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The most advanced
debt collection in Spain
Are you looking for a debt collection agency for Spanish debtors?
Spain’s economy has been hit hard in recent years. The country is still in dire straits. You probably notice this too, because the payment behavior of the Spanish is one of the worst in Europe. With our debt collection Spain service, you are assured of a maximum debt collection return. Do not wait any longer and discover how debt collection in Spain works. Por favor!
- National coverage in Spain
- Knowledge of local laws and regulations
- Your own personal contact
- Extensive advice on the legal process
- Proven track record in international debt collection
- Monitor the status of your case 24/7
The business form of your debtor (forma jurídica)
In Spain, there are different legal forms (forma jurídica). The legal form is the form of business in which your debtor (deudor) conducts his business.
Among other things, debt collection in Spain has the following legal forms:
A Sociedad Regular Colectiva (S.R.C.). This legal form constitutes as a general partnership.
The Sociedad Limitada (SL). This legal form is similar to a freelancer private organization.
De Sociedad Anónima (SA). This legal form is similar to the limited liability company.
The most common legal form in Spain is the Sociedad Limitada. Many, often smaller entrepreneurs, run their business in the form of a sole proprietorship. Depending on the legal form of your debtor, our debt collection Spain specialists determine the most sophisticated debt collection Spain strategy.
The extrajudicial phase in debt collection Spain
You have an unpaid debt and call the Debt Collection Company. You will be assisted by one of our debt collection specialists in Spain. You then hand over your claim for collection in Spain and we immediately start working for you. We enter your claim, calculate the interest and collection costs and start with drafting the first formal notice (requerimiento de pago). We also call your debtor and send written reminders.
In the extrajudicial phase, we do everything we can to get your debtor to pay. Moreover, you have permanent access to the Online Cockpit where you can follow the case closely. You see what has been paid. Any defences against the claim are also made visible and, if necessary, discussed with you.
A debt collection specialist in Spain is permanently at your side, while we prepare the file for you in the legally required manner.
Is an out-of-court phase mandatory in debt collection Spain?
An extrajudicial phase is not mandatory for a collection Spain file. In many cases, however, we advise you to go through the extrajudicial phase. Some situations may result in our advising you to start legal proceedings immediately. Think of the suspicion that your debtor threatens to go bankrupt. Or that your debtor is embezzling assets. Many judges in Spain, especially those working in the more remote regions, expect creditors to first try to obtain payment in an ‘amiable’ manner, thus using extrajudicial debt collection Spain.
Free advice on debt collection in Spain?
Are you curious about the possibilities? Then ask for a free initial consultation with a specialist in Spanish law. With our local debt collection Spain network, no question needs to go unanswered.
Free advice on debt collection in Spain?
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Judicial phase (fase judicial)
In around 90% of cases your debtor will happily pay in the extrajudicial phase. Is the chance of recovery realistic and does your debtor in Spain unexpectedly not pay? Fortunately, debt collection in Spain has several effective routes to enforce payment with the help of the local judge.
The goal is for the judge to order your debtor to pay. With that conviction in hand, an attachment can be levied. Without a conviction, no attachments can be made for debt collection in Spain.
A. Proceso Monitorio (Order for payment)
The Proceso Monitorio procedure is extremely suitable when a claim is not disputed. A debt collection Spain lawyer requests the local court to order the debtor to pay. The debtor can respond to this order, which is often sent by registered mail from the local court to the debtor. This can be done within 20 days. Does the debtor not respond within that period? Then the debt collection Spain lawyer asks for a declaration of enforceability. On the basis of this document an attachment is made. In this way your claim for collection in Spain is quickly settled. Does your debtor put up a defence? Then your claim will automatically go to the so-called judge on the merits: a judge who handles cases in an adversarial way. Read more about this under points B and C.
B. Main proceedings for an invoice up to an amount of €6.000 (Juicio Verbal)
Spanish law makes a distinction between claims more or less than € 6,000. The procedure Juicio Verbal applies to claims up to and including € 6,000. The procedure is started by filing a summons with the court. Your debtor then has the opportunity to submit a defense. If your debtor fails to do so, the judge will, in most cases, immediately issue a default judgment. With this judgment, an attachment will be made.
C. Main proceedings for an invoice worth more than €6.000 (Juicio Ordinario)
The name says it all, a normal procedure. In this procedure, there is an opportunity to present both your views and the views of the opposing party. The judge weighs the positions and finally decides, after the case is started by us issuing a summons. It is possible that witnesses will be heard and that a specialist will be appointed, for example to explain something technically. Usually the judge first establishes a schedule, how the course of the proceedings will look like in time and steps. So you know where you stand. The debt collection Spain lawyer is on top of things and will provide you with detailed information about your (procedural) chances.
