Debtor lists, or solvency lists as they are known in the sector, are feared among consumers. Appearing in one closes the doors to simple procedures such as hiring a new telephone company or accessing loans at the bank. Why can you end up in debt?
Despite there being several lists -Asnef-Equifax, Experian, RAI- the operations and applicable legislation are the same. Current legislation specifies that an individual’s debt must exceed 50 euros to be added to these lists. It must be true, due and enforceable. Furthermore, it cannot be under discussion: “If you are debating the amount or the very existence of the debt, whether in a judicial, administrative claim, or an alternative process, you cannot be included on a list. Those procedures have to be finalized,” he summarizes. Leticia Grande, lawyer and spokesperson for the legal platform Reclamador.es.
Inclusion can be for almost any debt that exceeds 50 euros. Missing a mortgage payment, a loan, or a phone bill comes close to that. “Normally these are service claims, with many cases for electricity, telephone or other services,” explains Grande.
Competition legislation establishes that any company that wants to add customer data can do so, explains Ignacio Pla, general secretary of Asnef, the National Association of Credit Financial Establishments, which has one of the best-known files. Thus, you can also add debts with all types of banks, investment funds that buy liabilities, insurance companies, property owners, chains…
Before considering including someone on a list, the company must make a prior subscription request. “The creditor must have made a payment request warning that if payment is not made within a certain period, the data will be included in a file,” Grande clarifies. It is normally done via burofax. There is a possibility that the service contract already informs that if a debt is incurred it will be included in a solvency file. The lawyer maintains that in these cases notice is equally necessary.
In this way, the list is assimilated to a last resort for companies. If someone is added, they must be informed within 30 days. Upon encountering his name there, and given the difficulties it may generate, the consumer would have a greater urgency to settle the debt: by drawing up solvency profiles and reviewing financial records, entities or service companies can see the name included in the list and deny your products or services.
In the case of Asnef, its file has 8.5 million entries, Pla details based on the data at the end of 2022. It does not assume that there are 8.5 million people, because one can have several entries for different debts: one for the internet company, another for the bank, for a loan…
For the moment, the increase in the cost of living is not translating into more problems, say the sources consulted. It is due to job stability and the ability to make payments, although it has been reduced. “We do not notice more inflows than usual, defaults remain stable in banks and regulated consumer financial entities,” says Pla.
To get off the lists the easiest way is to pay the debt, it is agreed. Once what is claimed has been settled, there is no longer any reason…
But what happens if the inclusion is wrong? “Among the millions of data that are handled, cases can occur, although it is not common. If it is detected, it is deleted,” they defend in Asnef. Simply stating that the decision is wrong or that you do not agree with it is not enough. “You have to go to a judge with a claim and have it resolved in your favor,” Pla continues.
From Reclamador they recommend litigating if a person is included for a debt that does not meet the characteristics – certain, due and payable – or is not real. Grande assures that if you are improperly targeted and the company does not respond to a withdrawal request, you may demand compensation for damages for interference with the right to honor. As if a contract with a company has been canceled and because of a billing error they say that money is owed. “As long as we are improperly registered, we can file a claim in court,” they state.
Another option is to wait until the maximum period for including the debt on the list has expired. It must disappear if five years have passed “from the expiration date of the obligation,” according to the law. It is not the most recommended, because in those years you may encounter problems when requesting financing from the bank or contracting services with companies, such as a simple telephone line. Furthermore, if the debt is sold from one credit company to another, the calculation restarts, says Grande.
Generally, once payments, claims or deadlines are completed, the name should be removed in about 10 days.
A final way to disappear from the lists is with the Second Chance law. With it, among other points, the person is exonerated from debts and removed from the defaulter files.
But the client and his debt have to meet certain requirements. The person must be insolvent, act in good faith without hiding assets and trying to fulfill obligations, not exceed a debt of 5 million, have it with more than two creditors, have no criminal record and have not availed themselves of the mechanism in the last five years.
One of the most important recommendations made is to avoid companies that offer themselves on the Internet to remove people from defaulter lists. “They can’t even take you out if you haven’t paid or proven in a lawsuit that the debt is not true; nor are they free as they say. They charge with a very expensive special rate telephone. There have been expenses of up to 1,000 euros like this,” they comment from Asnef . Consultation through official channels is free. “No one can get paid, many people have already been scammed and they are not taken off the list,” she insists.
