# car tax



## banana plant (Mar 15, 2016)

is last years fiasco in sending out the paperwork involved in re-taxing vehicles happening again? last year no payment 'slips' were sent out in the greater Malaga area for tens of thousands of owners, we had to go down to the local tax office and queue with last years demand to have an up to date one printed off so that I could pay it at the local bank. I have four vehicles to tax and not a sniff of a payment slip for any of them, same as my friend one car but no slip either.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Use direct debit , far easier.Just gets paid automatically .


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## banana plant (Mar 15, 2016)

gus-lopez said:


> Use direct debit , far easier.Just gets paid automatically .


''Just gets paid automatically '', yes just like anyone else who asks the bank for your money after being told not to ask, E400 last time, and I didn't even know for three months, it was an account I infrequently use with E100 in it to keep it open (long story). three months worth of overdraft fees that I knew nothing about took the E100s that I left to keep it open.


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> Use direct debit , far easier.Just gets paid automatically .


And it gives them free access to plunder your account and continue to take money out after you cancel it 

Direct debits in Spain can be dangerous.


(Awaits the usual "it is just as bad or worse in the UK" comments).


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I've got my payment request but only for one of my two cars...
My bank doesn't do direct debits for car tax and I wouldn't make one if it did.
I keep as little money as possible in my Spanish account.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

el romeral said:


> And it gives them free access to plunder your account and continue to take money out after you cancel it
> 
> Direct debits in Spain can be dangerous.
> 
> ...


All true although the Spanish banks are very good at recalling direct debits if there is a problem. I have had a few things go out that shouldn't (companies can simply change the reference and apply again) but for me it only takes a couple of clicks on the online banking to recall a debit and the account is credited instantly.

Having said that, I keep direct debits to a minimum... mobile phone and a few household bills go out this way but where I can pay manually i do... the car tax in this area is super easy, just this minute paid mine on the website.. literally took 2 minutes and all done with a receipt promptly sent by email.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

el romeral said:


> And it gives them free access to plunder your account and continue to take money out after you cancel it
> 
> Direct debits in Spain can be dangerous.
> 
> ...


Not from the UK so I can't say it's just as bad or worse in the UK, but...

I am always amazed by comments criticizing direct debit in Spain. We pay everything possible by direct debit here and have for years and years - utilities, insurance, taxes, credit cards, activities... And we have never once had a problem. _Never_. Never been plundered, never had money taken out after canceling a service. 

All I ever hear about are people who don't use direct debit because they are afraid that they'll be plundered - but I never hear about anyone who it's actually happened to. So, is there anyone here who has been plundered?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

kalohi said:


> Not from the UK so I can't say it's just as bad or worse in the UK, but...
> 
> I am always amazed by comments criticizing direct debit in Spain. We pay everything possible by direct debit here and have for years and years - utilities, insurance, taxes, credit cards, activities... And we have never once had a problem. _Never_. Never been plundered, never had money taken out after canceling a service.
> 
> All I ever hear about are people who don't use direct debit because they are afraid that they'll be plundered - but I never hear about anyone who it's actually happened to. So, is there anyone here who has been plundered?


I pay all of my bills by direct debit and in almost 10 years there has only been one occasion when a company has "plundered" my bank account - an insurance company which took the renewal premium out of my bank account for a house insurance policy which I'd cancelled, in writing, with the required two months' notice. As has been mentioned earlier, the bank recovered the payment immediately when I contacted them (has to be done within 14 days).


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

el romeral said:


> And it gives them free access to plunder your account and continue to take money out after you cancel it
> 
> Direct debits in Spain can be dangerous.
> 
> ...





mrypg9 said:


> I've got my payment request but only for one of my two cars...
> My bank doesn't do direct debits for car tax and I wouldn't make one if it did.
> I keep as little money as possible in my Spanish account.


Well I keep as little as possible in my UK account!
As you would expect on a forum, a load of different answers for a single question.
We pay all our bills of this type by DD and have had very few problems. In fact I can't remember any problem we've ever had although I have heard people say that they've had amounts taken out of accounts. I tend to think this is more a problem of an automatically renewing subscription and the like and that you need to be responsible for your bank accounts by looking at the ingoings and outgoings regularly...


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> I pay all of my bills by direct debit and in almost 10 years there has only been one occasion when a company has "plundered" my bank account - an insurance company which took the renewal premium out of my bank account for a house insurance policy which I'd cancelled, in writing, with the required two months' notice. As has been mentioned earlier, the bank recovered the payment immediately when I contacted them (has to be done within 14 days).


I see that the '2month notice' period has been reduced to 1 month now for customers but 2 months still for companies cancelling.

