Nordea Bank Luxembourg has
persistently excused itself from any wrongdoing by stating that, although they do not confirm nor deny that abundant Equity Release advertising misrepresents the truth, “…ultimately, it was the choice of the consumer to rely on the representations made, or not, having been previously warned that they should seek independent advice.”
This is like British Airways or P&O Ferries saying that, although they promise that they will carry a British family safely from Spain to England, the ultimate choice of travelling with them lies with the consumer and therefore, if the plane falls out of the sky over San Sebastian or the ferry sinks in the Gulf of Biscay, there is no such thing as compensable lack of air or seaworthiness because you should have brought in your mechanic to look out for faulty turbines or pistons, rusty rivets, low oil levels etc.
Or that if go to McDonalds and the meat tucked into your burger you thought was beef just happens to belong to a rodent, there is clearly no responsibility on their part because “ultimately it was your decision to attend the fast-food chain, or not”.
So it is the ever-widening gap between who they really are and who they wished they were that is forcing Nordea Luxembourg to resort to self-deceptive excuses to carry on.
And baffling as it may be, whilst they avidly foreclose on victims’ properties throughout the Spanish geography with Nordic efficiency after cheating them, Nordea Office Luxembourg is still offering a second to none tax-evasion booklet to British expats.
You are now warned: don’t leave it till the last minute and order your Nordea Luxembourg Inheritance Tax Manual for Spain today!
Such nonsense. How on earth can they sell such products, themselves not knowing if what they state is true or untrue and it would appear from their representative office in Marbella also when this is strictly against the Bank of Spain regulations. Nordea state that they have a wealth of experts with knowledge of the Spanish regulations, so you can rest easily as you are in safe hands, so they claim in their literature. Then try to put an all encompassing disclaimer just in case they have got it wrong. How can the average man hope to contact all the regulators to see if they are telling the truth, they have to have an inherent trust in the Nordea and Nordea should be transparent at all times. The truth of the matter is that such a disclaimer will not be accepted by the courts and there are many instances of this. Their guide attached to this post clearly states that there are benefits both in France and Spain, to mitigate, Inheritance Tax & Wealth taxes. If this is not the case or they are not sure of the advice they have been given, would not it be pertinent to say so. Nordea you have treated the public like idiots for long enough, so may be it is time for your bank, officers and employees to join the HUMAN RACE.
I thought the British Banks were arrogant but they look like babies compared to the arrogance of Nordea. I know that I was hounded into taking out an Equity release (on two properties). Nordea would protect me from Inheritance Tax, Wealth Tax and provide me with extra Income. Well I now know it was all my fault for trusting them and not checking their advice with other professionals – having been told by Nordea they had “councils opinion” that their advice was correct – another lie I guess!
Well their advice has come true, I do not have to pay any of these taxes as their investment incompetence has meant that most of my money has been lost by them or taken in charges, so now I have no wealth or income – so these taxes are not a problem to me!
I hope Mr Hertz and his clever colleagues have as many sleepless nights as I do. Nordea and the others must be brought to book – surely the Bank is accountable to some body or government or are they above all that!! Many others will be conned unless they are stopped. Keep going ERVA.
What you say is absolutely correct. What is more, if they carry on you will have no property to leave it to your children or grandchildren, as they will eventually lose everything then take your properties to compensate themselves for losing your money. At least they have signed up to a Code of Conduct through the Luxembourg Bankers Association. (ABBL) Lets examine exactly what they have agreed to.
“This code reflects the resolve of all professionals who subscribe to it to adopt a responsible attitude towards society in general and to their customers, personnel and competitors in particular.
1st principle – Loyalty – Equity – Integrity. Professionals shall act with loyalty,equity and integrity with customers. They shall give their customers correct and appropriate information about the characteristics of the product on offer. They shall make sure to set out in a comprehensible and clear manner possible risks and committments to be accepted by the customer. They shall perform their undertakings in good faith. They shall make sure that the staff act honestly and in the best interest of customers. “Professionals shall make sure to respect the rules of true and fair competition” – Their advertising should give a fair and honest presentation of their activities and services. They shall not use as an advertising argument comparative advantages such as rules on taxation. “Relations with the markets” Professionals must act honestly and equitably in the interest of the integrity of the markets in which they operate. They must endeavour to respect the transparency and security of the different markets according to the regulatory provisions which govern them. Professionals shall make sure that their personnel have an adequate knowledge of the products and services on offer which are the most appropriate to the needs of the customer. Professionals shall make sure that their personnel act honestly and in the interest of their customers and the market. They shall provide appropriate information to their personnel on the laws, regulations and the applicable ethical rules. Compliance with laws and regulations. In particular they shall cooperated fully with the authorities in the application of the laws and regulations. “Security and reliability” They shall make sure to manage the assets entrusted to them in a secure manner.
BOTH NORDEA AND DANSKE BANK ARE MEMBERS OF THE (ABBL) Luxembourg Banking Assoc. and have agreed to respect these rules as a minimum standard. Well you have certainly got me fooled and a lot more of you customers, sorry victims would agree. Perhaps both NORDEA & DANSKE BANK should read their own Association rules again and again. The full Code of Conduct can be found on the Internet.
Bankers regulating Bankers, probably not worth the paper it is written on! Do you know the consequences of breaking their own code?. I think the only way to win is through the courts.
Strange. When this post was published on the erva web site, one could access the links given and there you would have seen precisely what they were stating. Now since the writ was served on Nordea Bank Luxembourg by the Mercantile Court this has misteriously disappeared. I wonder why. Perhaps they now realise that the twoddle they espouted was pure cock and bull.