Search a country below for debt collection:
How to Instruct Us
We simply require the following details:
Full name & address of the debtor
All available contact details of the debtor i.e. contact name(s) / Tel / Mobile / Email(s)
Amount owed (Invoice(s) or Statement will help)
Or ask us to call you – just leave us your details:
Portugal Debt Collection – No Win No Fee
Creditreform operates a global specialist International debt collections service. We have local offices and fully approved expert international debt collection agency partners in every country worldwide. All our International debt collection agency partners and offices operate on a No Win No Fee basis charging an agreed commission against monies recovered only.
Main reasons why a local country debt recovery agency is so important rather than trying to recover from a debt collection agency UK are as follows:
The local International Debt collection Partners know:
The local cultures
The best methods of initiating debt recovery letters and processes
The languages
The laws
Are in the same time zones
Herewith details of our debt collection service Portugal:
Location of debt recovery office in Portugal?
Lisbon (the capital city of Portugal). All debt collection letters are sent by the local head office.
Number of debt collection staff?
6 (Lawyers and staff). Each staff member is allocated a client and all their debt collection letters are personalised in order to effect the best response result s from debtors.
How long have you been operating a debt recovery service in Portugal?
Law Office created in 1959
What type of debt collection services do you provide? Do you do commercial debt recovery (B2B) and consumer debt recovery (B2C)?
We handle both Business to Business debt recovery cases and Business to Consumer debt collections cases. There is different content for business to business debt collection letter templates and business to consumer debt collection letters templates.
Statue of Limitation in Portugal?
The general limitation period (B2B) for bringing an action in the Portuguese court is 20 years but reduced periods operate in certain circumstances. Perhaps the most significant are consumer contracts (i.e. between a commercial concern and a consumer), where the period is 2 years and claims for interests where the period is 5 years.
Breach of statute of limitation can be of a judicial nature (court notification) or extra judicial (acceptance of the right/claim by document in writing, payment proposals, part payments but also unequivocal tacit acceptance).
How EU (European Union) laws effect debt collection in Portugal?
In Portugal there are several commercial registry offices, scattered throughout the territory, as the main external services of the Institute of Registries and Notaries, I.P. (IRN), a public institute under the tutelage of the Ministry of Justice
General comments regarding the process in Portugal for debt collection and how differs from UK debt collection and other European countries:
How many companies registries in Portugal for businesses (i.e. UK has just 1 central registry)?
1 registry in Belgium - KBO - Kruispuntbank voor Ondernemingen
What is the debt collection process in Portugal?
In Portugal, according to the law — the law which defines the acts of the lawyers
— it is up to lawyers to carry on all the acts of negotiation with debtors with the aim of collecting a debt for third parties (creditors).
Lawyers are bound by professional and ethical rules supervised by the Bar Association and “don’t pay visits to debtors”).
As a Law Office, lawyers handle the debt collection cases.
We act from the vision that behinds every debt there’s a story and that every debtor as its own reason why the claim has remained unpaid.
We study the cases and make the necessary searches within our reach.
We write to the debtors asking for payment, we call, we send emails and letters. We make payment agreements (when the client accepts them), put them in writing and control every payment.
When amicable collection is not possible, we start legal action, if instructed by the client to do it. We also work with a Credit Report Company from whom, at the request of the creditor, we order (and pay) information about the debtors in order to know about their financial situation
Average length of time to collect a debt?
(i) Amicably: the time it takes as long as amicable recovery succeeds
Our core value is to make an appropriate payment arrangement that is tailored to the unique circumstances of the debtor
(ii) Judicial: depends on the proceeding and the Court
Can late payment fees / interest to be added to claims?
We can add interests but in what concerns collection costs/fees they don’t have to be paid by the debtors unless there is a previous and written agreement between creditor and debtor establishing it. If this agreement does not exist we can only ask for an indemnity of EUR 40.00 through a judicial proceeding
Details on legal service / process in Portugal?
(i) Simple collection proceedings (injunggo);
(ii) Enforcement proceedings (acqgo executiva);
(iii) Declaratory proceedings (acggo declarativa condenatoria);
(iv) Protective measures (procedimentos cautelares);
(v) Insolvency proceedings (acqgo de insolvéncia).
Portugal Business Credit Reports
Creditreform provides over 88 million international business credit reports throughout Europe and 200 million international business credit reports worldwide. Total businesses registered in Portugal is over 2 million. Through our online databases you can download Portugal business credit reports instantly. This can be done prior to trading to make sure the company you will be dealing with can meet the commitment or once the debt becomes overdue to ensure the debtor can meet the amount owed.
Portugal Tracing Agents
Creditreform’s debt collection company service also uses expert local Portugal tracing agent services to locate any absconded debtor. This debtor tracing service is provided on a No Find No Fee basis only charging for a successful trace..
Specialist Debt Recovery Experts
There are many unique requirements to recovering international debts in all countries including Portugal debt collection services which differ from the UK debt collection agency services and therefore it is very important that cases are handled directly by our expert international debt collection agencies and not from debt collectors UK. This method of international debt collection sets Creditreform aside from the competition who in many cases try and recover debts from a UK debt collector only. Using the local offices and partners enables us to achieve a far greater success rate and our No Win No Fee service together with competitive commission rates against monies recovered only ensures you get the best service.