Notice of an unauthorised payment and request for a refund (Spain)
€1.38Fill it in online free — pay only to download
13 questions · about 5 min
This document is in Spanish
The PDF you download is in Spanish — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
Fill out the form
Your answers stay on this device for 7 days, or until you clear them.
- Instant download after payment
- Backup link emailed to you
- No account needed
For the holder of a Spanish bank account or card showing charges they did not make or authorise: the letter notifies the bank of the unauthorised transactions without delay, as Spanish Royal Decree-law 19/2018 requires, and asks it to refund the amount by the end of the next working day at the latest and restore the account. It is addressed to the bank's customer service, which has fifteen working days to answer, and includes the invitation to negotiate of Spanish Organic Law 1/2025. Send it by burofax with certified content, after alerting the bank through its emergency channel. In Spanish.
- Made for use in Spain
- Last updated October 20, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Your bank statement in Spain shows card payments you do not recognise.
- You got a fake text message in your bank's name and then money disappeared from your account.
- Your card was stolen and purchases were made with it before you could block it.
- You want to ask your bank in writing to refund charges you never authorised.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Sender's DNI or NIE (Spanish identity number)
- Bank
- Address of the bank that holds the account
- City
- Date
- Account number or last digits of the card
- Disputed transactions (date, amount, payee)
- Date discovered
- Date the card or access was blocked
- Police report (station, case number)
Common questions
- How long do I have in Spain to report an unrecognised charge to my bank, and when must it refund it?
- You must report it without undue delay as soon as you notice it and, at the latest, within thirteen months of the debit (art. 43 of Spanish Royal Decree-law 19/2018); the EU Court of Justice has held that a customer who delays reporting deliberately or through gross negligence loses the refund even within the thirteen months. First call the bank's emergency line to block the card, then send this letter. The bank must refund the amount immediately and at the latest by the end of the next working day, unless it reasonably suspects fraud and reports it in writing to the Bank of Spain (art. 45).
- Do I have to prove in Spain that I did not make the payment, or must the bank prove it?
- If you deny having authorised a transaction, the bank must prove that it was authenticated, accurately recorded and entered in the accounts, and that there was no technical failure (art. 44 of Spanish Royal Decree-law 19/2018). The mere record that the card or credentials were used is not enough on its own to prove that you authorised it or acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. It is advisable to report the facts to the Spanish Police or Guardia Civil, above all if you were tricked by a message or call, and to enclose the report.
- What can I do in Spain if the bank does not refund the money, and are there free complaint models?
- A complaint to the bank's customer service is required before going to the Bank of Spain; for payment services the bank has fifteen working days to answer. If it does not answer or you are not satisfied, you can complain free of charge to the Bank of Spain on its online office within one year of your complaint to the bank; its report does not bind the bank but carries weight if you later go to court. The Spanish associations OCU and FACUA publish free model letters for unauthorised charges, and the Bank of Spain's customer portal explains the procedure.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Complaint about a contract you never asked for or a switch without consent (Spain)
For a person in Spain whom an electricity, gas, phone or other company has signed up, switched from their supplier or charged for a service they did not ask for. The letter denies any consent, recalls that silence is not acceptance and that unsolicited supplies need not be paid for (art. 66 quáter of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), asks for the contract to be cancelled, a return to the previous company and a refund, and invites the company to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
- Request to cancel a phone, internet or TV contract (Spain)
For the holder of a mobile, landline, broadband or TV line in Spain who wants to cancel and not be charged any more. The letter tells the operator to end the services two working days after receiving it, asks for the reference number, the closing bill and instructions for returning the equipment, and that nothing be charged afterwards. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves the date from which the operator may no longer bill; you can also use any channel the operator offers. In Spanish.
- Complaint to an insurer about a claim or a policy (Spain)
For an insured person or policyholder in Spain whose insurer refuses or delays paying a claim, pays less than it owes, overcharges or does not honour the policy. The letter files the complaint in writing with the insurer's customer service or customer ombudsman, a required step before the free complaints service of Spain's Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP), and includes the invitation to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
- Complaint to a Spanish consumer office (OMIC) with a request for arbitration (Spain)
This step is free on your town hall's or region's online office in Spain; you do not need DocMuse for it. For a consumer who already complained to the company and got no reply or no solution: a written complaint to the municipal consumer office (OMIC) or the regional consumer service asking for mediation and, if you choose, consumer arbitration. File it at the office, at any Spanish public registry or at a Correos post office as «correo administrativo». In regions with a co-official language the office must also accept it in that language. In Spanish.
- Legal guarantee claim for repair or replacement (Spain)
For a consumer whose product, bought from a business in Spain, turned out faulty or not as agreed: the letter requires the seller to repair or replace it free of charge under the three-year legal guarantee that runs from delivery (arts. 114 ff. of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), within a reasonable time and without shipping costs. It includes the invitation to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before going to court. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves what was sent and when. In Spanish.
- Claim for compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight or denied boarding (Spain)
For a person on a flight that arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled at short notice or on which boarding was denied: the letter claims from the airline the €250, €400 or €600 compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for each passenger on the booking, and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. If the airline does not answer within a month or refuses, a complaint to AESA, Spain's aviation safety agency, is free and its decision binds the airline. Send it by burofax or through the airline's complaint form. In Spanish.