Recover your company's outstanding debts

The hidden cost of not claiming

Many businesses write off unpaid invoices as an inevitable cost of doing business. However, the real impact goes far beyond the nominal amount: unpaid debts strain cash flow, force reliance on external financing at a cost, and create a domino effect that can transfer the problem to your own suppliers.

Moreover, unclaimed debts send a dangerous signal to the market: that your company tolerates late payment. A professional, systematic approach to debt recovery not only gets your money back, but reinforces the perception of rigour and seriousness of your organisation.

Types of debt we handle

Our team has proven experience in recovering all types of business receivables:

• Commercial invoices for the supply of goods or provision of services
• Debts arising from lease, franchise, or distribution agreements
• Promissory notes, bills of exchange, and dishonoured cheques
• Damages for breach of contract
• Cross-border receivables within and outside the European Union
• Debts owed by public administrations and official bodies

Advantages of professional recovery

Professional debt recovery offers decisive advantages over direct claims by the creditor. A specialist team understands the deadlines, procedures, and negotiation techniques that maximise the probability of collection. The involvement of a professional third party also changes the debtor’s perception of the seriousness of the claim, significantly accelerating resolution times.

At BMC, our phased approach lets you control risk at every stage: if the amicable route succeeds, the cost is minimal; if litigation is needed, you already have all the documentation and strategy in place to act swiftly.

Spanish debt recovery procedures: from demand to enforcement

Spain provides several procedural routes for business debt recovery, each with different timelines, costs, and requirements. Selecting the correct procedure from the outset determines whether recovery takes weeks or years.

Payment order proceedings (procedimiento monitorio, Art. 812 LEC). The most efficient route for undisputed debts supported by documentary evidence — invoices, delivery notes, signed contracts. The court issues a payment demand to the debtor, who has 20 days to pay or contest. If the debtor fails to respond, the court immediately issues an execution order without a trial. If the debt exceeds €6,000, opposition by the debtor converts the case into an ordinary claim (juicio ordinario); below €6,000 it converts to a verbal claim (juicio verbal). Recovery timelines at the monitorio stage: 2-6 months without opposition.

Bill of exchange proceedings (juicio cambiario). For debts evidenced by promissory notes (pagarés) or bills of exchange, this accelerated procedure allows immediate precautionary seizure of debtor assets upon filing the claim. The debtor has 10 days to pay or oppose; opposition does not stay the precautionary seizure already granted. This makes the juicio cambiario significantly more powerful than the monitorio for instrument-evidenced debts.

Ordinary proceedings (juicio ordinario). For debts above €6,000 where liability is contested or documentation is incomplete. More costly and slower (12-24 months to first-instance judgment), but allows full evidence gathering and damages claims. A pre-claim mediation attempt is optional but can avoid litigation costs entirely if the debtor is willing.

Insolvency participation (concurso de acreedores). Where the debtor is insolvent or has presented a court filing, creditors must submit their claims (comunicación de créditos) within one month of publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). Failure to submit within the deadline results in subordination of the claim. BMC monitors the BOE for debtor insolvency filings for all active debt management clients.

Statutory interest and late payment compensation

Law 3/2004 on measures to combat late payment in commercial transactions (transposing EU Directive 2011/7/EU) provides two automatic entitlements for creditors in B2B relationships where payment is late:

Statutory late payment interest. Calculated at the European Central Bank reference rate plus 8 percentage points, recalculated each half-year. For the first half of 2026 this amounts to approximately 10.50% per annum on the outstanding principal. Interest accrues automatically from the day after the agreed payment deadline without any formal demand required.

Fixed compensation for collection costs. A minimum of €40 per invoice is payable as a contribution to collection costs, regardless of the amount of the invoice or of actual costs incurred. This amount is owed automatically; if actual collection costs exceed €40, reasonable additional costs can be claimed provided they are documented.

These amounts are recoverable in court proceedings and significantly improve the economics of claiming smaller debts that might otherwise be uneconomic to pursue.

Limitation periods: act before it is too late

Spanish law sets specific limitation periods (prescripción) for commercial claims. Once the period expires, the legal right to enforce the debt is permanently extinguished.

