BilbaoIt had been months since the company’s workers End your debt they didn’t collect the payroll. Despite this, they showed up on time for the meeting called by their boss, MF, at the office on Carrer Aribau in Barcelona. There, he informed them that he could not pay them because he had suffered a robbery that very night. Suspicious, the employees asked the doorman of the building to access the security camera recordings. “We saw our boss leaving the building with a backpack full of money,” explains Laura. According to this ex-employee, who was responsible for part of the company’s accounting, MF left with a million euros in cash. His testimony was key in bringing to court an alleged scam that could also affect hundreds of people in insolvency throughout the State and which, according to the ARA, has already reached the National Court.
The unexpected closure of the company End your debt and the ex-worker’s revelations set off the alarms of a law firm. “Laura tells us that her boss has disappeared and that she has left dozens of people hanging who had paid between 2,000 and 3,000 euros to manage their files,” explains Eloi Esmerats, procedural law lawyer and one of the promoters of the complaint that accuses the employer of the crimes of fraud and misappropriation.
End your debt has been presented, since 2017, as a law firm specializing in the cancellation of debts through the Second Chance Law, a regulation that came into force in 2015 and which allows insolvent people to restructure or cancel Pay off your debts. The joint complaint, to which the ARA has had access, suggests that through mass advertising, MF attracted economically vulnerable clients, with the promise of processing the necessary legal procedures in exchange for prior payments. However, in many cases the promised procedures were not carried out or were abandoned midway, leaving clients in even more serious financial situations.
This newspaper wanted to get in touch with the company End your debt and with its owner and legal representative, but has been unsuccessful.
“Now my pension is in danger”
The complaint, which was drawn up by the criminal lawyer and professor at the University of Barcelona Joaquim Bages, is forceful and adds a specific aggravating factor within the crimes of fraud because it affects people in situations of economic vulnerability or special weakness, such as insolvency
This is the case of Fernando, who contacted End your debt through the Internet, guided by some supposed good references. After paying 2,500 euros in different installments he has not obtained any results. “I finished paying in June 2023, yet I kept getting subpoenas and garnishment notices. Every time I called the company they said everything was under control,” he says. Finally, it has received an embargo from the Treasury. “Now my pension is in danger,” laments this retired local policeman.
I paid, but I kept getting subpoenas and garnishment notices”
Fernando One of the whistleblowers for alleged fraud
Fernando had requested a quick credit from his bank of 30,000 euros through his mobile phone and had gone into debt. After months of suffering, he had hoped to be able to take advantage of the Second Chance Law through this company, but when he found out that it had closed, he almost had a heart attack. “Now I’m medicated for the anxiety that all of this has caused me,” he explains. According to his lawyers, the file had not even started.
Affected platform
It should be remembered that if all the documentation is not presented within the deadlines, the person affected must wait five years to apply again for admission under the Second Chance law. The complainant lawyers estimate that, like Albert and Fernando, there are hundreds of victims in Catalonia and the rest of the State. From the portal Freedom without debt a platform for those affected has been created in which around fifty people have already joined, and some of them have already joined this first joint complaint.
The only thing left for me is to reach an agreement with the bank”
Brahim Affected by the alleged scam
Some, like Brahim, have lost hope. This Cunit resident opened a bar using a quick loan just before the arrival of covid. After being forced to close the business and distressed by the bank’s calls, he paid 2,800 euros to End your debtbut the company has closed without offering him any solution. “The only thing left for me is to reach an agreement with the bank,” he laments. And although he has been suggested by other companies that could handle his case, he no longer relies on them: “I lost the money.”
Although he presented himself as the legal director ofEnd your debtMF is not a lawyer and hired professionals who signed documents without having any direct contact with clients. According to Esmerats, the structure has nothing to do with conventional legal management, since the owner’s lack of transparency and responsibility “left the door open” to possible fraud.
Keys to finding help
The Spanish Association of People Affected by Debt has already warned of the proliferation of abuses and unethical practices by some offices and consultancies that are dedicated to managing debts. A series of recommendations are given from the ‘Libertad sin deudas’ portal
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Expert lawyers
Choose professionals specialized in debt cancellation with up-to-date knowledge
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Transparency from the start
Clear explanations about fees, deadlines and the process
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Speed without entrance fee
Prioritize offices that start working immediately, without demanding large initial payments
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Complete management of documentation
The office must take care of collecting your papers, avoiding cumbersome procedures
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Demonstrable success stories
Check testimonials and real examples of satisfied customers
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Realistic promises
Be wary of attractive fees
