At the top of Alicante residents concerns about financial services, mortgage issues no longer stand as the primary complaint to the municipality or to the Bank of Spain. In fact, they no longer occupy the second spot. Instead, credit cards and existing accounts have risen as the two most troublesome products for users in the province, a shift noted after the 2022 Damage Report based on data from the financial auditor.
Contrary to national trends where complaints slightly fell by 0.5 percent, Alicante saw a 4 percent increase in filings to the Bank of Spain last year, totaling 1,255 requests. Ranking within the region shows Alicante as the fifth most active area in Bank of Spain inquiries, just behind Madrid with 8,151 complaints; Barcelona with 3,402; Valencia with 2,014; and Seville with 1,698.
The trend reflects growing discontent surrounding the two top complaint instruments. Credit cards alone accounted for nearly one third of all requests, a total of 423 registered with inspectors in the province, more than twice the figures from the previous year. Part of this rise appears linked to concerns about hospital payment conditions, card practices sometimes described as problematic by affected users coping with substantial debts created by these systems.
A person pays by card at a supermarket in Elche.
More crucially, the data indicates an uptick in claims alleging fraudulent use of payment instruments, an issue the Bank of Spain highlights as reflected by a rise in claims assigned to the same reason. In many cases the financial controller cannot act, with 47 percent of cases nationally blocked, leaving the courts to determine the validity of the circumstances involved.
Investigation highlights from the Civil Guard in 2022 point to 2.5 million cases of online fraud and related issues. Those seeking state intervention to address their situation on current accounts and maintenance commissions saw 335 Alicante complaints, up 24.5 percent. In these instances the Bank of Spain resolved about 70 percent of claims, frequently through organizational intrusion measures and refunds approved by the banks themselves.
Other common causes of complaint include mortgages, which generated 229 files—a drop of 42.4 percent. This decrease may reflect the supervisory authority not accepting more than 90 percent of submitted claims and allegations of expenses tied to loan formalization, a matter outside the authority of the bank and one that may require court involvement for affected individuals.
Disputes also revolve around other personal credit issues, estate matters, and various payment services. Reports show an increase in allegations about personal loans, with legacy issues and debt management claims adding to the total, and a smaller set of concerns related to cashier services and receipts.
In Alicante courts there is growing momentum toward ordering refunds of mortgage opening commissions. The broader pattern shows that disputes reaching the Bank of Spain’s complaints service represent just a portion of the overall claims, as many cases proceed first through customer lawyers or relevant organizations. If a response is not received or an agreement is not reached within the specified timeline, the matter can be escalated to higher authorities for consideration. Decisions in this framework are not binding on banks, which continues to explore the new banking customer ombudsman as a potential mechanism to improve resolution, a role still awaiting approval.