Costa Blanca

In Elche, complaints against banks and insurers have increased by 50%

In Elche, claims against financial institutions and insurers rise by 50% annually as a result of inadequate information provided at the time of contracting, subpar service, or simply the customer’s failure to carefully read the conditions and believing the coverage does not align with what they agreed to.

Out of almost twenty sectors examined by the Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor (OMIC), banks and insurance businesses were among the five most unsatisfied, with 135 and 147 complaints against them, respectively, during 2024. The office head, Torcuato Saavedra, explains some details that cause insurers to misunderstand, like the requirement that the customer cancel a service at least one month prior to the policy’s expiration date. “Unfortunately, consumers are not always well informed or we don’t read everything when signing a contract and we don’t realise it,” he says.

Battle of the numbers

They caution you that the insurer will eventually demand payment of that premium for failing to provide legal notice if you chose to return the receipt instead. Conflicts between the two parties frequently occur here, and many people end up having two insurance plans for a year “because things weren’t done properly,” the technician says. The “number wars” between insurers and the dearth of information some businesses provide to entice customers are additional causes of complaints.

There were 1,971 enquiries and 1,438 complaints filed with the OMIC last year; these numbers are declining, having decreased by almost 20% from 2023. According to Saavedra, this tendency may be explained by the fact that consumers are growing more conscious while making purchases and businesses are getting more professional.

The most criticised are telephone providers.

With a total of 265 complaints last year, telephone companies continue to dominate the complaint landscape, as they have for years. Failure to comply with sales conditions is one of the primary causes. “Because what people don’t know is that when you port your phone number, you’re transferring both your landline and mobile numbers, but internet and television services aren’t ported, and the user has to request cancellation; the company can’t.” Previously, complaints were primarily about mobile phone contracts, but now landlines have issues with related services like internet and television.

Because of this, the office advises users to always ask for a copy and to carefully study contracts, “even if they are very tedious,”

The profile of the plaintiff

When commercial visits to homes were permitted, the elderly were the most common application profile because they felt betrayed at home. The population seeking protection from the OMIC is typically between the ages of 36 and 64, and the range has expanded with the advent of new technologies.

Internet-based purchasing

In a single year, 206 more complaints are categorised as “other goods” by this municipal agency. The office claims that the majority of these complaints centre on disagreements about internet transactions, which are likewise becoming more frequent. In order to make sure that the company they are transacting with on a marketplace is the one displayed on the screen and that it is based in Spain or the European Union, they advise customers to review the legal notice or privacy policy before making a purchase.

Festivity

In honour of World Consumer Rights Day, the OMIC and the Department of Consumer Affairs held an information booth in Plaza de Baix this Friday to provide the residents of Elche with free consumer advocacy, training, and advice.

The area’s edil, Inma Mora, accepted the work I do to address the needs and concerns of both consumers and establishments. Taking into consideration that this space, which has six professionals after being reinforced recently with two more technicians, provides consumers with pautas referring to the regulations in effect at the time of purchase or that must be followed by those products to ensure that the consumer has no issues.

Advice Saavedra explained that the focus of this year’s attention has been on helping merchants and distributing hojas of preceptive reclamations that must have all the establishments at the customers’ disposal.

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Costa Blanca

Residents of El Mojón in Pilar de la Horadada will receive mail at their homes

The National Commission of Markets and Competition has determined that the delivery of standard postal items in the population entity of El Mojón, which is located in the municipalities of San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia) and Pilar de la Horada (Alicante), must be made to the mailbox of homes or premises. Consequently, the Commission of Markets and Competition has directed the State Company Correos y Telégrafos to commence deliveries to home mailboxes within the next fifteen days.

This agreement is advantageous to the 581 residents of El Mojón, which encompasses an area of 57.09 hectares and includes 1,473 residences and 19 commercial establishments in the municipality of Pilar de la Horadada.

This is in accordance with the requests of the town councils and residents’ associations, who requested that the Commission of Markets and Competition acknowledge El Mojón for home letter delivery. El Mojón has a comprehensive system of facilities that are dispersed throughout its area, including urban green areas, educational, sports, cultural, healthcare, and administrative facilities. This system integrates these elements into a single, continuous urban element, which gives the population entity the characteristics of an urban centre. The fact that it is considered a Zone of Great Tourist Affluence throughout the year for the purposes of business hours and, above all, that it presents continuity with the population centres of Torre de la Horadada and Mil Palmeras, cannot be equated to a set of independent and differentiated urbanisations.

Additionally, there was a comparative grievance regarding the distribution of standard postal items in Mil Palmeras and Torre de la Horadada, where these items are being delivered.