"Aunque fue aprobado y publicado en el BOE el pasado 14 de Julio de 2015, no ha sido hasta el 1 de Enero de 2016 cuando han entrado en vigor una serie de cambios en la Ley de Contrato del Seguro. Dichos cambios son positivos para el usuario, que le permite llevar a cabo, entre otras cosas, la baja de su seguro de manera más sencilla.

Una de las novedades más importante está relacionada con la reducción a un mes del plazo para solicitar la baja de un seguro con respecto a los dos meses que había hasta entonces.

En nuestro blog de SeguroDe.com, te detallamos todas las novedades y como pueden afectar en todos tus seguros"


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## banana plant (Mar 15, 2016)

kalohi said:


> Not from the UK so I can't say it's just as bad or worse in the UK, but...
> 
> I am always amazed by comments criticizing direct debit in Spain. We pay everything possible by direct debit here and have for years and years - utilities, insurance, taxes, credit cards, activities... And we have never once had a problem. _Never_. Never been plundered, never had money taken out after canceling a service.
> 
> All I ever hear about are people who don't use direct debit because they are afraid that they'll be plundered - but I never hear about anyone who it's actually happened to. So, is there anyone here who has been plundered?


Err, me!, if you had read my post it clearly states that I had E400 'plundered'.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

banana plant said:


> Err, me!, if you had read my post it clearly states that I had E400 'plundered'.


From your previous post, I wouldn't say it was plundered - just taken in error.

After you explained the error to your insurance company, with proof of cancellation, I presume you got your money back.


I use direct debits all the time and have never had any issue that I couldn't resolve.

I once had a debit that I didn't recognize. I had it returned and then asked for more detail about who had taken the money. It was my mistake, I had overlooked something so paid it straight away.

But, the point is, I was able to reverse the transaction and then look into it - far more difficult in UK.


Moral of the story - monitor your account if you want to be sure that all transactions are correct.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

gus-lopez said:


> I see that the '2month notice' period has been reduced to 1 month now for customers but 2 months still for companies cancelling.
> 
> "Aunque fue aprobado y publicado en el BOE el pasado 14 de Julio de 2015, no ha sido hasta el 1 de Enero de 2016 cuando han entrado en vigor una serie de cambios en la Ley de Contrato del Seguro. Dichos cambios son positivos para el usuario, que le permite llevar a cabo, entre otras cosas, la baja de su seguro de manera más sencilla.
> 
> ...


That's useful to know, thank you.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> From your previous post, I wouldn't say it was plundered - just taken in error.
> 
> After you explained the error to your insurance company, with proof of cancellation, I presume you got your money back.
> 
> ...


I wouldn't say that it was plundered either. I guess some people have a different understanding of what plunder means. For me it would mean that a considerable sum of money was taken from my account for some invented reason, eg for a service that I never once signed up for. 

If money was taken in error and quickly returned when the error was pointed out, I can't see how that is plundering. It was an error. If you hadn't had DD and had been sent a bill in error, you would have had to act to clear up the error as well. 

But I can understand how being out 400€, even if it is returned promptly, doesn't feel the same as getting an erroneous bill. 

However, for me the ease of DD far outweighs any possible problems I might have with it. 

Horses for courses...


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## banana plant (Mar 15, 2016)

snikpoh said:


> From your previous post, I wouldn't say it was plundered - just taken in error.
> 
> After you explained the error to your insurance company, with proof of cancellation, I presume you got your money back.
> 
> ...


''From your previous post, I wouldn't say it was plundered - just taken in error'',,, Snikpoh was you a liberal english judge before coming to spain?,,,,,''see here Mr Smith you wasn't mugged on that dark night by Mr Scrote he merely took your money in error, case dismissed''.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

A Spanish friend runs a kind of Citizens Advice Bureau locally. She speaks fluent English so helps a lot of Brits.
Earlier last year she told me that she had dealt with a few cases of traffic fines being taken from people's accounts without them knowing they had been fined. In one case the recipient of the fine didn't have a car.
I know two people who had their accounts frozen because of legal disputes. 
That's why I keep as little as possible in my Spanish account and keep €s as well as £s offshore.
Safer.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

banana plant said:


> ''From your previous post, I wouldn't say it was plundered - just taken in error'',,, Snikpoh was you a liberal english judge before coming to spain?,,,,,''see here Mr Smith you wasn't mugged on that dark night by Mr Scrote he merely took your money in error, case dismissed''.


Surely a 'plunderer' will wear a spotty bandana, have an eye patch, be one- legged and have a parrot on his shoulder that screeches 'Pieces of eight' continuously??

Or wear doubloon and hose, have a pointy beard and be called Sir Francis Drake?

How dare you shatter my cherished childhood memories..


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