Catalonia tightens its grip on companies that abusively offer fast, tailored credits and loans, often over the Internet. The Catalan Consumer Agency, an agency of the Generalitat, has explained that it has opened disciplinary proceedings against 17 of these companies, with sanctions ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 euros. The sanctions are based on abusive clauses and practices that lead to direct harm to consumers.
On this occasion, the Generalitat agency has avoided publishing the names of the companies it has sanctioned. But these are 17 companies in the lender sector, which sell quick and customized loans. These sanctions arise from the inspection campaign carried out by Consumption in the latter part of 2025, precisely to control the conditions under which these credits are marketed. The director of Consumer Affairs, Isidor Garcia, points out in a statement that “there are loans that are especially dangerous since they can be obtained easily, but they are also the ones that pose the greatest risk of over-indebtedness for consumers, due to the interest and lack of prior information.” These loans are characterized by being granted very quickly, but also by having a higher price than other financing options, and by a short repayment period.
The agency explains that during the inspection advertising content controls were carried out, and the offers and contracts of a total of 21 companies that offer their products online were monitored. In four cases the actions were archived because the inspected companies are not directly dedicated to granting loans, but are offer comparators.
“It is essential to regulate this type of credit to protect consumers, especially because vulnerable groups without the possibility of accessing ordinary credit often resort to them when they have to face an unexpected expense,” says Garcia. In this sense, among the most common breaches are the charging of abusive interest rates and delays, not informing consumers of the possibility of withdrawing from the contract within a period of 14 days from its formalization (that is, not informing of the right of withdrawal in distance contracts), or including clauses that allow the borrower to unilaterally modify the contract.
