My loan has been sold

5/12/2019

I received a letter saying the bank with which I took out a loan some time ago has sold the credit to a firm I know nothing about. What should I do? I haven’t even given my approval for this. If this has happened to you, you might be interested in this post where we explain what an assignment of debt is and your rights as a debtor.

An assignment of debt means that a bank sells a series of loans to another institution, which is often completely unknown to you and located outside Spain, for a price far below the outstanding amount. This other institution then becomes the new creditor of the loan. This can be bewildering for customers, who don’t know what will happen to their debt.

What are the keys to understanding what happens when your loan is sold?

• Assignments of debt are regulated by law. They are generally governed by the Spanish Civil Code, although there are certain specific rules in the Commercial Code and in the Mortgage Law.

• They basically consist of a change of creditor. They can occur in all types of loans, including personal loans and mortgages.

• The terms of the contract that you signed at the time remain valid. This means the conditions of your loan or credit do not change.

• If you receive express notice of who the new creditor or owner of your loan is, read it carefully. It could have important information on how to pay your instalments and who you should contact in the event of any incident.