The new “notarial monitoring system", an effective tool for resolving non-payment issues

Law 15/2015, of July 2, on Voluntary Jurisdiction, introduces a new tool for claiming unpaid invoices, which has the same effectiveness as the existing Summary Judgment claim, but avoids having to go to court to claim the debt, thus leading to significant savings in both time and direct costs.

Through this procedure, a creditor seeking to collect a debt, regardless of the amount, may request the notary residing at the debtor's address to demand payment, provided that the debt is liquid, determined, due and payable.

The following cannot be claimed through the notarial summary procedure:
1. Debts owed between businesses and consumers or end users.
2. Alimony debts.
3. Claims involving a Public Administration.

To fulfill this requirement, the debt must be, in the notary's judgment, documented beyond any doubt. If other items are included besides the principal amount, these must be properly itemized.
If such circumstances are met, the Notary will draw up a Deed in which he will record the identification and address details of the parties and those corresponding to the origin, nature and amount of the debt, and will require the debtor to pay what is owed within a period of 20 days.

An important aspect is that the law stipulates that a demand made to the debtor will be considered valid even if the debtor refuses to acknowledge it. A demand made to any employee, family member, or person living with the debtor will also be valid, provided they are of legal age.

If the person being requested is a legal entity, the request made to any member of the administrative body who proves to have sufficient powers of representation or acts as a person in charge of receiving reliable notifications and requests in the interest of the company (receptionists and/or customer service) will be valid.

Once the request has been made, three possible scenarios may arise:

• The debtor must appear before the notary and pay the debt within the allotted time. The notary will immediately reimburse the creditor for the amount paid, closing the record and concluding their involvement.
• If the debtor neither pays nor opposes the duly served demand, that is, if they do nothing. In this case, the notary will record this circumstance in the deed and conclude their involvement. And here comes the main legislative change that gives the procedure its effectiveness: this deed will be enforceable, and it will be possible to claim payment through an executive procedure aimed at the judicial seizure of assets to secure the debt, and the debtor will not be able to object on substantive grounds.
• If the debtor objects to the claim, the notary will record the objection and the reasons for it in a formal statement and notify the creditor. The statement will then be closed, concluding the notarial proceedings, without prejudice to the creditor's right to pursue traditional legal action to enforce their debt.