Can I be taken to court over a debt of 300 euros?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes, because the law does not set a minimum amount for claiming in court. For a debt like this the creditor does not need a lawyer or a court agent (“procurador”), so claiming costs them little. If you receive a formal demand for payment or a claim from the court, do not ignore it, because if you do not respond the creditor will be able to apply for the attachment of your assets and the debt will grow with interest. If you owe the money, paying or agreeing a payment plan as soon as possible is usually the cheapest option. If you do not owe it or do not agree with the amount, you must object in writing within the time limit. There is no minimum Any money debt, however small, can be claimed in court. For 300 euros, the creditor has two routes: The order for payment procedure (“proceso monitorio”), a fast procedure for recovering debts that are recorded in documents, such as invoices or receipts. The court requires you to pay or object within twenty working days. A claim under the “juicio verbal”, the simplest type of court proceedings, in which you will have ten days to file a written defence. In either case, both the creditor and you can act without a lawyer or a court agent. As the law generally requires an attempt to reach an agreement before a claim is brought, you will normally first receive a letter, an email or a message inviting you to negotiate. That is the best time to resolve it. The law does set a limit of 300 euros, but for something else. A creditor whose debt is recorded in a deed executed before a notary or in a notarised commercial contract (“póliza”) can only apply for attachment directly, without prior court proceedings, if the debt exceeds 300 euros. If it does not exceed that amount, as with a debt of exactly 300 euros, they can still claim it, but they must first go through an order for payment procedure or court proceedings. What happens if you do nothing If you neither pay nor object in the order for payment procedure, or do not respond to the claim, the matter will go ahead without your side of the story being heard and the creditor may end up applying for the attachment of your assets. The interest and the costs that the law allows to be charged to you will be added to the debt. With a debt of this amount, moreover, the judgment cannot be appealed, so there will be no second chance before another court. What you should do Always collect letters from the court and keep them. If you owe the money, reply to the invitation to negotiate or call the creditor to pay or agree a schedule. Ask them to confirm in writing what has been agreed and, when you finish paying, that the debt has been settled. If you do not owe it, explain this in writing too, with your documents, such as receipts or proof of payment. If the formal demand or the claim then arrives, set out your grounds of objection within the time limit. You do not need a lawyer to do so either.