The procedures under B and C (Juicio Verbal and Juico Ordinario) connect seamlessly with the procedure under A (Proceso Monitorio).
Spain has a very different, specific procedure. The Juicio Cambiario.
D. Collecting a check or a bill of exchange? The procedure Juicio cambiario!
In Spain it is customary to trade with checks and bills of exchange. This is rare in the Netherlands, but in Spain it is a regularly used means of payment. Are your cheques or bills of exchange not paid? Then the debt collection Spain lawyer will start a juicio cambiario procedure. With a petition to the court, the judge orders your debtor to pay within 10 days. What makes this product interesting is that the judge himself can also order a prejudgment attachment of certain assets of your debtor. In the Netherlands this is unthinkable!
E. European order for payment
Especially for creditors from EU countries other than Spain, the European payment order procedure can be used in Spain. It must then be an undisputed claim and must be a trade agreement. If that is the case, the debt collection Spain lawyer can determine well. If you receive green light, we ask the locally competent court to order the debtor to pay. Your debtor can then lodge an objection against the order within 30 days.
No resistance? Then the debt collection from Spain lawyer requests a declaration of enforceability. With this declaration – with the same value to a judgment – immediate attachment is made. Our debt collection specialists are investigating whether there is an undisputed claim. This is for example the case of your debtor saying: ‘ I want to pay, but this week I have no money ‘, or ‘ Can I make a payment arrangement?’.
The legal proceedings in Spain are complex. Without specialist legal knowledge, unforeseen problems can arise. Because of our experience with debt collection in Spain you prevent this.
Precautionary seizure (conservacion retención)
Are you afraid that your debtor is embezzling assets or otherwise reducing the chances of recovery? Then don’t wait any longer and have the debt collection Spain attorney file a conservatory attachment.
The word ‘conservatory’ is derived from the verb ‘conserve’, which means to preserve. This is because if a prejudgment attachment is levied, the debtor cannot freely dispose of those goods. In other words, the goods may no longer be used and/or sold. A prejudgment attachment may also be levied on a sum of money belonging to the debtor or a sum of money belonging to a third party, such as a bank or a client of the debtor.
Under Spanish law, precautionary attachment is possible if:
(a) The sole purpose of the protective measure is to prevent the disappearance of assets (such as houses, cars, etc.) of the defendant during the legal proceedings;
b) The measure is proportionate. This means that there is no other measure possible that would be less harmful or detrimental to your debtor.
Curious? Our specialists in debt collection in Spain will be happy to assess whether a prejudgment attachment could be a valuable addition to your case.
What else makes debt collection Spain so special?
A court proceeding is handled by two lawyers: one debt collection Spain lawyer (abogado) and one attorney. A debt collection Spain lawyer takes care of the substantive preparation and the attorney is the party who will represent the lawsuit in court. The advantage is that the attorney is exactly aware of the local customs of the court and knows ‘how to bring the case’.
What happens when a verdict (verdicto) is obtained?
The ultimate goal of judicial debt collection Spain is to collect the claim through garnishment. This can be done with a judgment or a declaration of enforceability. Unlike in the Netherlands, the Spanish court must still give its approval for an attachment. Spanish legislation differs from Dutch legislation in this respect. The lawyer for debt collection in Spain will also take care of that.
And who will carry out the attachment? This is done by the official attached to the competent court.
What is the role of the "bailiff" (alguacil)?
In Spain, the enforcement of court judgments is done by the officials of the court itself. This means that officials will act as bailiffs.
We prefer to first consult the public registers to get an idea of the financial situation of your debtor. We have extensive experience with debt collection in Spain and take this into account when determining the strategy in your debt collection Spain case.
Did you agree to arbitration (arbitraje)?
You may have agreed in the contract with your debtor that in the event of an unpaid debt, arbitration must be conducted. This is a judicial phase in which certain arbitrators – lawyers – settle the dispute through joint consultation.
Two conditions must be met:
a) There must be an arbitration agreement. This can be in the form of a clause in a contract, for example.
b) This arbitration agreement must be in writing in a document signed by both parties.
