Rights and obligations is reflected in the regulation

Where a decision to reject an application for credit is based on the consultation of a relevant
database, the creditor must, immediately and at no cost, inform the consumer of the
results of the consultation and of the details of the database. Database managers must
provide creditors from other Member States with access to their databases for assessing
the creditworthiness of consumers. The conditions for access shall be non-discriminatory
for Spanish creditors.
The increased interest of consumers in knowing their rights and obligations is reflected in
the regulation of the content of credit agreements, which takes into account the specific
features of the various kinds of credit agreement.
In the contract termination phase, the Law regulates the right of the contracting parties to
terminate an open-end credit agreement, the consumer’s right to repay the credit early and
the borrower’s position in the event of assignment of the creditor’s rights under a credit
agreement, which had been established in Law 7/1995 and now has its precedent in the
transposed Directive. It also introduces the consumer’s right of withdrawal from a credit
agreement, the regulation of which follows the criteria governing the exercise of this right
in the distance marketing of financial services.
The mathematical formula for calculating the annual percentage rate is intended to define
clearly and comprehensively the total cost of a credit to the consumer,36 and to ensure that
its definition is comparable in all Member States of the European Union. The formula is set
out in the annexes to the Law, as are the assumptions for its calculation. However, in accordance
with Directive 2008/48/EC the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance is empowered
to establish additional assumptions or change existing ones if the assumptions
included in the Law do not suffice to calculate said rate in a uniform manner or are not
adapted any more to the commercial situation at the market.
Certain provisions of Law 7/1995 enhancing protection in the area of consumer credit are
retained although they are not required by Union legislation, such as those relating to binding
offers, the effectiveness of contracts linked to the obtainment of credit, improper
charging and penalties for non-compliance with formalities and for omission of compulsory
clauses in contracts.
As regards the penalty regime, non-compliance by credit institutions with the requirements
of this Law are penalised under the law on discipline and supervisory intervention of credit
institutions.37 Non-compliance by other natural and legal persons is an infringement of
consumer and user protection requirements.
The regime governing appeals provides for an out-of-court complaint and redress mechanism
to resolve disputes between consumers and creditors or credit intermediaries, and
incorporates the regulation of injunctions against unlawful conduct.
The Law came into force on 25 September 2011.