Registry of Delinquent Debtors

Who has not heard of the Registry of Delinquent Debtors?

Used as a very useful tool for some and seen as a reprehensible obstacle in their lives for others, this universe of data on delinquency is a reality that generates great controversy and interventions in the field of data protection.

What is a Delinquent Registry?

Delinquency registers are personalized data files, usually automated, that identify the non-payment of natural and legal persons. legal entities.

These registries are fed by entities such as Asnef and provide information on the solvency and debts of individuals.

The registers of defaulters are consulted by all types of entities that provide services, in order to identify defaulters, i.e. those who do not meet their payment obligations for the contracting of services or purchase of products.

What are the implications of being in a Delinquent Registry?

If you wish to contract a telephone, electricity or gas service, or ask for a loan, your application will not be processed if you are in a delinquent registry, since these entities consult these registries before giving the final approval to your application.

How can you find out if you are in a Delinquent Registry?

If you want to know if you are included in the register of defaulters of Asnef, you should contact the data processor of this entity; Equifax Ibérica SL, by email: sac@equifax.es, in which you can exercise your right of access, established in Article 15 of the General Regulation on Personal Data Protection(RGPD) 679/2016.

When can I be included in a delinquent registry?

Inclusion in a delinquent registry is relatively simple, if the following circumstances are present:

• Existence of a debt that is certain, due and payable.
• That the debt has not been paid. True reality of non-payment.
• In addition, payment has already been reliably requested by the usual amicable means/methods (certified mail, burofax, email) without obtaining payment, or a response from the installment agreement, among other facilities to satisfy the debt.
• Lack of documentary evidence that contradicts the above points.

What the Data Protection Agency(AEPD) does warn about, as a time limitation for inclusion in a registry, is that this cannot be done at any time, as a minimum of four months must pass since the first non-payment.

Even so, it should be noted that, in practice, it is known that many companies proceed to register their customers for non-payment from the third unpaid bill.

Where can I go to resolve the conflict?

The challenge of a debt must be brought before administrative, arbitration or judicial bodies that are competent to declare the existence of a debt, by means of binding rulings for the parties.

This resolution will prevent the inclusion in a delinquent registry until there is a final resolution.

The filing of a complaint with a Municipal Consumer Information Office is not valid, because these bodies perform mediation functions, but not resolution.

Can the AEPD sanction me for including a client in the debtors’ registry?

According to the 2020 Annual Report, the AEPD confirms that the entities sanctioned that accumulate the highest economic amount are related to financial services, telecommunications and energy.

Among the most common penalties are the lack of information and consent by customers both for the processing of their data and possible transfers, automated financial profiling and disregard for the exercise of rights.

It should not be forgotten that, in order to include and maintain a person in a delinquent registry, an essential requirement must be met:

• The debt must be certain, due and payable.

Likewise, the registration must be blocked if there is a resolution by administrative, arbitration or judicial bodies.

The Creditor can also be a victim

We cannot forget the other party involved. It is clear that late payment is a serious problem for companies and this is confirmed by the latest studies, which confirm that late payment accounts for approximately 6% of the annual turnover of Spanish companies.

There is a lot of roguery among debtors to avoid their payment obligations, of which the following are the most common Business Adapter® can speak first-hand on the occasion of the advice it offers to financial institutions and energy traders.

We are talking about payment refusals alleging identity theft, administrative steps with no real legal basis to delay payments and legal action by the creditor, accusations of harassment, hiring lawyers who promise to evade the debt, unfounded complaints to the AEPD (Spanish Data Protection Agency). In short, a whole engineering in favor of default.

We help you

Whether you have problems of delinquency and need recovery management, or if you need a data protection consultant to avoid sanctions from the AEPD (Spanish Data Protection Agency), Business Adapter® offers you its legal services, in this sense, we have extensive experience in the following:

Exercise of data protection rights. Analysis of whether or not its presentation is appropriate.

• Attention to the requirements of the AEPD as Data Protection Delegate.
• Attention to the exercise of rights by the interested parties.
• Analysis of applicable legal arguments, on the rights of the interested parties and defense advice for our clients.

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