19 Mar 2021 9:16 PM:

Hi Cary -

Glad that you got there in the end.

I did my proof of identity at the consulate in London because I needed to get the certificate at short notice.

Once you have it, you can sign up to receive notifications from national, regional, provincial and local government bodies by email. You can also do things like check the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) to see if you've got any outstanding debts that you didn't know about.

Take care.

Thread: Getting Your House Bills Electronically When Stuck In The UK

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19 Mar 2021 4:08 PM:

Hi again Cary -

I would say that, particularly under the current circumstances, having a digital certificate is almost a must for any non-resident. It allows you to do many things from the UK that would otherwise be very difficult if not impossible.

As you may already know, there are two types of digital certificate in Spain: the Cl@ve and the FNMT electronic certificate. Both perform more or less the same function, but it's probably slightly easier to obtain the latter.

There are three steps to obtaining an FNMT digital certificate:

1. applying for a certificate online
2. proving your identity in person
3. downloading the certificate from the internet

To carry out the first step, visit 

and select the link 2. Solicitud vía internet de su Certificado. That should take you to the Solicitud de Certificado FNMT de Persona Física web form.

You'll see that there are only 4 boxes to complete on the form:

Nº del Documento de Identificación [your NIE]
Primer Apellido (tal y como aparece en su documento de identificación) [your (first) surname]
Correo Electrónico [your email address]
Confirme aquí su Correo Electrónico [confirmation of your email address]

Once you've completed those boxes, click the Pulse aquí para consultar y aceptar las condiciones de expedición del certificado link to accept the conditions for issuing a certificate, then click the Enviar Petición button.

If all is well, your browser should display an Abrir ConfiguradorFNMT button. Click that button.

You should then be asked to enter a password [Introduzca la contraseña]. This password will 'unlock' your digital certificate when you eventually download it, so make sure that you don't forget it, otherwise you'll have to go through the whole process of obtaining a certificate again.

When you've entered your chosen password and confirmed it, click the Aceptar button. You should then see a notification that your application (ie step 1. above) has been processed correctly. A short while later, you should receive an email containing your application code [código de solicitud]. Then you can move on to step 2.

There's no requirement to enter a support number. I believe that you'll only have a support number if you've got a Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI), which is different from your NIE document.

The process for proving your identity at the Spanish Consulate is described (in Spanish) on the following web page:

To make an appointment, you now have to send an email message to:

It's a bit of a faff having to travel to London, especially at the moment, but since none of us knows when we'll be able to visit our property in Spain again, it's probably worth the effort for a bit of peace of mind.

Anyway, good luck if you decide to give it a go.

 

This message was last edited by free_bee on 19/03/2021.

This message was last edited by free_bee on 19/03/2021.
Thread: Getting Your House Bills Electronically When Stuck In The UK

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18 Mar 2021 6:57 PM:

Hi Cary -

Are you talking about obtaining a digital certificate that you install on your computer (or phone or tablet)? If so, the process involves visiting an 'accreditation office' to have your identity validated. In Spain, that would usually be your local town hall, tax office or social security office. In the UK, you would have to visit the Spanish Consulate in London.

There are several guides on the Internet that describe the full process in English. You can also download the instructions (in Spanish) from the FNMT website.

Once you've installed your digital certificate on your chosen device, you should be able to access the 'Virtual Tax Office' of your local Ayuntamiento, from where you'll be able to download copies of your IBI bills. As you say, those bills will include the catastral value of your property, which you need to complete your non-resident's income tax form (modelo 210).

In order to apply for a digital certificate from the FNMT, you should only need to enter your NIE, your name as it appears on your passport and your email address.

I hope that the above is helpful.

Thread: Getting Your House Bills Electronically When Stuck In The UK

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28 Feb 2021 10:43 AM:

The EPC list of Countries in the SEPA Schemes’ Geographical Scope (EPC409-09) states: "It is assumed that legislation adopted for the EEA (including Regulation (EU) No 260/2012) only fully and directly applies to payment transactions between institutions located within the EU and the EEA."

So, it could be argued that Article 9 of EU Regulation 260/2012, which deals with Payment Accessibility (ie IBAN discrimination), no longer applies to SEPA Direct Debit transactions involving a UK bank.

Also, the Criteria for Participation in the SEPA Schemes for communities of banks or financial institutions outside the European Economic Area (EEA) (EPC061-14) states: "The EPC recognises that a challenge to the level playing field principle arises where SEPA Scheme Participants in EU and EEA countries are eligible for waivers or other special benefits under European Directives or Regulations but which would be unavailable to Scheme Participants in non-EEA countries."

Unfortunately, that probably means that Spanish banks can get away with charging whatever they want for receiving transfers from UK bank accounts.

 

This message was last edited by free_bee on 28/02/2021.
Thread: Bank Charges

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12 Feb 2021 10:22 AM:

@Marksfish

No, I don't think that you're being too simplistic.

Whether it's better to send Euros to TW, or to send GBP and let TW do the conversion, is another question. I'll probably do the latter because there's a bit less work involved.

Obviously, I would prefer to continue paying the direct debits from Starling. To that end, I'm still pursuing the utility companies and the ayuntamiento to make the necessary system changes for that to happen.

With some help from me, the management company that handles the affairs of my Comunidad de Propietarios has successfully updated its system, so I know that it is still possible for Spanish creditors to take payments from a UK bank account by SEPA direct debit.

Poco a poco ...

Thread: Starling Bank Euro Account

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