What can I do if my invoice is unpaid?

19 September, 2017
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Procedural law
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Mª José Machado


In this post, we will give some helpful tips when it comes to invoicing a client that has left us unpaid. It should be borne in mind that when we refer to “unpaid invoice” we also refer to any other type of debt that we have to pay.

Although it would be best to get it back in a friendly manner (proposing payment facilities to the debtor, such as debt repayment in several installments, establishing a payment schedule and any other alternatives that may arise in the negotiation), unfortunately the most likely is that we are forced to appeal the claim through court.

And it is at this moment that a type of procedure comes into play that will allow us to recover our money in a fast and simple way: the Monetary Judgment.

We can go to this process (regulated in articles 812 and following of the Civil Procedure Law) to claim a monetary debt, of any amount, that is:

1.- Determined and Liquid: that it is specified in a sum of money or that its determination depends on a simple or mere arithmetic operation.

2.- Expired: one in which the payment term has elapsed, that is, it has expired.

3.- Demandable: One that does not depend on any consideration.

We will need to documentally prove the existence of debt through documents, whatever their form and class or the physical support in which they are, which are signed by the debtor or with his stamp, imprint or mark or any other signal, physical or electronic. We can also do this with invoices, delivery notes, certifications, telegrams, telefax or any other document that are commonly documented credits and debts, even if they have been created unilaterally by the creditor.

It should be noted that the law also provides for the Monetary Judgment to claim the debts generated to the Communities of Owners.

How do we begin the procedure?

Well, once we have collected the documentation that proves the debt, and determined the amount of our credit, we will present, before the Court of First Instance of the debtor’s domicile or the address where it can be found, a petition that will appear the personal circumstances of all parties (it is especially important to indicate the debtor’s domicile), the origin of the debt, its amount and the way it is documented. When the Court admits our petition to processing, it will agree to require payment to the debtor for, within 20 days, to pay the claimed amount, or to compare and explain the reasons why it considers that it does not have to pay.

If the debtor ignores the request (neither pays nor objects), the Court will issue a resolution that will end the procedure and allow us to begin the enforcement process, directing our action against the debtor’s assets through a seizure .

On the contrary, if, once the debtor has been required to pay, he appears in the Court, claiming that he does not owe part or all of the claim, depending on the amount of the debt, the procedure to be followed will be different:

1.- Debt less than € 6,000: The judge will grant a period of ten days for the creditor to challenge the debtor’s opposition and, if the parties so request, a hearing will be held to judge the case. At this time the parties will have to submit all the evidence they want to apply.

2.- Debt over € 6,000: Within a month of counting the transfer of the opposition letter to the Monitory Judgment, we will have to file a request for Ordinary Judgment. In this case, the recovery of the debts will be more delayed in the time that in the procedure monitors as a result of the formalities that the Ordinary Judgment implies (demand, written response of the debtor, pre-trial hearing, pointing and holding hearing, and finally, a sentence that we can also execute in the same way as the decree that ended the Monitory Judgment.

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Debt

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