"Expert" is one of those words that gets attached to everything in debt collection marketing. Every agency is an expert. Every lawyer is a specialist. The word has been devalued to the point where it means almost nothing — which is unfortunate, because the distinction between competent commercial debt recovery and incompetent commercial debt recovery is significant, and it shows up directly in your recovery rate.
Here's what actual expertise looks like in practice, and how to distinguish it from the brochure version.
What Commercial Recovery Expertise Actually Means
They specialise in B2B, not consumer debt. Consumer debt collection (credit cards, personal loans, medical bills) and commercial debt recovery are different disciplines. The legal frameworks differ, the debtor dynamics differ, and the negotiation approaches differ. An agency that primarily handles consumer collections may advertise B2B capability, but their processes are built for volume consumer cases, not for a €200,000 international manufacturing dispute. Ask what percentage of their caseload is commercial. If it's below 70%, their expertise is elsewhere.
They understand your debtor's jurisdiction. For Spanish commercial debts, this means understanding Ley 15/2010, the monitorio payment order, the Registro Mercantil, debtor registries (ASNEF, RAI), and Spanish commercial payment culture. It means having staff physically based in Spain who conduct debtor contact in Spanish. An agency "covering" Spain from another country is outsourcing the expertise you're paying for.
They have integrated legal capability. Commercial debt recovery frequently requires legal escalation. An expert agency either employs Spanish-qualified attorneys or has a formal, long-standing arrangement with a law firm. The transition from amicable to legal proceedings should be seamless — same file, same case knowledge, no handoff delays.
They can assess before they collect. Before investing resources in your case, a competent agency evaluates the debtor's financial position through registry checks, filed accounts analysis, and market intelligence. They'll decline cases they don't expect to recover — which is actually one of the most valuable things an expert does, because it prevents you from wasting time on uncollectable debts.
When You Need an Expert vs. When You Don't
You probably don't need one if: the debt is under €5,000, the debtor is communicating and has offered a payment plan, and the only issue is timing. A structured follow-up process from your internal team may be sufficient.
You definitely need one if: the debt exceeds €15,000, the debtor is based in Spain (or another foreign jurisdiction), the debtor has stopped communicating, the debt is more than 60 days overdue, or the debtor has raised a tactical dispute that feels designed to delay rather than resolve. In these situations, the gap between professional recovery and internal chasing grows with every passing week.
How to Evaluate Expertise
Ask for segmented recovery statistics. Not an aggregate number — recovery rates broken down by debt amount, age, industry, and jurisdiction. An agency that can provide this data has the case volume and tracking systems to support their claims. An agency that offers only an overall percentage is either too small to segment or doesn't want you to see the breakdown.
Ask about failed cases. Every agency has cases that didn't result in recovery. How they handle these — what they communicated, when they recommended closing, whether they charged fees for unsuccessful work — reveals more about their professionalism than their success stories do.
Ask for a case assessment before committing. A reputable agency based in Spain will review your documentation and provide an honest assessment of recoverability before you sign an engagement letter. If the agency wants you to sign first and assess later, the incentive structure isn't aligned with your interests.
FAQ
What's the difference between a debt recovery expert and a regular collection agency?
In practice, the label doesn't matter — the capability does. Look for B2B specialisation, in-country presence, integrated legal capability, and verifiable recovery data. An agency with these four attributes is an expert regardless of what their marketing says. An agency without them isn't, regardless of what their marketing says.
Do I need separate experts for different countries?
For debts concentrated in Spain, you need a Spain-based specialist. If your debts span multiple countries, you can either engage local experts in each jurisdiction or use a network agency that coordinates across countries. For most businesses, direct engagement with local specialists produces better results at lower cost. More on global vs. local approaches here.
Alan Perez
💥 World citizen / 🛵 Tourist, Senior Debt Collection Manager, Business Debt Claims Expert
