Rip off charges by Caixa Bank !!

Steve C, nobody is trying to tell their life story or bore anyone unnecessarily, simply trying to answer the OP's question by sharing their own experiences.

Brian, nobody is talking here about avoiding tax or walking around with wads of cash for the fun of it, only about how to avoid extortionate bank charges when moving large sums of money around.

OP: "Does anyone know if i called in and wanted to withdraw a large sum in cash whether there would be any charge or if there is any other way of withdrawing ones own money free of any charges?"

Banks in Spain charge for just about everything if they can. In the past (sorry if this is boring) I have been charged for depositing a cheque from a property transaction;  requesting a paper statement over the counter at a branch other than my own; withdrawing cash from an ATM at my own bank; depositing cash into a community account - held at the same bank and branch as my own account....I could go on. The point is, the only 100% guaranteed way for the OP to withdraw all his sale proceeds in one go without charge is to take it out in cash. Not ideal, of course, and as Team GB says, you can make online transfers within the SEPA for free, (depending on your account T&Cs no doubt) - but I have a feeling you may find that there's a daily limit (e.g. €10K) imposed by some banks, which makes it a slow and tiresome process.

Brian, electronic transfers performed by the bank on your behalf attract a fee. Changing bank accounts attracts a fee, because you have to have the funds transfered somehow. Bankers' drafts have been around in Spain for as long as anywhere else - in fact, in probably 99.9% of property transactions it is the normal form of payment. But banks charge for these also (a percentage of face value). 

Whilst the use of black money (undeclared cash) has reduced a lot since the "good old days", it is still exists (again, speaking from recent personal experience). However lawyers, agents and of course notaries are a little less inclined to turn a blind eye these days, banks are far more likely to ask for justification of where large sums have come from  (even in the old days I used a safety deposit box rather than face the Spanish inquisition over certain "wads") and there is nowadays a very high probablility that if you under-declare a property transaction, the tax office will reject your figures and charge tax on what they believe the true figure should be anyway, so there's less incentive to under-declare anyway.

One small point on Team GB's last post: it is possible to buy a property by transfering funds directly to the vendor, but it's not common because it's not 100% fail-safe. The notary needs evidence that the funds have been received by the vendor - which means the transfer has to be done in advance of signing. And contrary to popular belief, it is possible to cancel a transfer after it has been made - albeit at some expense to the transferor. 

I’m sure the further clarification is welcome by the op.  I can’t help but be amazed how these systems are so far behind current technology.  

Its laughable. 

Roberto 

Yes someone is and they do it regularly 

We all transfer money but some detail is simply not needed yes help and share but don' brag or try and show off 

Add to this he OP had not been back so is this another invented question that some one likes to answer and share their FULL experience

I remember an old aunt who used to tell stories in so much detail(we used to joke that she told us how many sugars everyone  took it their tea and the biscuits they ate)  we all got bored and lost the thread of the story........ but we digress

As the original enquirer regarding the bank rip off subject I am very greatful to all the helpful and informative comments made by everyone. It was the withdrawal of cash to avoid these rip off fees that I wondered would get over the problem, however when living afar its not always practical when all you wish to do is transfer the money to a good FX bank for conversion to stirling.  

Ok.   What I’m struggling to understand is why have a bank and then risk your cash by taking it out.   There must be another reason?   

Someone mentioned taking 100 grand out in cash.    Why????

it doesn’t make any sense to me without good reason, sorry.    Is it to evade tax perhaps?   I don’t get it, sorry

Okay briando, here goes.....You know you need a bank for various items that need to done...Thats that answered.

Whats the risk of taking out, lets say this 100,000€, unless you saw someone inside the bank watching you chances are no one would know you had that kind of money on you.

The 100,000€ taken out in cash was as explained to buy an apartment with, no doubt the seller wanted to reduce the sale price, avoid tax and so on, part payment bank draft rest in cash, you know that goes on in Spain.

The good reason is to reduce your profit margin which could reduce your tax also....Is this to evade tax...Of course it is.

I bought one house in Spain for 105, 000€, the seller wanted 35,000€ on a bank draft the remaining 70,000€ in cash, I said no, you can have 65,000€ bank draft the rest cash, he didn't like it and argued all the way so I told him to stuff the sale, I stood to lose £1,000 deposit (Sterling) that I had paid him, no big deal, he backed down because he was going to lose a sale from someone who had the money.

