La Caixa Mortgage Problems

Looking for advice please.

I am 7 months in arrears on a La Caixa mortgage. Lots of things happened to bring me to this situation including negligence by the previous branch manager which the bank are quietly admitting to having also removed him and saying they want a solution to the situation without looking back into the past!

However as we know talk is cheap and the legal proceedings keep going.

It took me 4 months to eventallu get a meeting with the area manager who denied ever having received letters from me despite showing him the recorded delivery certificates and hand delivering copies to the new branch manager!

At this meeting i was told they would come up with a solution in 7 days for me.After waiting 2 weeks i spoke to the branch manager who said there suggestion was to find someone English in the town and get them to remortgage their house to give me the money to pay off the arrears. He said they could´nt think of anything else!

I wrote back to the area manager obviously disnissing the banks suggestions and offering reduced payments and review dates as well as 3 suggestions to move forward with the situation pointing out yet again the previous bank managers negligence.

Surprisingly! after 3 weeks i still have no reply even though i know from the recorded delivery receipt that the letter has arrived and been signed for.

So my question is what do ido next? The bank ignore letters,phone calls,don´t turn up to arranged meetings etc so i don´t know what to do next.

The manager and area manager refuse to give me a senior persons contact details at the head office and did´nt know who the director general of the bank was! Until i showed them his name and picture at which point they said he was to busy to deal with people like me!

Is there anyway i can show i have been trying in vain to get the situation resolved as i´m waiting for a dreaded knock on the door sayingheres a court date.Is there any legal act i can quote saying the bank have to talk to me and respond?

I have written to the director general of the bank copying all my previous letters and notes etc but guess what no reply after two weeks.

Thanks for reading hope someone can offer advice

Sorry to hear of your problems.

I'm afraid that both the Spanish and their bank managers have a rather different view of mortgage arrears than their Anglo Saxon breathren. It is often said that they would live on bread and water rather than miss a payment...though it'll be interesting to see if the downturn softens this attitude.

I suggest that you have another account open, into which you continue to make the maximum possible monthly payments, as it appears that money is the only thing they will listen to.

Sorry to hear your situation.

Talk to your Spanish lawyer or send a PM to Maria de Castro on this site - there is certainly a formal complaints procedure you can follow for the lack of attention you have received - la Caixa arent obliged to offer a solution although in the current climate all banks are being guided to try to find a "best solution" for all. The courts are very backed up (subject to area of course) and the "system" does not want more unneccessary blockages preventing the courts going about more urgent business. You will be relying to a large extent on La Caixa lending a sympathetic ear but I suspect it may be a deaf one.

Sounds as if youre doing it anyway but keep all receipts for delivered mail etc and if you have anything in writing acknowledging previous branch managers negligence (apology letter or something) then hang on to it.