• Commercial invoices (personal actions): 5 years under Article 1964 of the Civil Code (as amended by Law 42/2015)
• Promissory notes (pagarés): 3 years from the maturity date under the Uniform Law on Bills of Exchange
• Bills of exchange (letras de cambio): 1 year from the maturity date
• Cheques: 6 months from issue date

Limitation is interrupted by any formal acknowledgement of debt by the debtor, by filing a judicial claim, or by any act of extrajudicial claim that can be proven. Sending a formal certified demand letter (burofax) is the standard mechanism for interrupting the limitation clock while maintaining pre-litigation status.

Cross-border debt recovery within the EU

For debts owed by debtors in other EU member states, Spain offers access to two EU harmonised procedures that eliminate the need for a second national enforcement step in the debtor’s country:

European Payment Order (Regulation EC No 1896/2006). An uncontested claim procedure available for pecuniary claims in civil and commercial matters. Issued by a Spanish court (if the creditor is Spanish), enforceable in all EU member states without exequatur. If contested, converts to ordinary national proceedings.

European Enforcement Order (Regulation EC No 805/2004). For judgments on uncontested claims. A Spanish court judgment certified as a European Enforcement Order can be directly enforced in any EU member state against the debtor’s assets without any intermediate proceedings. This is particularly valuable when the debtor has assets in multiple EU countries.

For debtors outside the EU, enforceability of Spanish judgments depends on bilateral recognition treaties or reciprocity. BMC coordinates with local correspondents in the United Kingdom (post-Brexit), the United States, Latin American countries, and other key trading partners for cross-border enforcement.

Managing the commercial relationship during recovery

Many businesses delay initiating recovery proceedings out of concern that the debtor is also an active customer whose future business they do not wish to lose. This concern is understandable but almost always leads to worse outcomes: the longer recovery is delayed, the more likely the debtor’s financial position deteriorates and the lower the ultimate collection rate.

Professional debt recovery, managed through a specialist intermediary rather than directly by the creditor, provides a practical solution to this conflict. Our pre-litigation claims are presented as firm but professionally worded demands that signal enforcement intent without the interpersonal tension of a direct conversation. Most debtors respond to a well-drafted demand letter from a legal team more promptly than to repeated calls or emails from the creditor’s own commercial team — not because the threat is greater, but because the formal communication signals that the creditor is serious.

In cases where the commercial relationship genuinely has future value, we advise on structured payment arrangements that resolve the existing debt without litigation while protecting the creditor’s position. Debt acknowledgement agreements (acuerdos de reconocimiento de deuda) formalise the outstanding balance, interrupt the limitation period, and often provide a payment schedule that makes recovery achievable without court proceedings. These arrangements are legally binding and provide the basis for expedited enforcement proceedings if the agreed schedule is not met.

Enforcement: collecting on a judgment

Obtaining a judgment is not the end of the recovery process — it is the beginning of the enforcement phase. Many creditors are surprised to discover that Spanish courts do not automatically enforce judgments; the creditor must actively pursue enforcement proceedings and identify assets against which to execute.

Bank account attachment (embargo de cuentas bancarias). The most effective enforcement measure for debtors with active banking relationships. Following a court order, AEAT provides the enforcement court with the debtor’s known bank relationships; the court issues embargo orders to those banks, which freeze the debtor’s accounts up to the judgment amount. Banks are required to respond within 10 days. Multiple rounds of account enquiry are often needed, as debtors with liquidity problems may have moved banking relationships.

Real estate attachment (embargo de bienes inmuebles). Identified real estate owned by the debtor is registered with the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) as encumbered, and the encumbrance becomes visible to any buyer conducting a registry search. The property may ultimately be sold at a court auction if the debt is not satisfied — though the auction process is typically slow (12-24 months) and rarely produces full recovery on smaller debts.

Business income attachment (embargo de créditos). For debtors with ongoing business activity, attaching receivables — income owed to the debtor by their own customers — is a highly effective enforcement measure that does not depend on the debtor’s willingness to pay. The court notifies the debtor’s customers that they must redirect payment to the court.

BMC manages the complete enforcement process: asset identification through registry searches and AEAT enquiries, drafting enforcement requests, monitoring responses from financial institutions, and escalating to auction proceedings where necessary.