Spain works on cash, my mate had all his doors and frames replaced, agreed price, when it came to payment my mate gave him cash, the fitter was shocked as he hadn't asked for cash, or mentioned cash, he then knocked of 150€ because of cash....Leave it up to anyone to work it out if the fitter paid tax.

Go one step further and come back to England, maybe not for you but have you seen these houses that the so called 'Travellers' are having built, another mate sold his house and land to one, £450,000, the 'Traveller' paid him out in cash, all of it.

Yes Cristo, it is extortionate to charge for clicking a button, but you can check your banks terms and conditions to see if this is what you signed up to.    

Santander over here charge for international transactions, TSB don’t.   Guess which one I use.   I wouldn’t dream of carrying it round in a brown envelope or suitcase though!

baz.   Thanks for the simple answer, yep to evade tax.    So that’s the reason the 100grand poster did it you reckon?

baz.   Thanks for the simple answer, yep to evade tax.    So that’s the reason the 100grand poster did it you reckon?

Or maybe to get a discount, or maybe the seller didn't have a bank account,  possibly many reasons, and I would, wouldn't you?

The trouble with many people is that they want to condemn others for 'Maybe' doing something outside of the tax laws, but conveniently forgetting what they have done over the past years.

Well Baz.  I have been known to pay my window cleaner and my local shopkeeper in cash, its really convenient to do so.

100 grand in cash for services or transactions?   Nope, you leave me behind on that one.

I was once asked to pay exactly 100 grand for a plot of land where I was going to establish a joinery business, but after thinking about it for around 30 seconds, I said no thanks, it sounds bent.

Maybe the way property is transacted in Spain in the daily life it's OK to do this, maybe there are people who have been stung, maybe there are just great wedges of cash swimming around in the black economy?  Im not condemning anyone but it makes more sense now.

I wouldnt conveniently forget that amount of cash in a transaction though Baz, not in a million years!!!

Brian, it was (and to a much lesser extent still is) the norm in Spain for property transactions to involve quite considerable sums of black money - yes, obviously to avoid tax. Think about it - in the UK buy-to-letters are outraged that they now have to pay 3% stamp duty; in Spain, you have to pay between 8-10% transfer tax even when buying a home to live in. But in my particular boring example from my life story, I was merely trying to move money from one account to another - which is the OP's position, since he has already completed the property transaction. There's no tax to be avoided - only extortionate bank fees. And the technology is not in question either, only what Spanish banks charge for using it.

CRISTO: may I suggest you talk to Currencies Direct? They have a client account with La Caixa, so they may be able to arrange the transfer of your funds to their account without charge, and from there they can convert to Sterling and forward to your nominated receiving account, presumably in the UK. They normally suggest paying the funds from your sale directly into their client account (see quote from an e-mail I received from them below) so it may be too late, but I would certainly enquire with them first.

True Roberto.....I'm sure the tenants in the buy to let properties over here will be really happy their landlords avoided paying the tax that then supports many of them in the housing benefit and work assistant benefits, which gets paid back to the very same landlords.

It would be comforting for these property owners to know the rest of us can make sure these tenants can pay the shortfall for them.  After all, these tenants live in places like London and the south east, and provide the emergency services required, even for the tax dodgers!!!!

I wonder what the economy misses out on in Spain Roberto.......a fast and efficient court system maybe ha.

These comments seem to be getting increasingly confusing / confused and irrelevant. I think we should concentrate on trying to answer the OP's question.

CRISTO: may I suggest you talk to Currencies Direct? They have a client account with La Caixa, so they may be able to arrange the transfer of your funds to their account without charge, and from there they can convert to Sterling and forward to your nominated receiving account, presumably in the UK. They normally suggest paying the funds from your sale directly into their client account (see quote from an e-mail I received from them below) so it may be too late, but I would certainly enquire with them first.

"With our partner bank in Spain (La Caixa) we have the facility to deposit client drafts directly into our segregated client account and avoid ALL fees and charges, meaning that every euro and cent is available to transfer. We do not require you to open an account with La Caixa, all clients utilise the same segregated client account."