On the street, on TV, on social networks... The advertising of a bank can make you decide on one of its products, but you must not be captivated and look at the fine print and the conditions it has for not end with disappointment, as alerted by the Bank of Spain on its Bank Customer Portal.
"The information transmitted in advertising messages usually has a great impact on customer expectations and decision-making," the entity acknowledges. There are several key points that have to be checked especially.
The main thing to control is the basics. See "key product features". This is its amount, the term, the interest rate, the commissions and the associated expenses that it carries. At this point, attention must be paid to the APR, the indicator that is used to compare offers that are the same or with different characteristics, since it includes the associated expenses and commissions. It is, ultimately, what the bank will charge for the product.
You also have to look at which entity sells it, to obtain clues about its solvency, and until when it offers it. "It is important that you be cautious and carefully read all the information in the advertisements," they recall from the entity. For example, reviewing "the special conditions that may be required of you to contract the product". For example, that it only applies to new clients, being of a certain age or domiciling the payroll, which is something that entities use to attract new audiences or from certain sectors.
If you have the obligation to contract other products to access the conditions offered. For example, that you have to get life insurance or some kind of similar alternative. In this sense, the entity in charge of regulating competition, the CNMC, has just filed the file that it initiated against the banks for requiring the contracting of insurance to access loans publicly guaranteed by the ICO launched due to the pandemic.
