Top-Rated Debt Collection Agency in Mexico
Fast and reliable debt collection in Mexico - no upfront costs, only pay for success. Request a FREE Consultation or upload your claim today.
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Recovering your debt in Mexico is easiest through this method.
Debitura focuses on debt recovery in Mexico, offering an array of services like accounts receivable management, debt collection notices, pre-legal and legal debt collection, and enforcement court proceedings through a team of seasoned experts. Our proficiency in Mexico's debt collection laws and regulations enables us to provide efficient and effective solutions to support businesses in recovering their outstanding debts.
We provide unwavering support throughout the entire process.
Tailored debt recovery approach.
We have a team of over 500 experienced professionals for handling debt collection across the globe.
Achieving a success rate of 87% at the most affordable cost.
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The ultimate guide about debt collection in Mexico
If you are owed money by a business or customer in Mexico, we can help you! We have helped hundreds of other businesses recover debt in Mexico. Collecting a debt in Mexico can be difficult because of language and cultural barriers, different laws and customs, and the distance. When you use a collection agency that knows the laws and customs of the country where the debtor lives, it is simpler to get your money back.
At Debitura, we always put people first. This means that we will do everything we can to get your money back, but still keep a good relationship with the customer. Our public relations efforts are always fair and firm- which means that your reputation is very important to us! If you want to understand the Mexican debt collection process from beginning to end, please read this guide. But if you would rather work with a local law firm that specializes in debt recovery in Mexico, we can help you with that too.
At Debitura, we can help you collect debt from people in Mexico and many other countries. To get started, upload your claim. We will look at it and provide you with 3 free quotes from local debt collection lawyers in Mexico within 24 hours. We use a people-oriented approach with the latest technology to get results and provide better contact management. This method gets the results you need while preserving customer relationships. In addition, our network of debt collectors, attorneys, suppliers and vendors are cherished relationships that allows us to get the job done. We value each of these relationships, no matter how small or large.
Upload claim
Begin the process of debt collection in Mexico today at no cost. Easily create a profile and submit your case in just 2 minutes.
Pre-legal
During the initial 3 months, we'll attempt to recover your claim using our effective pre-legal debt collection method. There are no fees unless we are successful in collecting your debt.
Legal
In case your debt remains unpaid during the pre-legal phase, we offer you three quotes from our nearby debt collection lawyers.
24/7 updates
You get access to our online portal where you can track your case in real-time
Introduction to collecting debt in Mexico
Do you have trouble getting paid by your Mexican customers? Don't worry, we can help you. The person who owes the debt is called the debtor, and the person who issued the debt or invoice is called the creditor. If the original creditor collects the debt himself, this is called "first-party collection." If the creditor outsources the collection process to a third party, this is called "third-party collections."
- The law does not have a set time for when people need to pay for something they bought. It is common to give people 30 days to pay for something starting from the day they got the invoice. In practice, people usually pay within 40 to 60 days, but sometimes it can take up to 30 days.
- The court system is complicated. This means that it is hard to understand and use. People who have a business dispute might not be able to rely on the court system to help them. This is because the system is slow and there are a lot of costs involved. The best way to collect debt is to take action before going to court.
- The debt-restructuring process is not very efficient and it can take years to complete (for example, Mexicana – more than 10 years). That means that when a debtor becomes insolvent, the default procedure is liquidation. However, there is a very low chance of collecting any debt through this channel.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
The law does not have a set way to do payments, but it is common to wait 30 days to get paid starting from when the invoice is dated. People usually take longer than 30 days to pay, sometimes up to 60 days. But if the transaction is not secure, then the person might only wait 30 days before getting paid.
What this means is that businesses in our country are good at paying their bills. They care about trust and relationships. So, small businesses are flexible with when they pay, but they don't usually delay payments on purpose (delays would more likely happen because of poor banking support). Larger companies try to pay on time so they can keep their good credit rating and have more opportunities to do business internationally. Some exceptions exist, of course. In certain occasions, it may be very difficult to collect money from small and micro companies. They may change their names or how they operate from one day to the next in order to avoid their contractual responsibilities.
