Debt problems and defaulter lists

It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. You will learn the first steps to take, the rights you have, and how to clear or challenge a listing.

Start with "Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps". It helps you sort out which payments matter most, negotiate with the creditor and protect yourself from being listed. From there, move on to the pages on checking and clearing a listing, an account seizure, debts in your home country and dealing with collectors.

Court insolvency procedures and tax notices and appeals are not covered here.

Key rules

• Listing length: A debt can stay in a private defaulter file only while it remains unpaid, and for at most five years from the date it fell due.
• Payment order reply: If a court sends you a payment order (monitorio), you have 20 working days from notification to pay or oppose it.
• Opposing enforcement: In a court enforcement you have 10 working days from notice of the enforcement order to file opposition.
• Reply deadline: A defaulter file operator must answer an access or deletion request within one month, and can extend that by two further months only for complex requests.
• Protected income: Wages, pensions and similar income up to the minimum wage (SMI) cannot be seized, and above it only a rising share can be taken.
• Prior warning: A creditor must demand payment and warn you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file before listing you.

Debt problems and defaulter lists: the whole process, step by step

From a missed payment to a seizure, step by step

• Deal with the missed payment and the creditor's demand (Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps): As soon as you miss a payment, before any listing

• Creditor warns you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file (ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off): Before any listing: a creditor must demand payment and warn you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file

• Check, challenge or clear a listing (ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off): The file operator must answer an access or deletion request within one month, and can extend that by two further months only for complex requests. A paid debt is usually removed within a few days of the creditor reporting payment

• Reply to a court payment order (monitorio) (Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps): You have 20 working days from notification to pay or oppose it

• Oppose a court enforcement (When your account is seized (embargo) in Spain): You have 10 working days from notice of the enforcement order to file opposition

• Challenge a tax-agency seizure (When your account is seized (embargo) in Spain): 1 month to file an appeal for reconsideration or an economic-administrative claim; opposition on limited grounds such as payment or prescription must be raised within 15 days of the notice of the order

• Handle a debt enforced from another EU country (Debts left in your home country when you move to Spain): A foreign EU judgment can be enforced in Spain without a special declaration; against a European payment order you have 30 days to oppose

• Let the entry expire (ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off): A debt can stay in a private defaulter file only while it remains unpaid, and for at most five years from the date it fell due

Documents you may need

The home and the lease

• Your contract — Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps, ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off

Payments and receipts

• The creditor's written payment demand — Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps
• Notice of the transfer — Debt collectors in Spain: what they can and cannot do

Translations and legal papers

• A certified translation of the non-EU judgment into Spanish — Debts left in your home country when you move to Spain

Other documents

• Proof that the demand reached — Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps
• Proof of the debt — Debt collectors in Spain: what they can and cannot do
• A copy of any complaint or claim you filed on the debt — ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off
• A copy of the personal data they hold about — Debt collectors in Spain: what they can and cannot do

Debt problems and defaulter lists: questions that cross several articles

Can I be listed in a defaulter file without any warning?

No, a creditor must demand payment and warn you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file before listing you. If you never got that warning, the listing can be unlawful and you can ask for deletion and claim damages.

Does paying the debt remove me from the list automatically?

No, paying does not remove you by itself, because the creditor has to report the payment to the file. Send proof of payment to both the creditor and the file operator. Delays usually come from the creditor, so see "ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off" and "Checking and challenging a listing, step by step".

Is a court payment order the same as a defaulter listing?

No, they are separate: a listing is a private file entry, while a payment order (monitorio) comes from a court and gives you 20 working days to pay or oppose. If you ignore it, the creditor can ask for enforcement, including seizure of accounts. Read "Falling behind on payments in Spain: your first steps" and "When your account is seized (embargo) in Spain".

Can a debt from my home country affect me in Spain?

Yes, an EU creditor can enforce an EU judgment against you in Spain without a special declaration, and a creditor without a judgment can use European payment procedures. You can resist enforcement only on limited grounds, such as improper service of a default judgment. Read "Debts left in your home country when you move to Spain" and "When your account is seized (embargo) in Spain".