Payment demands by certified SMS: interrupting the limitation period
· 3 min read
An out-of-court claim interrupts the limitation period for legal actions (art. 1973 of the Spanish Civil Code) and puts the debtor in default (art. 1100). But neither effect occurs if you cannot prove two things: that you made the claim and that the claim arrived. That is where an ordinary SMS falls short and a registered burofax hurts your pocket when there are hundreds of cases.
What the evidence file proves
Each certified demand keeps: the full text sent, the exact time, the operator's delivery receipt (in Spain, delivery to the handset), and if the debtor opens the link, the record of access to and reading of the complete content on our portal. All of it cryptographically chained and anchored daily with a qualified Camerfirma timestamp.
Let us be precise about the evidential regime, because it is what a law firm must know before signing up: this is not a qualified eIDAS service and it enjoys no presumption — if challenged, it is proven with the file and an expert report (art. 326.3 of the Civil Procedure Act). In exchange, art. 43.1 of eIDAS prevents it from being denied admissibility as evidence for being electronic, and the cost per sending lets you claim the entire portfolio, not just the large cases.
The limits, which are the law
Claiming badly costs more than not claiming:
- Only to the debtor. Disclosing the debt to third parties —relatives, work, neighbours— breaches data protection and the right to honour, and the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) fines for it. The SMS goes to the debtor's number and the full content is read behind a link, not on the lock screen.
- No harassment. Abusive repetition or unreasonable hours can amount to an unlawful intrusion. Schedule sendings at reasonable times and with proportionate frequency.
- Truthful and identified. Who is claiming, how much, for what and how to pay. No threats of consequences you cannot carry out.
When to choose each tool
A burofax with acknowledgement of receipt still has its place in individual high-value claims. Certified SMS fits when volume rules: prior reminders, mass demands through the API, a second notice before going to court — with a signed acknowledgement of debt if you want to close a payment agreement.
Published rates · How the evidence file works
Details of procedural practice
A certain date for the content. Each piece of evidence is chained to the previous one through cryptographic fingerprints and the whole is anchored daily with a qualified timestamp: altering a file afterwards would require redoing a chain that would no longer match the anchor. That is what the expert can explain convincingly in court.
The text matters as much as the channel. Identify the debt, its basis, the amount and how to pay. A generic demand interrupts less well: case law requires the claim to identify beyond doubt which debt is being claimed.
Keep the whole series. If you send three staggered notices, the three files together show the creditor's diligence — also useful against claims of defencelessness.
Public verification codes. Each PDF certificate carries a code with which the court or the opposing party can verify its integrity on our public page, without depending on us or asking us for anything.