New Law for rentals, hotels etc

[chrissiehope]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9g93p405zo

I don't know if anyone has seen this ?

Haven't noticed it on A.com

[El Cid]

Yes, it's been well published in Spain. It doesn't really affect most ACom members; it only applies to visitors staying in hotels and other tourist accommodations. These sorts of controls are usually well accepted by Spanish residents. It's only the poor Brits who won't accept ID cards that get upset when other countries expect visitors to prove who they are. It seems like a good idea to me.

[Free at Last]

We checked into a hotel in Sevilla a couple of weeks ago and had to provide all that information (and had to input it ourselves on a mobile phone which the receptionist passed to us) so it seems some establishments had gone ahead and implemented it anyway.

[Wicksey]

I think the only concern is that a lot of information such as NIE/Passport, DoB, address, bank details are going to be held. It seems that Government sites can be hacked. I do use Airbnbs a lot and so far we have only needed to provide a copy of our TIE to the hosts, but the new rules seem pretty onerous.
https://www.surinenglish.com/spain/hote ... 37-nt.html

[olive]

We have lived in the very best of times.

How else can the police tackle the criminal gangs that arrive ad move freely. The drug business is a massive problem that is only going to get bigger. Monitoring and tracking civilians will become the norm.

[Wicksey]

But if they are a sophisticated drug dealer, do you think they'll give out their true ID details? I don't mind having an ID card and giving those details, but it's only the security of the program that holds all those other personal details including bank account (payment data: type, identification of the payment means such as card type and number, holder of the payment means, card expiry date) and Dob etc that I am concerned with.

Having said that, if I pay via Paypal (as I do for Airbnb) then the host (and indeed Airbnb) do not have my bank details. Presumably they don't ask for my bank details separately, as it seems to be the method of payment for the accommodation that they have to note. It seems quite a faff for anyone running a holiday accommodation business or car hire company .... what a palava!

[Lavanda]

I've been following this story for a while and I get all the reasons for providing names and identities but once the bills for the accommodation are paid why do the hotels etc. need actual bank account details? What for?

[olive]

It isnt to do with the functionality of the hotel but to help the police.

Here is an example. The police get a partial number plate of a North European car suspected of drug running. They do a search of hotels and up pops the suspect. Name, pass, vehicle and bank account. From there it is an easier task to intercept eg at aEuropean motorway toll gate.

Spain is porous to incoming drugs ( for Europe) and a packet doubles in value on the journey from Southern Spain to Northern Europe.

Italy hass just introduced a ban on people using accommodation anonymously. Eg turn. Up at the previously booked and paid for and get key out of a lock box. They too must now be met

[Lavanda]

So law-abiding people will obey the laws but the criminals will still get around the laws because that is what they do for a living. Will it be fingerprints next?

[olive]

It is a start. Of course it will be fingerprints next, then chipped from birth. ANPR, surveillance cameras, we gave up our freedoms a long time ago.

[Pamela1]

As if there isn't already enough bureaucracy in Spain! People don't like the idea of their bank account details being taken and stored on some system, i already know people who are looking elsewhere to go for their hols, who can blame them.

[Lavanda]

I think most places will be similar now or very soon.

[olive]

I think most places will be similar now or very soon.

You beat me to saying that.

I think everything has got “worse” and will continue to do so. Not being able to pay for things over 1000 in cash, soon we will be cashless so the authorities can see all our income and expenditure.

Another loophole is laundering money via lotteries. 60% return with possibility of winning big. Needs closing A north European politician has been named as an offender.

[Wicksey]

Haven't they already got all our fingerprints on our TIEs? Plus when they eventually implement the EES system, then everyone entering needs to give them I think.

I don't object to things like holding fingerprints or having CCTV everywhere, but somewhere there will be a database holding these details of personal info (name, ID, DoB, bank details), which if hacked, can be sold on to those who scam others or steal identities. I pay for my accommodation via Paypal which hides the bank information, and I don't feel obliged to then give out my personal bank account number etc to the host of my Airbnb. I saw that prepaid package accommodation have the option of saying 'paid by voucher'.

[Lavanda]

Yes, I see what you mean, Wicksey. It's a bit weird.

About 18 years ago, the Ayuntamiento in our village asked for our bank account details and I asked, 'Why?' They said it was that they could automatically take money for the vehicle tax, rubbish rates, various payments etc and it made life easier as they did not send out bills (true) but just took the money (also true). In the same way, the Gestor we use to send the tax return has all our bank details and just helps himself to his bill when he has done the work which is usually amounts to around €35.00-€40.00.

This system is not the same as a Direct Debit which I was used to in the UK but it really is that they can just take whatever money they think is appropriate. I only know about it when it appears on the bank statement.

I must say, though, it works and I no longer think it's strange or even worry about it.

[Wicksey]

I try not to let websites remember my bank details. I think Amazon are the only ones, but usually I pay by Paypal for as much as possible. (Another advantage is that they give me 3 months interest free credit on items over a certain amount (possibly 30€) and then it takes payment in 3 instalments. It just spreads the payments a bit as I do tend to pay that way quite a bit.)

[Lavanda]

I don’t let any website hold my card details either but I don’t buy thing on-line apart from using M&S to send flowers in the UK. I’m a bit of a Luddite at heart.

[Wicksey]

I don’t let any website hold my card details either but I don’t buy thing on-line apart from using M&S to send flowers in the UK. I’m a bit of a Luddite at heart.

I buy a lot of stuff online so regularly use Amazon.es, contact lens suppliers, online farmacias, click and collect at clothes shops, plus Ikea and Decathlon at times. All much cheaper and easier (some things I simply cannot buy in the shops here), especially if it saves going into Malaga for anything. Also Airbnb, and for flights or train tickets as well, I live my life online Wherever possible I use Paypal.

Airbnb hosts already collect our ID info anyway and we don't use hotels so I guess it won't be that much more onerous for us, but a real pain for all those businesses that have to ask for the extra information I would think.

[markwilding]

This system is not the same as a Direct Debit which I was used to in the UK but it really is that they can just take whatever money they think is appropriate. I only know about it when it appears on the bank statement.

Actually, that is exactly like a direct debit which is authorised by a customer and managed by an a company or whoever as apposed to a standing order which tends to be a fixed amount which goes out on the same day of the month etc. More likely the phone bill is a direct debit while something like Netflx is a standing order.

Recently I was watching a documentary on the evolution of the credit card and what I found interesting was the fact that even though you give the card details, the 3 digit security number is encrypted and cannot be seen by bank staff or retailers making it very difficult for fraud and without this it is impossible to make a one off transaction. These days every time I make a online payment somewhere, I need to authorise it before it will go through or if in in a shop,I get a message on my phone with details of the purchase

[Pamela1]

https://www.businesstravelnewseurope.co ... y-concerns. I found this interesting...