José María Pérez, the mayor of Pilar de la Horadada, expressed his incomprehension regarding the fact that individuals who possess properties with odd numbers on Alhelí Street, which divides the urban centres of El Mojón and Torre de la Horadada, are not receiving letters at their residences, while those who possess properties with even numbers are receiving them in their mailboxes.

The case bears resemblance to the file that the Commission of Markets and Competition handled to facilitate the delivery of standard postal items to residents in the following areas of Orihuela Costa: Dehesa de Campoamor, Cabo Roig, La Zenia, La Zenia II, La Regia, and Mil Palmeras.

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More than 200 paddlers compete in the 16th edition of the Eurochallenge in Villajoyosa

The 16th iteration of the Eurochallenge, the Sea Kayaking World Cup, begins today and is organised by the Villajoyosa Yacht Club. The Downwind, the championship’s principal event, is set to commence tomorrow, Friday May 1st, with over 200 rowers representing 15 nationalities already present in Villajoyosa. The athletes will commence the competition at the central shoreline and travel 22 miles to Campello.

Representatives of the Spanish Canoeing Federation, the General Director of Sports, Luis Cervera, the Mayor of Vila Joiosa, Marcos Zaragoza, and the Sports Councillor, Peyo Lloret, will participate in the trophy ceremony in the afternoon, following the spectacular lifesaving event on the central beach on Friday May 2nd.

This competition, which is considered a World Cup this year, unites the world’s most accomplished paddlers and is distinguished by the quantity of participants, as well as the quality and diversity of nationalities that establish this international sea kayak series as a benchmark in the international calendar.

The following paddlers are among the participants: the world and European champions Rice, Fenn, and Hart from South Africa, Vilella from France, Pereira from Portugal, and Harbrecht from Germany, as well as Kira Bester from South Africa, the French Le Roux and Delrieux, and the Spanish Bunnett. In terms of the local athletes, Marian Hernández is performing exceptionally well this year, thanks to her impressive times. Sara Mengual has secured second and third place finishes at the last two World Championships, and juvenile Andrea Jiménez has recently attained European qualification.
The 16th edition of the Eurochallenge, which is organised by the Villajoyosa Yacht Club, is made possible by the collaboration of the Vila Joiosa City Council, the Valencian Government, the Superior Council of Sports, the Alicante Provincial Council, the International Canoeing Federation, the Royal Spanish Canoeing Federation, the Canoeing Federation of the Valencian Community, and numerous other entities, including the Campello Yacht Club and the Altea Yacht Club.

The Eurochallenge has emerged as a prelude to the Sea Kayaking World Championship, which Villajoyosa will host in 2026, and it has become a prominent sports competition on a global scale. It welcomes athletes and travellers from a variety of backgrounds.

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Aena closed the first quarter of 2025 with a profit of 301.3 million euros

Aena’s net profit for the first quarter of 2025 was €301.3 million, which represents an increase from €261 million in the same period of the previous year. The gross operating profit was €643.6 million, with a margin of 48.6%. In comparison to 2024 (€581.1 million), this figure indicates a 10.8% increase.

The total consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2025 was €1,325.6 million, a 7.5% increase from the same period in the previous year. Aeronautical revenue was €683.6 million, while commercial revenue was €441.1 million.

The Brazilian Airports Block (BOAB) consolidation generates €46.8 million in revenue and €25.7 million in EBITDA. The Aena Group (Spain, London-Luton, and Aena Brazil) expanded its passenger traffic to 78.3 million, a 4.9% increase from 2024.

The number of passengers at Spanish airports increased by 4.7%, reaching 63.6 million. The timing of Easter, which occurred in March last year and April this year, as well as the fact that last year was a leap year, has an impact on the comparative figures with the same period in 2024.

Investments

The investment, which totalled 203.1 million euros between January and March 2025, was primarily directed towards the enhancement of operational safety and airport facilities.

In the first quarter of 2025, Aena Group’s OPEX, which encompasses procurement, personnel, and other operating expenses, increased to €691.9 million from €659.9 million in the same period of 2024. The evolution of these expenses is indicative of the group’s personnel expenses (+10.7%) and the Spanish network’s expenses for items such as electricity (+22.4%), maintenance (+9.5%), and security (+8.3%).

The year-on-year increase in other operating expenses at the Spanish airport network was €17.1 million, which is 4.7% higher than the corresponding period from January to March 2024, excluding the impact of energy. The consolidated group’s net financial debt-to-EBITDA ratio decreased to 1.37 times from €5,498 million for the full year 2024, as the Aena Group’s consolidated accounting net financial debt stood at €4,886 million.

The first quarter of 2025 saw solid cash generation. The net cash generated from operating activities increased to €820.4 million from €723.7 million in the first quarter of 2024.