Job Discussion Forums

jonniboy · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:43 am Post subject: Best bank and mobile network?

Have asked this already twice and no replies but hey third time lucky and all that.

As above I'm looking for the best bank for making international money transfers and best mobile network (will be making calls and sending texts to Latvia and UK.) Any good ones or are they generally all the same?

Moore · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 730 Location: Madrid

Banks are all much the same i.e. not very good. They tend to be staffed by rather arrogant, unhelpful wannabe civil servants, who know little or nothing about international transfers, PayPal, or on-line payments. I've tried a few: out of a poor bunch, Deutchebank worked out best for me, and I've heard very good things about ING.

Mobile phone-wise, Movistar, Vodafone and Orange are all part of a cosy ring where prices are suspiciously similar (and high). Your best bet is "Skype Out" calls over broadband. There are other smaller companies, but it can be a bit annoying as they have limited places where you can re-charge your credit (if you're on pay-as-you-go). Go to Phone House who carry all the various operators and get their catalogue to do a comparison. You might well find yourself better off getting a pay-as-you-go phone from the UK (or Amazon) and sticking a Spanish SIM card in it if you like a better quality phone.

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jonniboy · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:18 pm Post subject:

Thanks Moore. I need the mobile more for taking phone calls locally as I can contact people through skype but will be following up with places where i sent my cv by e-mail.

The bank situation, yeah I'd bad experiences in the past with La Caixa. They were charging me 2.50 monthly for having the account plus 1.5 for cashing cheques. Told me that I could avoid them by having the NIE. When I got that they told me that I could only change the account in the branch where I opened it, Malaga, 11 hours by bus from here! When I complained she told me bluntly that if I didn't like it I could go to another bank. Still amuses and annoys me thinking of it.

wylieneill · Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 24

Hey

I moved to Cataluyna in April and got set up with a network called Ortel.

http://www.ortelmobile.com/

They are by far the cheapest I've ever used and do deals like 100% free credit when you top up. I needed it primarily to make and receive calls to/from prospective employers but have stayed with them and find them to be reliable. They also offer free Ortel to Ortel calls. The only con is that when I came back to Ireland the network didn't operate, unlike Vodafone or the other big players.

Cheers
Neill

smccartney · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Posts: 24

o2 UK have a 'My Europe extra' bolt on for �10 per month which allows you to receive calls free and call Europe for 25p per min. They also have a Spain only version for �5 per month.

Sublime · Joined: 23 Apr 2011 Posts: 90

I'm in agreement with Moore.

The mobile phone operators all seem to be as crap as each other. I seem to spend way more in Spain than I do in England and I'm a very light Mobile phone user. Hell, in Spain I even get charged to check my balance with some of them.

Lebara was probably the cheapest I found. But some of the service was a bit annoying - no missed call messages when my phone was off, too much 'spam' etc. Swings and roundabouts.

jonniboy · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject:

I set up with Vodafone as I needed local mobile quickly for flat search and already regret it. It�s crazily expensive. In Latvia I could get 7 euro to last me for a month, here I�ve gone through 30 euro in 10 days, though I did make a lot of calls for flats and jobs. I�m generally just avoiding using it, there are a few locutorios near my house which I use instead if I have to make calls, 20 cents a minute at the weekend for example to phone my girlfriend in Latvia which is much cheaper than Vodafone.

For the bank then it seems to be pot luck. I�m even thinking of La Caixa again if only because they seem to have more cash points than any other bank.

El_Che · Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 34 Location: Spain

I agree with Moore, there really isn't much difference between the major banks and mobile phone companies. It really is a case of 'better the devil you know'.

One thing I've noticed about banks in Spain, is that each branch is almost like a separate bank in its own right! The service and staff differ wildly.

I bank with La Caixa because, as you say, they tend to have lots of ATMs and also have a very good internet banking service.

I use a pay-as-you-go Vodafone sim with a cheap but capable unlocked mobile because I'm not a heavy mobile phone user since I tend to use my phone to receive, more than make calls.

Please note, these are not recommendations! All I can say is that I've had few problems with these companies which is faint praise considering that I know people who have.

jonniboy · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:05 pm Post subject:

La Caixa is definitely out. Without NIE it�s �60 to open an account and thereafter �2.50 a month to have it. With NIE �30 to open and �1.50 to maintain. BBVA in contrast is free if you have a work contract so I�ll probably go there when I sort out the NIE situation.

I asked here if my old NIE from 2003/2004 is still valid. The answer is, no one seems to know, especially in officialdom. I went to the Comisaria de Policia who sent me on to another office, who in turn sent me to an office on Avenida de la constitucion, which may/may not be the right one (Calle Bailen may be the place), but it�s only open from 0900-1200 without appointments.

The big problem is that I don�t have the original paper with the NIE written on it, the only thing I have is an ancient wageslip from February 2005 listing my social security number and NIE. To add to the hassle, I had a British passport when I got the NIE and now have an Irish one, so it seems to be very much down to whichever civil servant I get on the day, the concept of having 2 nationalities seems to be an alien one to the people I�ve spoken to so I�m hoping this doesn�t cause problems.

pr455 · Joined: 08 May 2011 Posts: 135 Location: MADRID, SPAIN

jonniboy,

Your NIE number will still be given to you. I know, I was here in 2000 - 2001 studying. I can back in 2007, and I was given my same NIE number from 2000. Doesn't matter of you know the number or not. You are in the system and will be given the same number.

As far Vodafone goes, I have them and I love them. I have Contrato 1 (which is no longer available) and I can call all landlines and Vodafone numbers for 1 cent a minute after 6PM and all day on weekends. It really helped me to slash my phone bill by a lot. I have the Contrato 1 for the rest of my life.

LaCaixa has also treated me well. I can't complain about them at all. Every single bank has something good and bad about them. At the end of the day, the individual has to decide which one works for him or her.

Suerte,

Shawn

smccartney · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Posts: 24

Does anyone have experience of HITs sim cards. It looks like you can port your Movistar, Vodafone or whatever number and calls are a bit cheaper. I'd especially like to know about their or anyone else's data rates.

jonniboy · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:50 am Post subject:

What Shawn says about the NIE is correct. The ancient wageslip I had listing the number proved useful as they took the number off that and gave me a new document with the number written on it. The only hassle was that as I�ve no idea where the original document is, I had to go the police station, complete a denuncia to say I�d lost it in Ireland and then go to a bank and pay 10 euro to get a copy of the document.