt with every matter on my behalf and kept me well informed throughout the process, via telephone and email.

A. Mortimer (Clean Getaway SL)

When we engaged you we had been informed that you are specialists in real estate transactions, which proved to be essential, but we were not expecting that you would also help us earn more from the sale than we had anticipated.

Brandon Ahearn, Lawyer in Lugano

I would like to thank your lawyer Diego Echavarria for the very professional manner in which he handled my recent action to recover monies owed to me. It was a difficult case and he clarified in advance all the legal processes he had to undertake on my behalf. He kept me abreast of progress throughout, and thanks to his efforts we reached a successful conclusion.

Simone Lilley, Estepona

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Edward and Daisy

I have processed and obtained the National visa (Residence visa) for my family through Fairway Lawyers, c/ Nuestra Sra de gracia 28 1ºc, Marbella 29600, +34 952771150. I do not hesitate to recommend Fairway Lawyers, Marbella, who have helped meticulously and in fair way throughout the process of obtaining residence for my family in Spain.

Prasad C Rao, Bengaluru, India

Fairway Lawyers supported us in succesfully claiming a significant amount from a Spanish e-commerce platform that were unwilling or unable to pay, at a very reasonable price point. We wholeheartedly recommend their services.

Nicolas Jacquemart

How fortunate was I to have Diego recommended to me as my ‘abogado’. He arranged my initial rental contract, then organised my mortgage application and finally brought the conveyancing through to a successful conclusion. He has remained calm and efficient, dealing with any obstacle that arose in a positive manner. Though buying a property will never be the easiest undertaking, Señor Echavarria enabled it to be as stress-free as possible.

David Sewell

Anita and I would like to thank you for all the help, support and guidance you have given over the years. Not just your legal advice which has always has been first class, but your sympathy and understanding during some extremely distressing times. We have come to regard you not as our lawyer but as our friend. We hope your business continues to go from strength to strength, and your family enjoy good health and happiness. All our love and best wishes.

Anita and Peter

Diego helped me and my girlfriend go through several complicated steps, getting our Spanish residencies as foreigners, and ‘pareja de hecho’. We are very grateful to him for his work, advice and support. And now we can live in Spain as we originally dreamed! Without him we could never have achieved the Spanish residency for both of us.

Nathaniel Smithies

We would like to express how delighted we are with the service from Diego Echavarria and Fairway Lawyers. Over the years Diego has enabled us to get our Residence and Health Cards, write wills for us, and purchase and sell a house, all without absolute ease. Diego took away a great deal of stress on our behalves and enabled a smooth and effortless process on every occasion. This is testament to their level of helpfulness, knowledge and professionalism to see the job through to the end, and with a satisfactory result on every occasion. We would not hesitate to recommend Diego and Fairway Lawyers to others.

Stuart and Rachel Parker, Marbella

Dear Diego, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the assistance in Spain sorting through the paperwork and taking the time to clarify. Also most importantly retrieving the money I had overpaid the bank on my mortgage because the bank had not adjusted the interest for seven years. The two friends I recommended you, have since thanked me too.

Denis Foley

I would not hesitate in recommending Fairway Lawyers, and Diego in particular. They successfully challenged a clausula suelo (interest rate floor clause) in our mortgage and achieved a substantial out of court settlement. The clause was also removed resulting in a large reduction in mortgage repayments. We had to do very little as virtually all the work was carried out by Diego and his team directly.

Mike - UK/Mallorca - April 2020

Thanks to Diego and the immigration team at Fairway Lawyers we were able to move from Dubai to Spain. It was not easy as the Spanish Embassy did not help at all but in the end Diego found a way to bring all the family to Spain in the middle of the pandemic. All the family have settled in Madrid and my son is studying at school. Once again thanks for all your efforts and enthusiasm to achieve the goal.

Yalchin Nasirov - December 2020

Great company to have on your side when dealing with property sales in Spain, sorted all taxes and refunds when due. Went the extra mile especially during the Covid epidemic. Many thanks to Diego and team.

