COSTS of public services or products linked to the State are normally adjusted on the first day of every year – sometimes reducing, but more often than not, going up.
This year will see train tickets, motorway tolls and bank commissions increasing, although a new financial services law states that no bank is permitted to charge more than €3 per month per account.
However, some entities do not charge commissions at all for customers who have their salary paid into their account every month or their bills going out via direct debit, or for those with a certain type of account – small businesses, the self-employed, or those with an average balance exceeding €3,000 – and include Santander, Bankia, BBVA and Banco Sabadell.
All four have announced a review of their commissions for 2020, and those likely to be charged, or charged more, will be the less-active customers – such as those who have a dormant account they hardly use, or who have the fewest products with the entity in question – or customers who are 'less profitable'.
BBVA has announced its annual maintenance fee for accounts will rise from €60 to €100, Santander will now charge €9 a month for its Día a Día account, and Bankia will require its customers to take out insurance, carry out at least two transactions a month with a credit card, or maintain savings of at least €30,000 to avoid having to pay commissions.
It is likely this will not be the end of the story, as consumer associations may well attempt to halt these fees or requirements.
Train fares will go up in some cases – the high-speed AVE, currently the fastest, most comfortable and most convenient rail connection – will become 1.1% more expensive after the first price hike in three years, but the new no-frills express service, the AVLO, will gradually roll out across the country and will provide broadly the same type of transport, but without extras such as buffet cars, WiFi, or first-class seats.
Regional trains and the Cercanías, or outer suburban connections, will go up by 1%, or by around five to six cents for travelling into a major city from its furthest station in zone six.
But good news for those who need to be on the move has come in the shape of airport taxes, which will drop by 1.44% from March and potentially passed on to customers.
Motorway tolls are set to rise by 0.84% from tomorrow, except the nine which will become toll-free from the start of 2020 – or, in some cases, from the last few hours of 2019.
The price rise will be the third on the trot after motorway toll fees went up in 2018 by 1.91% and in 2019 by 1.67%.
Changes in electricity bills are afoot – customers already pay per minute and some have contracted hourly tariffs which makes certain times of day cheaper than others, but now, the State-owned electricity board Iberdrola has announced six daily slots which will apply to everyone.
Using power at 21.00 on a weekday will cost nearly double that of consumption at 07.00 in the morning or at weekends, says Iberdrola.
The cheapest slot is between midnight and 08.00 in the morning, but if you forget to put the washing machine on until 08.01, it will cost you 20% more, until 10.00.
At the same price as the 08.00-to-10.00 slot is that between 14.00 and 18.00, and between 22.00 and midnight.
This is because these are the second-most popular times for switching on appliances.
The most expensive time slots coincide with when the highest energy consumption is recorded at present – between 10.00 and 14.00, and between 18.00 and 22.00.
Here, it costs at least 50% more than the overnight slot.
None of these times applies on weekends or during national public holidays – energy use at any point during the 24-hour period in question costs the same as the overnight slot on working days.
Buying a property could become more expensive in 2020, but not because of any government price rises – rather, this will be because of the market's consolidation, experts say.
Property analysts expect home values across the board to increase by an average of 3% but not more than 4%, although this will vary vastly by region and specific location – Spain's largest cities, and provincial capital cities in general, will see the highest rises.
As a result – through investors needing to charge more to gain a return, and rising demand due to higher buying prices – the cost of renting a home is expected to increase, too.
In this case, it could be higher still – an average of 4% to 6%.
Rental prices are the most expensive in large cities, especially in central or very desirable neighbourhoods, and in densely-populated coastal strips.