Arbitrators will decide in such a procedure. An arbitral decision is also called ‘laudo’ in Spanish. If the arbitral decision is not voluntarily executed by your debtor, the debt collection Spain lawyer can, under Spanish law the ‘Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil’, force your debtor to make payment.Arbitration can be a useful solution if you want to resolve your dispute out of court. Please contact one of our debt collection specialists to discuss the conditions.
Bankruptcy (bancarrota)
Bankruptcy can be a useful means of pressure to get your debtor to pay. Just like in the Netherlands, creditors in Spain can file for the bankruptcy of your debtor. No worries, the debt collection Spain lawyer will do this for you. Debt collection in Spain has special commercial courts that deal with bankruptcies. In that case, your debtor loses the authority to dispose of his assets.
Limitation periods (plazo de prescripción)
Spain has a broad general limitation period of 15 years, starting from the date your invoice expired. The Spanish law also has specific limitation periods. For example, the limitation period in the transport industry is 1 year.
However, it is not a disaster if the limitation period of your claim has already expired. Your debtor has to appeal to this. Experience shows that few debtors do this.
Do you have doubts about which limitation period applies to your claim? Contact one of our debt collection specialists in Spain, free of obligation. They will help you further.
Debt collection in Spain in all its 17 regions
Collection Company operates throughout Spain, including all 17 communities of Spain (comunidades autónomas). To give you an idea, we explain.
- Andalusia
- Aragon
- Asturias
- Balearic Islands
- Basque Country
- Canary Islands
- Cantonbria
- Catalonia
- Extremadura
- Galicia
- Castile-La Mancha
- Castile-Leon
- Rioja
- Madrid
- Murcia
- Navarre
- Valencia
What do you need for your debt collection Spain file?
Getting started with debt collection Spain is easy. We have listed some useful documents below. It is not a problem if you do not have all the documents. Send us what you do have. Our debt collection specialists will be happy to help you.
A copy of the agreements, for example, an agreement, an email message, fax message or simply a WhatsApp message or text message.
- Copy of your invoices
- Copy of your reminders
- A copy of your general terms and conditions
- Any proof of delivery
Benefits of debt collection Spain
- National coverage throughout Spain,
- Customization in your file,
- Fast procedures focused on results,
- One point of contact in the Netherlands,
- 24/7 online access
- Expert information and clarity beforehand
- Proven track record.
What else can we help you with?
- European Payment Order (EEW)
- Enforcement of judgments (seizure in Spain)
- Conducting various proceedings under Spanish law
- Advising on contracts and conditions
- Taking care of the order to impound property attachments
- Credit information on debtors established in Spain
- Disputes with trustees, e.g. with regard to retention of title and the right of recovery
Jurisdictions debt collection Spain
We can help you with all civil claims against debtors in Spain. For example:
- Construction law
- Rent and lease
- Purchase and sale
- Labor law
- Agency agreement
- Transport
- Damages and wrongful acts
If you have any doubts, feel free to contact us. Together with our collection specialists, we can look at your claim.
Start directly with Debt collection Spain
Do you have something to claim in Spain? Or a dispute with an Spanish debtor? If so, debt collection Spain can also help you. Please feel free to contact us at +31-(0)70-762 0330 or send us an e-mail. Joost Konings LLM, a debt collection specialist, can tell you more about the possibilities of debt collection in Italy and the collection of receivables (that are difficult to collect) from debtors based in Spain.
If you have any doubts, please feel free to contact us. Together with our debt collection specialists we can look at your claim.
- Upload your invoice online
- We'll start your case
- We'll start with the debt collection process
- Together we decide the best strategy for collecting your debts
- Monitor the status of your case 24/7
- Any questions? Your personal accountmanager will answer them all!
- Your invoice is payed
Want to start with collecting in Spain?
Fill in your information and we will contact you as soon as possible.
Why 40.000 customers tried our services
- The #1 collection company in the Netherlands and abroad
- Regional & local specialists
- Years of experience with international invoices
- Your own personal contact
- Extensive advice on the legal process
- Monitor the status of your case 24/7
Meet our specialized legal team
Joost Konings LLMLaw expert- May Leung LLMLaw expert
- Wesley Boeters LLMInterim lawyer
We book trips to Palma de Mallorca, among others. At the request of a charitable foundation, we filled three weeks. A week before the trip was to start, nothing had been paid in advance. In consultation with a lawyer from the Collection Company, we dissolved the agreement and were then able to claim all damage, including the vacancy because it was low season. The foundation has made a payment proposal and I have accepted it. If you want agreements to be fulfilled, you have to go to this collection agency! Fast follow-up indeed. Tina
