On behalf of the consumer rights section of the Bar Association of Barcelona on Spain’s failure to comply with Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes 

The petitioner complains that Law 7/2017, which transposes Directive 2013/11/EU into Spanish law, does not provide for an out-of-court settlement system for dealing with banking institutions and/or financial services. The recent Law 5/2019 on mortgage credit contracts does not provide for one either. The petitioner states that complaints in this area are referred to the Bank of Spain, which in her opinion is not an independent body or in a position to ensure compliance with the Directive. The petitioner also states that the deadline for correct transposition was in July 2015 and that as it stands, conflict resolution is currently being dealt with in courts which are completely overloaded.