OCU believes that the out-of-court system designed by the Government does not adequately protect those affected and favors banks

1. What effect does a floor clause have?

OCU recalls that in an average loan of 150,000 euros at 25 years, signed in March 2001, revisable to the Euribor plus 1%, with a floor of 3.5%, the amounts paid more as a result of the clause soil more than 12,000 Euros.

2. What has the Government decided?

OCU believes that the out-of-court system designed by the Government does not adequately protect those affected and favors banks. This Decree-Law has obliged financial institutions to implement a specific mechanism to claim, prior to the lawsuit. It will be the bank that decides what it returns and in what conditions, becoming thus judge and part.

3. How to complain?

OCU recalls that, as a voluntary procedure, it will not start until the affected party files a complaint. OCU makes available a complaint template at www.ocu.org/modelos. If you accept the claim, the entity must provide a calculation of the amount to be returned, which should add legal interest over the overpaid amounts. The bank may decide that the claim does not proceed but must state its reasons. Due to the refusal to admit the claim, the user may file a lawsuit.

4. Is it in the interest of consumers to use this voluntary procedure?

OCU recommends that those affected who have not initiated judicial proceedings should first resort to this extrajudicial system: it is free and must be answered within a maximum of 3 months. If you do not agree with what the entity offers, you can always go to court. OCU will support those affected in all cases.

5. Will they refund the cash?

OCU has always defended the option of a cash refund if they so wish; However, the standard leaves other possibilities open, such as amortizing part of the outstanding capital of the loan or entering it into some savings product of the entity, such as a pension plan or savings insurance. Entities may also propose repayment in cash, but in exchange for modifying the loan (for example, passing it to fixed interest); An option that OCU does not consider advisable.

6. How do you know if the bank's offer is of interest?

Firstly, those affected must check whether the amount offered by the bank is the one that really corresponds to them. The task is not simple. OCU advises to use the free OCU calculator, which will also offer the option to obtain loan repayment tables with and without floor clause, for clarity. The OCU calculator is available at www.ocu.org/calcular-clausula-suelo.

7. If the procedure is initiated, should the affected parties accept what they are offered?

In no case: if the entities offer less than their share, those affected can reject the agreement and go to court. The decree also provides for banks to be ordered to pay costs, that is, to pay attorney and attorney fees, if the sentence finally establishes compensation higher than the one proposed by the bank.

8. What is the deadline to claim?

The standard does not set a deadline, but OCU recommends filing the claim as soon as possible. The deadline for obtaining a reply is 3 months: if there is no response, the out-of-court procedure is deemed to have terminated without agreement.

9. What to do if the judicial process has already been initiated?

The rule provides for the possibility of suspending legal proceedings if the person concerned and the entity agree, but vary according to what is agreed on the costs of the procedure up to that time: it is best to consult the lawyer or organization in charge of the procedure .

10. Do I have to declare what has been recovered in the IRPF?

No, it is not necessary to include these amounts as income in the income statement, nor the interest of delay; But it may be necessary to correct statements from past financial years if there were higher deductions in the past or deductible deductible rent expenses, which are greater than they should have been. OCU recalls that if a deduction for home acquisition was taken, 15% of the loan installments paid could be deducted, up to a maximum of 9,040 euros per year; As the quotas with soil were higher, perhaps a deduction was made higher than that which could have been practiced in case of no soil; In that case, that difference must be returned.

Finally, OCU also recalls that it has initiated a campaign to demand from the banks the return of expenses of formalization mortgages. At the end of 2015 a judgment of the Supreme Court, won by OCU, considered that the clauses that impose to the consumer all the expenses of formalization and constitution of mortgages (Notary and Registry) and the payment of the taxes that correspond to the bank, On average 3,100 euros per mortgage. OCU considers that, as a consequence of the abusive nature of this clause and of the