“FLOOR CLAUSE” CLAIMS. YOUR MORTGAGE MAY HIDE ABUSIVE SURPRISES!

If you signed a mortgage between 2001 and 2012 and your monthly payments have not come down in the past few years due to the EURIBOR drop, your contract probably hides a “Floor Clause.”

At Carlos Haering Lawyers, we can check if your mortgage includes a Floor Clause (‘cláusula suelo’). We will study your case, determine its viability, and assist you in recouping all the money you overpaid.

Mortgage Floor Clauses have become a problem for many consumers, who discovered that they cannot benefit from the EURIBOR dip that occurred in the past few years, which has reached its historical minimum due to the economic crisis.

At the moment of signing for a mortgage, you should know and receive all information regarding all clauses and “small print.” The Floor Clause establishes a minimum interest rate for all payments in your mortgage loan, regardless of current market interest rates. As a consequence, if the sum of the EURIBOR plus your going interest rate results in a lower rate than the one stated in the Floor Clause, you will not be able to pay the lower rate and will be charged the Floor Clause rate, instead.

Many clients have signed for a mortgage without being informed of the existence of a Floor Clause and its consequences, and such a practice can be considered to be abusive or non-transparent on the part of your bank. As such, it might be susceptible to judicial claims, with a high probability of success.

To learn if your mortgage includes a Floor Clause, you need to review your mortgage deed carefully in the parts where the nominal interest rate is set and also any other financial clauses. You can also check your last bank statement and compare the interest rate applied to the EURIBOR rate. A simpler alternative is to provide us with a copy of your mortgage deed and we will confirm if it is affected by a Floor Clause, at no cost to you.

To remove the Floor Clause, you need to be able to substantiate the abusive practice and lack of transparency of your bank when they included said clause in your mortgage contract.

Banks are under the obligation to explain all the conditions and clauses of the mortgage contract in a way that is easy for clients to understand and to be completely transparent in all information provided.

Another relevant aspect in this matter is the existence (or not) of a binding offer, which is a separate document that explains all the terms and conditions of your mortgage loan. All lenders are under the obligation of providing this document to clients prior to signing the contract at the Notary Public.

To assess the possibility of removing the Floor Clause and to determine the viability of any claims or legal action aimed at obtaining restitution of funds, it is indispensable to have the legal counsel of a lawyer specialised in banking. Banks are not legally bound to reimburse any money and will do everything in their power to avoid responsibility.

At Carlos Haering Lawyers we provide a free consultation service and feasibility study to evaluate the merits of your particular case. Should you choose to, we are ideally suited to handle all the aspects of your legal claim, including taking it to the courts.

We are specialists in Banking Law and claims against financial institutions. Hundreds of favourable rulings for our clients attest to our ability. Call us now for a no-obligation consultation. We will respond with complete honesty and transparency. We do not require a single Euro in advance. We only charge attorney fees if you recoup your money.

We will conduct a free, no-obligation study of your case; estimate the possible monetary claim in your favour, and discuss with you the viability of your legal claim.

On this matter, the legal doctrine is in favour of the consumer. The vast majority of legal actions due to the Floor Clause are settled in favour of consumers. Namely, 98% of consumers and users who presented claims on account of the application of a Floor Clause had claims upheld against the bank.

The average compensation amount ranges between 4,000 and 7,000 Euro per consumer when they choose to assert a claim through a lawyer specialised in Banking Law and file the corresponding suit.

Despite the circuitous path that nullification claims for Floor Clause have had to face in court, consumers have in their favour several legal precedents in sentences ruled by the Spanish Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice (ECJ), as both have determined the abusiveness of Floor Clauses and their lack of transparency, ultimately mandating their nullification and the retroactive reimbursement of any funds unduly overpaid.