MADRID, 29 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sumar has denounced the lack of transparency and agreement in some mortgage contracts and has demanded that the Government intervene to correct some irregularities such as the non-agreed amortizations that financial entities apply unilaterally to consumer mortgages.
Specifically, it has been the deputies Félix Alonso and Carlos Martín who have registered a battery of questions in Congress to know the Government’s position on the ‘redito ad libitum’ (Redal) system in mortgage contracts, through which, as they point out , banks could be hiding the economic burden and their financial obligations from the consumer.
The deputies explain that in a correctly defined mortgage contract two agreements must be established, one for the interest that the client will pay monthly for the money lent by the bank and another for the amount of capital that will be amortized each month to return the loan.
These agreements are signed using two mathematical formulas that refer to the accrued interest, on the one hand, and the installments, on the other. The sum of both is known as a mixed quota.
According to a report from the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs of the Balearic Government, in the contracts in the Redal situation, the formula or financial agreement that determines the amount of the new installments when the interest rate of the loan is changed is missing, among other irregularities.
Thus, in some contracts the formulas are incorrectly set and the technical language used is only understandable by professionals with knowledge of economics or advanced mathematics, something that, in the opinion of the deputies, “is also irregular.”
Alonso and Martín point out that this type of contract for the granting of mortgages was common until 2011, when the Ministry of Economy published a Ministerial Order to put an end to the problem. They also assure that the Bank of Spain knew about these contracts since 2002.
From Sumar they understand that these contracts, which are later validated by notaries and other public notaries, contain “serious errors, abusive clauses, lack of financial transparency and other types of irregularities”, so they could be resorted to Justice to appeal them and even avoid eviction in a situation of non-payment of the fee.
With all this, Sumar wants to know what measures the Government plans to take in these situations and if changes are planned in the legislation to improve consumer protection.
Deputies also ask how the Executive plans to deal with cases in which consumers face bankruptcy due to the unilateral imposition of one of these write-offs and what financial support measures can be offered.
Ultimately, the plurinational group suggests resources and educational programs to help consumers better understand the financial terms of mortgage contracts and make informed decisions before signing a mortgage loan.
