09 Sep 2016 6:35 PM:

Dear Maria,

could you please tell us what the rate of legal interest is?

i won my case but my solicitor, for some unknown reason, refuses to tell me what the legal interest rate which i was awarded was.  is it the same rate for everyone within a particular time span?  my contract with the developer stated the interest would be 6% but the amount i received back, after the court case, is about 2%.  it seems my solicitor has kept a lot more than i expected him to keep. i wonder why he refuses to tell me just how much i was awarded. i have received no information in writing from him and nothing which was issued by the court despite a number of requests?

i paid a deposit of euros 63,000.  the initial payment of euros 3,000 was paid in the developers office in Torrevieja using my Barclays Bank debit card and I have a payment slip to confirm this.  the second payment of euros 60,000 was made by bank transfer from my Solbank account in Torrevieja.  At the first instance hearing the court ordered the bank to pay me all euros 63,000 but at the appeal hearing the court ordered the bank to repay only the euros 60,000 made by bank transfer.  i have asked my solicitor why this happened and he refuses to tell me.  i suspect whoever represented me in the appeal court might have been negligent and at fault for this; but it's me who has lost euros 3,000 because of their incompetence.  obviously this is my take on things and maybe it's inaccurate but why else would the solicitor fail or refuse to tell me?

would you be able to question him about this?  i am clearly unhappy with the situation and i believe i should have been given thousands of euros more than my solicitor gave me.

Maria, would you please let me know if you could help me with this?

many thanks,

John A

Thread: An Orihuela Townhall Scandal

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18 Apr 2016 7:47 PM:

ads - when you list all those obstacles it's wonder we get anything back!!   we really are at the mercy of a system in which have little understanding and hardly any influence [nor, it sometimes seems, are we afforded a voice].  our hands are tied and we have to 'blindly' entrust our spanish legal team.  i think my solicitor has done really well for me to be honest.  i've got my deposit back [which was, initially, my sole objective][apart from that euros 3000],  then legal interest was mentioned on here , and i wanted that too, which i got.  i am disappointed that the appeal judge over-turned the first ruling and that will cost me perhaps, euros 6000. but overall i am happy with what i get.  the legal interest will more than cover the legal costs and with a much more agreeable euro to sterling exchange rate i should have some financial 'compensation' for ten years of stess.

Thread: Ley 57/68

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18 Apr 2016 6:10 PM:

ads - to paraphrase your question; should judges ensure we are awarded costs now after this 'new ruling'?  one thing i have learned from using this forum is that there are a lot of false claims, things being translated from spanish into english incorrectly and simple misunderstandings of what the courts say.  so should we expect the banks to pay our legal costs based on this ' solid ruling by the supreme court'?  i would say 'don't get your hopes up as most likely it won't be that straighforward'.

i have asked my solicitor to advise me if we can take BBVA bank to the supreme court for costs, as the appeal court in alicante over-ruled the first instance court over my legal costs, which i will now have to pay.  i don't want the bank to get away with this.  still waiting to hear from my solicitor.

the appeal court ordered the bank to repay my deposit and legal interest from the date i paid the deposit - but not all of it! there is an 'anomaly' here though as i paid the deposit in two stages - 1.  euros 3000 by credit card/debit card direct to BBVA in Dec 2005. 2. euros 60000 by bank transfer from my spanish bank [not BBVA] to BBVA in Jan 2006.  at the first instance hearing the judge told the bank to repay both of those payments, yet at the appeal hearing the judge ruled that as I couldn't prove that I paid the euros 3000 the bank didn't have to repay that!  and yes i did have written proof that i made a payment of euros 3000 to BBVA!  i am also waiting for my solicitor to advise me on this. are BBVA that spiteful they resort to this kind of nastiness [in my opinion]?  they know full well that i paid that euros 3000.  the contract also states my deposit is euros 63000 and it was confirmed that it had been paid in full.

Thread: Ley 57/68

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05 Apr 2016 11:26 PM:

Hi,  I received, from my solicitor Emilio Lucas, my deposit plus some of the total interest just a few months after the first instance hearing!  the bank, BBVA, appealed and I was informed last week that the court [appeal hearing 26 Jan] reversed the decision to award me all legal costs so now I have to pay mine.  it does seem that every case is different and there doesn't seem to be any consistency with regards to courts' decisions, how different solicitors treat their clients, solicitor's costs nor the amounts clients receive.  those of us who were fortunate enough [sometimes simply by pure good luck] to engage honest, conscientious and respectful solicitors seem to fare much better than those who were unlucky to choose unscrupulous and even criminally minded solicitors.  

Thread: Spanish legal fees - taken all of our Interest on deposit

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01 Apr 2016 6:11 PM:

I have just been advised by my solicitor of the ruling of the appeal court hearing held on 26 Jan 2016.  

At the first instance court case I was awarded - full refund of deposit, legal interest from date deposit paid plus legal costs.

The appeal court upheld the first two items but have said that I must pay legal costs [i can only assume that means that I must pay my legal costs and the bank will pay theirs].

Should I advise my solicitor to take the bank [BBVA] to the Supreme Court in an effort to force them to pay my legal costs?  How much will the legal costs be and what are the chances of a victory, I wonder?  Has anyone already take the bank to the Supreme Court?  Any advice for me with this, please?

Well done Maria and her team from me too.

regards,

John

 

This message was last edited by john123 on 02/04/2016.
Thread: Congratulations to Costaluz Lawyers

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