-Start Rant-

I just received a letter from my bank, Santander, that the Telebanco 4B cash machines are now terminating the commission free withdrawals from January 2012, so from then on, any cash withdrawals made from non-Santander machines will incur commission charges!!! I was completely shocked..

Commission is up to around 3? per withdrawal, this certainly puts a higher price on locals trying to use some cash!! Glad I still have my free credit card, though it?s not so useful in many parts of Spain who are still behind the ages with no credit payment facilities (mezquita in Cordoba was the latest one I came across! so much for tourism… or there are places where the machine somehow is always in error thanks to the wonderful telecommunications infrastructure)..

Is this country going further backwards or what?? It?s certainly penny pinching more and more from the normal people, and for tax-paying expats like myself trying to keep up with the bills. I know the vino is cheap here, but this is 2 less vinos for me, and more for the bank! T_T

Sorry to be a drama queen since it?s not a big deal to withdrawal once a month and find Santander ATMs, but in other ways.. it IS a big deal! I think the last thing you need in this country are banks charging MORE commission on your tiny sum of hard earnt cash that is yours by right… time to bring back the pay cheques?

-End Rant-

Gretina… Serious question…

Does the same thing not apply in the UK?

For instance if you have say a Natwest card and use it in a Barclays machine do you not get charged commission?

Since we arrived here we have always paid commission when using any cash machine other than that operated by our bank La Caixa… The charges involved vary greatly; on a 100 Euro withdrawal for instance, La Caixa charges zero (as they rightly should!), Caja Rural charge 1.50 Euros ,but Caja Granada charge 4.50 Euros.

The machines in Carrefour operated by the banks seem to charge an even higher amount…

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Hi fb
I?m actually not from the UK, but when I was working in London (last year), I found a lot of commission free ATMs in the city and I could use my Barclays without fee and did that the whole time, and it was convenient! In Australia, I always had accounts with 5 free withdrawals each month with any cash machines I choose, and it?s easy to change to another bank if the terms change.

And I?m ranting because now I?m with a big bank who uses Telebanco for a reason since it?s all over Madrid, and now things have changed! But I guess in the end they?re all just converging, aye?

just a little rant because I?ve never paid commission for my cash in my life (except if I used a foreign card!)!!! 😉 
you have to excuse me for this, hence -rant-  😊

Santander seem to be taking over many banks these days so it’s probably just a matter of time before they own or control all of them; trouble is that as the banks get bigger the man / woman in the street who for years kept them in business becomes less and less important for their daily business and more and more an inconvenience to be stomped on at every opportunity.

When my OH went back to England in August, in order to self-fund her extended visit she decided to take employment over there rather than rely on our diminishing finances over here. She was told in no uncertain terms that her salary could not / would not be paid into our Spanish Bank account and that she would have to open an account with an English bank. Barclays agreed to her becoming a new customer BUT they are charging her ?20 per month…

I hate banks… money grabbing sharks, happy to lend money when you don’t actually need it but a different story when you do…!

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dont for get when one bank dose something the rest off the sheep will follow ... more charges two come