The Commercial Court number 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has forgiven a debt of 77,332.40 euros to a married couple from Lanzarote (38,666.20 euros to the man and 38,666.20 euros to the woman) whose insolvency occurred due to the failure of several businesses they undertook due to the different crises the country has suffered, which was aggravated by the increase in interest rates on the loans requested and poor advice from their bank. Thus, the judge exonerates the clients of Bergadà Abogados from the unsatisfied debt, a firm specialized in bankruptcy law, by applying the Second Chance Law.
Regarding the facts, since her arrival in Spain from Colombia, the woman worked in different companies in the hospitality sector. In 2015, she undertook a personal project as a self-employed worker in the textile field for a few months. In fact, she recalls that "they granted me the loans without having a fixed payroll and hardly any income." However, the business did not reach the expected profitability, which led her to close the company, but she was left with debts derived from the financial investment made.
For his part, the man had worked as a laborer in different companies in the construction sector, but the jobs he found were temporary, since living in a very touristy area meant he was getting job offers on an occasional basis. However, during the years in which Spain suffered the severe real estate crisis, this directly affected the beginning of the economic and financial decline of the family unit.
In addition, in 2019, just before the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic began, the couple made the decision to open a cafeteria, for which they had to ask for financial help through personal loans, in addition to having to acquire a vehicle. But with the arrival of Covid-19, this project was frustrated and the woman, who until then had also worked as an employee intermittently in the hospitality sector, lost her job suddenly, thus becoming unemployed indefinitely, since this sector was directly affected by the health restrictions.
In this sense, she recalls that "the company put the workers on an ERTE (Temporary Employment Regulation File) and we only had a payroll of 400 euros, while the installments of the loans and cards, plus interest, amounted to about 1,000 euros per month, something unaffordable. It was then that our bank began to put pressure on us to pay, but we couldn't."
To this must be added that the construction of hotels and tourist apartments was also paralyzed, so the man found himself in a situation of unemployment. This caused the couple's financial difficulties to lead them to seek help from different banking entities to face the debts dragged on by the failures of the two businesses, as well as to cover daily family expenses. "We chained a very bad streak of luck, because it gave us the feeling that wherever we put our head, it went wrong. It was enough to drive you crazy. Even our bank told us that in order not to be included in delinquency files, we should sign a new loan for a longer period to face the previous ones, and we accepted thinking it was the only solution," the couple laments.
For her part, the lawyer who has handled the case and founding partner of Bergadà Abogados, Marta Bergadà, explains that, "again, we are facing a case in which a series of misfortunes directly affected a married couple. In addition, the banking entity in which they had placed all their trust for years gave them a solution that was not correct and, in turn, poor advice, further complicating the complex situation in which they found themselves."
In 2022, they started a new project in the construction sector, specifically in home renovations, but the income generated initially was equivalent to the minimum interprofessional wage. For this reason, "if it hadn't been for our children who were helping us financially, we wouldn't have had anything to eat," they add.
It was in February of last year when everything began to change. The couple recalls that one day their eldest son told them about Bergadà Abogados after reading a news story in which this legal boutique had managed to have an important debt forgiven to a businessman thanks to the Second Chance Law. "We have to admit that at first we were somewhat distrustful, since we were unaware of the law and had suffered a lot for years. But our son insisted that we contact Marta Bergadà and her team, since he had also looked for information and everything was good references," explains the couple.
Thus, they got in touch and established a first meeting telematically and, later, provided all the requested documentation. Marta Bergadà explains that "we have clients from different parts of Spain and in these cases video calls to establish a first contact are essential so that they do not have to travel to Agramunt, in Lleida, where we have our headquarters."
In this line, she also indicates that "after analyzing the documentation we saw that both were debtors in good faith and that their situation of insolvency was due to the bad luck of the businesses that had not worked and poor advice from their bank, so we initiated the corresponding procedure."
In parallel, the couple comments that "at that moment the calls intensified, at any hour and every day of the week, for us to pay the debt we had. They even sent messages to our young son. In fact, we always wanted to pay what we owed, because we were aware of what we had requested and that we had obligations, but there came a time when it was totally impossible because we had absolutely nothing."
The good news came recently, when the Commercial Court number 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria forgave the couple from Lanzarote a debt of 77,332.40 euros (38,666.20 euros to the man and 38,666.20 euros to the woman). "When we were called from Bergadà Abogados to tell us that we had been exonerated from the unsatisfied debt, we started crying. It was an incredible, wonderful feeling. In addition, during the entire procedure we have felt very accompanied, which meant great peace of mind. We have been born again."
Therefore, "now we see the future totally different. The company is giving us work and income and we are going to get ahead. We have a lot of hope that everything is going to be better and all thanks to the work that the entire team of Bergadà Abogados has done. We couldn't be happier and, therefore, I recommend that anyone who finds themselves in a situation of insolvency contact Marta Bergadà and her team."
For her part, Marta Bergadà concludes by saying that "in this country there are numerous entrepreneurs who, due to bad luck, have seen their projects frustrated, which has been accompanied by large debts. It is important that they are exonerated from the unsatisfied debt, since it is the only way they can resurface, create new companies and generate jobs and wealth for Spain. In other words, they deserve a second chance."
