As you say, as pre existing med con, so no point in contacting Insurers.

I thought the EHIC covered you for use of the Spanish national health services, but you would have to pay the relevant costs for medicines.

Perhaps the place you visited was not part of the Spanish state system, but was private, hence not knowing about EHIC. Or they wanted to earn the relevant fees, so didn't want to deal with the EHIC. I may be wrong but I think with EHIC, the Spanish would have an arrangement to bill the UK government for treatment, so they would have paperwork to do.

This website explains what the card is all about:

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/Pages/Healthcareabroad.aspx

I have just returned from 2 weeks in mallorca. i had to get a doctor out to see my son who has previously had tonsilitis. She again diagnosed this and wrote me a prescription. The doctor charge was a ridiculous €100 and the medicine cost €18. She never said anything when i produced the EHIC card. What is this card for? I also had travel insurance but this says the excess is £100 and will not cover anything not pre existing medical conditions not declared. The website for the EHIC card is pretty useless. So would tonsilitis be considered as a medical condition, or be considered as equvalent to the common cold, as it is not a permanent thing? Is there any point in contacting the insurance company?