ASNEF and Badexcug defaulter lists: how to check and get off

Terms used

• ASNEF-Equifax — ASNEF-Equifax is Spain's best-known private file of unpaid debts, run by Equifax Ibérica.
• Badexcug — Badexcug is a private file of unpaid debts run by Experian Bureau de Crédito.
• CIRBE — The CIRBE is the Bank of Spain's record of bank loans, used to supervise lenders. It is not a defaulter list.
• AEPD — The AEPD is Spain's data protection authority, where you can complain if a listing is not corrected.

Key rules

• Time limit: 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.
• Prior warning: A creditor must demand payment and warn you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file before listing you.
• Who to write to: Send your request to both the file operator and the creditor.
• Disputed debts: A debt under a genuine, pending dispute should not be listed.

Which files exist

Being listed means a creditor has reported an unpaid debt to a private file. The two best known are ASNEF-Equifax, run by Equifax Ibérica, and Badexcug, run by Experian Bureau de Crédito. Others exist, such as the Informa files and the BDI judicial-incidents file. The RAI, for unpaid bills of exchange, is also private.

The CIRBE is not a defaulter list. It is a Bank of Spain record of loans from banks, used to supervise lenders. Hacienda and Social Security keep their own public debtor lists, which work differently from these private files.

Check each private file separately. A clean result in one tells you nothing about the others.

When a listing is lawful

A listing is lawful only if all of these are true:

• The debt is certain, due and payable.
• The debt is not under a reasonable dispute. A pending claim or complaint on it makes listing improper.
• The creditor demanded payment and warned you that the debt may be reported to a defaulter file before listing you.
• The data is accurate and current: amount, dates and identity.
• The debt is not older than the time limit below.

The creditor is responsible for the accuracy of what it reports. The law sets no minimum amount. Some files use their own thresholds, and the data protection authority (AEPD) expects the listing to be proportionate.

How long a listing can stay

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. The five years run from the due date of the debt, or of the specific instalment you missed. They do not run from the day you were listed.

If you paid

Once you pay, the entry should come out. The creditor must report the payment, and the file must delete the data without undue delay, within the one-month deadline for rights requests. In practice, the main files usually remove an entry within a few days of the creditor reporting payment. Delays usually come from the creditor, so send proof of payment to both the creditor and the file operator.

Grounds to challenge a listing

You can challenge a listing if:

• You have no debt or no contract, for example because of identity fraud.
• You genuinely dispute the debt through a claim, complaint or court action.
• The debt is time-barred or older than five years from its due date.
• You never received a demand for payment and a warning of listing.
• The data is wrong.
• You have paid.

A real, undisputed debt stays listed until you pay it or the time limit ends. Courts have held that listing a disputed debt can violate a person's honour.

Where to send your request

Write to both the file operator and the creditor. The operator must act, and the creditor answers for the debt. If you write to the operator, it passes your request to the creditor. While the creditor reviews it, your data is blocked and not given to third parties. This review can last up to 10 days for some files. If the creditor confirms the debt, the entry stays. If not, the operator deletes it.

If you get a refusal or no answer, you can complain to the AEPD. The steps for asking for access, the documents to gather and the choice between routes are in the blocks below.

Choosing between options

What should you do about a listing you want removed?

• Write to both the operator and the creditor: The listing is wrong: no debt or contract, a genuine dispute, a prescribed debt, no prior warning, wrong data, or already paid.

• Pay the debt and send proof: The debt is real and still unpaid, so a challenge would fail.

• Complain to the AEPD: The operator or creditor refused your request, or did not act on it.

If the debt is real and unpaid, pay it. If the listing is wrong on any ground, write to both the operator and the creditor. If either refuses, go to the AEPD.

Checking and challenging a listing, step by step

Checking and challenging a listing

• Gather your ID: front and back copy of your DNI, your NIE or residence card, or your passport if you are not resident: before you write to anyone

• If someone acts for you, add a signed authorisation and a copy of their own ID: before you send the request

• Ask ASNEF-Equifax for access to your data: write to Equifax Ibérica, Servicio de Atención al Consumidor, Apartado de Correos 10.546, 28080 Madrid, or use its online form, web portal or email: first step, whether or not you think you are listed

• Ask Badexcug for access: write to Experian Bureau de Crédito, Apartado de Correos 1188, 28108 Alcobendas (Madrid), or use its web form: at the same time as the ASNEF-Equifax request

• Say clearly which right you use (access, rectification or deletion) and attach your ID. The companies' forms are optional: any written request that identifies you is valid: in each request you send

• Wait for the operator's answer: it must reply within one month of receiving your request

• If the operator tells you it needs more time, it must explain why: within the first month; it can extend by two further months only for complex requests

• If the listing is wrong or should not be there, ask for rectification or deletion. Write to both the operator and the creditor that reported the debt: after you see your data

• Expect your data to be blocked while the creditor reviews the debt. If the creditor confirms the debt, the listing stays; if not, the operator deletes it: during the creditor's review, up to 10 days for some files

• If the request is refused, answered only in part or not answered, file a claim with the AEPD, Spain's data protection agency. Use its electronic office with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, or go in person to a registry, and attach proof of your earlier request: after a refusal, an incomplete answer, or one month without a reply

• Do not wait too long: the AEPD can investigate and open a sanction procedure, but the infringements it can punish expire after one to three years depending on severity: file as soon as your request fails

Documents you need

• Proof of payment, such as a receipt or bank transfer confirmation from the creditor or your bank, if you have paid the debt

• A copy of the contract the debt comes from, to show whether a debt exists and what was agreed

• Bank records showing payments made or the absence of any payment relationship with the creditor

• A copy of any complaint or claim you filed on the debt, if you dispute it

• Proof that you never received a demand for payment or a warning of listing, if that is your ground

What to watch out for

• Several private files exist: ASNEF-Equifax, Badexcug and other private files each keep their own data. Clearing one does not clear the others. Check each file separately and ask every one that lists you to correct or delete the entry.

• Writing only to the file operator: The operator passes your request to the creditor, who is responsible for the debt data, so a request sent to one side can stall. Write to both the operator and the creditor at the same time.

• A real debt stays listed: If the creditor confirms the debt after review, the entry stays and the operator will not delete it. Pay the debt and send proof of payment so the entry is removed, or challenge it only on a real ground.

• Weak evidence for your challenge: A challenge without paperwork is easy to reject, whether your ground is no debt, a dispute, a prescribed debt, wrong data or payment. Attach receipts, complaint copies, the contract or bank records with your request.

• A refusal is not the end: The operator or creditor may refuse to delete the entry. Take the refusal to the AEPD, Spain's data protection agency.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CIRBE a defaulter list?

No, the CIRBE is not a defaulter list. It is the Banco de España's public record of bank loans, used to supervise credit institutions. Private files such as ASNEF-Equifax and Badexcug are the ones that list unpaid debts.

Is there a minimum amount for a debt to be listed?

No, the law sets no minimum amount for listing a debt, although some files use their own thresholds. Listing must still be proportionate, so you can challenge a very small debt on that basis.

Can I be listed while I am disputing the debt?

No, a debt under a genuine dispute should not be listed, for example when a claim, complaint or court action is pending. Keep copies of the complaint or claim, because you will need them to show the dispute is real.