Simon

I am grateful to Diego and Fairway Lawyers for helping me and my wife with the application for the TIE card just before Brexit. It was a big relief to have full confidence in the lawyer to make sure all the paperwork was processed on time and correctly. We feel much safer in Spain having the TIE card, especially with all the Brexit changes happening in Spain in the current circumstances with so many restrictions and a curfew in place…

Shuj Datoo - February 2021

My husband and I highly recommend Diego Echavarria as an immigration lawyer. We first connected with him from abroad in August last year and explained our situation and requirements for moving to Spain. We needed to apply for residency by 31 December 2020 and only arrived in Spain in November (My husband has a British passport and I have a South African). He requested the necessary documentation and information and assured us that all the requirements necessary for the process had been met. Throughout the process Diego was always available for any questions or concerns, promptly replied to messages and phone calls. Nothing was ever too much trouble. We are more than satisfied with Diego’s professionalism, knowledge, willingness to assist, constant communication and would not hesitate to recommend him for any legal services.

Karen - 10 April 2021

Top man! I have known Diego for years. He is a very competent lawyer and very trustworthy.

Frank Knight - April 2021

Diego Echavarria has been representing many of my clients – both buyers and vendors – for over 17 years. He’s a consummate and highly competent in many other areas of law and very respected by all who have the pleasure of being represented by this LEGAL EAGLE. If anyone out there wants Five Star service, you have got to call Diego and you’ll end up being a client for life. And any of you real estate agents reading this should sit down and have a coffee with him sometime and you’ll be impressed and even more happy when you hear your clients raving thanking you for the introduction.

Randal Karotkin - Spanish Dream Estates - April 2021

Dear Diego, I was over the moon with your email explaining we had won the court case against the bank. I have to say I had gone through several different channels before meeting you, without even getting a response from the bank and then I saw your advertisement and decided to contact you. From the very beginning, you were very professional and explained to me after going through the bank statements that there was a case to answer totalling roughly 6,000 euros for which your fees would be 10% if they settled or 20% if the case went to court and also no fees upfront. After my previous experiences paying 500 euros and no responses I found this to be a great opportunity and one which has paid dividends. Diego, I can’t thank you enough and will not hesitate to recommend clients to you in the future. Kind regards, Raymond Small

Raymond Small - January 2023

I would like to thank my lawyer Diego for the assistance that he gave us to sell our apartment in La Reserva de Marbella. Diego’s due diligence during all meetings with the buyers’ solicitors was exceptional, highlighting in advance any obstacles that came our way. His meetings with anyone during negotiations ensured that every detail was covered including taxes due, taxes on pensions etc. When I first met Diego during the purchase of our apartment (20 years ago), unknown to us, there were two types of mortgages at the time. One was a Spanish mortgage and one was a European mortgage, Diego obtained a reimbursement of 8,000 euros for us and I think that this is still the case. So contact him for more information. Below is a list of documentation (amongst others) that were required which in some cases were not easy to obtain. Title deed, the Escritura Pública Passport NIE certificate IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) Cadastral certificate, the certificado catastral Latest electricity bill Certificate of habitability Energy certificate

Frank Knight

Our mortgage, taken out in 2007, had the cláusula suelo, and we requested our bank a number of times to amend but they refused to do so. In September 2021, we reached out to Fairway Lawyers and Diego Echavarria to take our case, which by this time could be considered as time-barred. Diego kept us fully informed of each step he was taking, and he got the case to court in spite of the bank’s resistance. We were awarded a very substantial compensation, far in excess of the additional money we had to pay on the mortgage due to the cláusula suelo. We have to say that Diego was a pleasure to deal with, he took a personal interest in our case, he was very informative and he really did deliver without a fuss. Fairway Lawyers will get all our family business in future. Thank you, Diego, and your great team.

Pat and Mary McMullin, Kenya

Top European court says homeowners in Spain can claim against banks if mortgage interest rates weren’t properly explained

FIND OUT IF YOU’RE OWED MONEY!

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