Order-for-payment procedure (monitorio), Transport Arbitration Board, direct action against the principal shipper or enforcement of an acknowledged debt: we choose the route that collects fastest — and take it all the way to attachment if need be.
Overdue invoices, promises and then silence: we claim with late-payment interest and collection costs. And if your customer is an intermediary who does not pay, we assess the direct action against the principal shipper.
Customer accounts with months of unpaid services: order-for-payment claims in series, enforcement of debt acknowledgements and termination of the relationship without losing the security over the cargo.
Port-call, agency and vessel-expense invoices: we also claim against foreign shipping lines, with international service of process and the special forum under the Spanish Maritime Navigation Act (LNM).
Unpaid berthing, storage and occupancy charges.
As a general rule, late-payment interest under the Spanish Late Payment Act (Law 3/2004) — the ECB rate for the half-year plus eight points (Article 7) — with no demand required, plus a fixed €40 in collection costs per invoice and any additional evidenced costs (Article 8). In transport, moreover, the paying party is in any event in default once thirty days have elapsed (Article 41 of the Spanish Domestic Road Transport Contract Act (Law 15/2009, LCTTM)).
If you were the actual carrier and the party who engaged you does not pay, Additional Provision 6 of Law 9/2013 allows you to claim directly against the party who commissioned the transport, even if it has already paid the freight charges to its subcontractor. It is the lifeline when the intermediary collapses or disappears.
We collect using international service of process, and we have correspondents to bring proceedings abroad and to enforce judgments across borders.
invoices, delivery notes, contracts and the debtor's real solvency.
a pre-action demand requiring payment within a hard deadline.
order-for-payment procedure / Transport Arbitration Board / ordinary proceedings.
asset tracing, bank accounts, receivables owed by third parties. Getting paid is the only ending that counts.
No: invoices are sufficient for the order-for-payment procedure.
Yes, by joining them in a single claim — more pressure and lower costs.
If unopposed, months through to attachment, although it depends on the court handling the matter. If opposed, it converts and continues as ordinary proceedings.
Filing your claim in the insolvency within the deadline is critical; and the direct action against the shipper can bypass the intermediary's insolvency.
Yes: you may refuse to deliver it unless payment is secured by sufficient security — but if you retain the cargo, the law requires you to apply to the court or the Transport Arbitration Board for its deposit and sale within a maximum of ten days from non-payment (Article 40 LCTTM). Done badly, retention turns against you: take advice before acting.
The general period for claiming freight charges in transport is one year. Send us the details and we will assess whether the claim faces any problem.