Collection Law Spain

Claim of debts in case of non-payment

Debt claim in case of non-payment, not an easy task.

Claiming payment of a debt contracted by an individual or legal entity in Spain is not an easy task, as the procedure to be followed in Spain is more complex and slower than you may be used to. Therefore, you can rely on the professionalism of OTIS Legal Group’s lawyers who specialise in this matter and who will always make an honest assessment of both the costs and the chances of success.

Generally, you try to find an out-of-court settlement, so to claim payment of a debt, you first have to take the out-of-court route. In those cases where, after the out-of-court procedure has started, the claimed amount cannot be obtained or even no response is received from the debtor, the latter will have no option but to resort to the judicial route.

In Spain, the claim procedure starts with the sending of a ‘burofax’, which is an official letter addressed to the debtor, stating the existence of a debt and the resulting obligation to pay and granting a certain deadline for this purpose.

Currently, the time limit to claim payment of an invoice is five years (statute of limitations). By sending the burofax, you interrupt the limitation period, so the period (five years) to claim payment of the debt starts again from the beginning.

If out-of-court attempts do not result in payment and the judicial route is chosen, the debtor has three options: make the claimed payment; do not make it and make no statement; or oppose the claim.

Depending on what the debtor does, the court proceedings end, continue in a simplified manner or, in some cases, lead to another, more complex civil procedure.

For international debt recovery proceedings, you can rely on OTIS Legal Group.

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