The court of first instance number 6 of Lleida has forgiven a debt of 914,391 euros to a truck driver from Lleida who guaranteed a company of which he was a partner that closed in 2013 due to disagreements between two partners. He had 20% of the company and the banks demanded that he assume the entire debt, according to the Bergadà Asociados law firm, which handled the case.
“I expected good things to happen, but there is always the uncertainty of what will happen. Now a new stage of my life begins. I am 57 years old and I see the future differently,” says the transporter, who prefers to preserve his anonymity.
The company was established in 2007 with four partners and each one contributed 20%. The operations were jointly and severally guaranteed. In 2013, when the company was liquidated, the banking entities began to demand debts from the company and an ordeal began for him. “The pressure from the banks to pay the debts was constant, but I couldn’t take it on,” he says. “I was willing to assume the proportion that corresponded to me, but they did not agree,” he adds.
He assures that he reached an extreme situation economically and mentally. He received constant calls and the salary from the company where he later went to work was insufficient to face the debt and cover his family’s expenses. “There comes a time when you realize that you have to try to survive despite carrying the heavy backpack of debt. Therefore, you make the difficult decision not to pay what is owed. It is not easy, but in the end you have to think about your immediate future and that of those around you,” she says.
Marta Bergadà, from Bergadà Asociados, assures that “there are many cases in which partners or corporate administrators have guaranteed debts of companies that have failed and when the company closes, they are required to pay the entire debt.” She insists that it is important that they know that the second chance law, “a good ally so that their debts can be exonerated and they can start a new life.”