The main types of corporate structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations
The legal structures for businesses determine who is responsible for the business debts.
- Sole Proprietorship is an option for small businesses that are managed by one person. The owner is responsible for all business debts. Partnerships are when two to fifty people share ownership and responsibilities. The partners may be held responsible for the actions of the other partners. A Limited Liability Partnership (Sociedades en Comandita Simple) might offer limited liability to the partners. Cicil Societies (Sociedad Civil) are used for service businesses like consulting and audit firms, but the owners would be completely responsible for the liabilities of the company.
- Limited Liability Companies (RL) need a small amount of money to start approximately €125. The people in charge are not responsible for any debts the company has. Corporations (SA) are used for bigger businesses that want to divide their money into shares. People who invest in these types of companies only lose the value of their shares if the company goes bankrupt.
- Foreign companies may settle in Mexico in different ways. They may use registered Branch Offices, which do not have liability limitations to the foreign parent company. Or they may use Subsidiary Companies, which are separate legal entities. Joint Ventures do not require incorporations and would be set up through a contract instead.
The debt collection process in Mexico
The debt collection process in Mexico usually happens in more than one step.
The image below explains how we collect debt in Mexico:
1 Upload your claim:
If you want someone to help you get your money back, you will need to find a debt collection partner. You will give them some information about the money you are owed, and they will help you get it back. If you use Debitura, we will provide you with 3 quotes from local partners in the North America country relevant to your case. This is 100% free - no strings attached.
2 Amicable collection:
The collection process typically begins with sending reminders to your debtor via email, SMS, letter and other ways in the specific country. The goal is to get the debtor to pay or acknowledge the debt and start a payment plan. Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay solution for amicable collection, which means you only pay a small success fee if we recover your debt. Amicable collections with Debitura are 100% risk-free!
3 Evaluation:
If the person you lent money to has not paid you back after you have talked to them, it is time to decide what to do next. We will look at how much money you are owed, the chance of getting paid back, and other things to help you decide what to do. There are three typical next steps:
A: Surveillance:
If your claim is less than 2,000-5,000 euros, it is often not worth it to take more legal action. In this case, we recommend "debt surveillance." This means that we will keep trying to contact the person you owe money to and try to reach an agreement about paying back the debt.
B: Legal collections:
If you have a big problem that you think can be solved by going to court, it's a good idea to start a legal process. But the steps you need to take will depend on what your problem is and how big it is. In general, it will take about a year and a half for the whole process to be finished.
C: Debt enforcement:
If the person you are claiming money from has agreed that you are owed money, or if there is a court order, you can use the bailiff's court to get your money.
At Debitura, we can help you with all three steps in Mexico.
Amicable collection in Mexico
At Debitura, we offer a 100% risk-free process for Amicable collections. This means that you will not have to pay anything unless we are successful in collecting the money owed to you. Simply submit your claim, and we will get started within 24 hours.
We will try to contact the person you owe money to in Mexico through different ways, such as email, text messages, letters, phone calls, and social media.
The goal is to:
A) Get the person who owes you money to pay the whole amount.
B) Get the person who owes you money to agree that they owe you money and start a plan to pay it back in small pieces over time.
If the person you are trying to get money from has disputed your claim, you can't start with an amicable resolution. This means you have to start with legal collections.
Late payment interest
There is no law about what to do when someone does not pay you on time. This is something people usually negotiate before anything happens. If you want to charge interest, you need to have agreed on this before anything happened. Usually, people charge 6% interest but it would be hard to do this if you did not agree on it before. You would need to go to court to get the money you are owed with interest.
Get started with
amicable debt collection
Upload your claim and get started with our 100% no-cure-no-pay collection solution.
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Legal collection in Mexico
If you have not been paid during the amicable phase or the debtor disputes your claim, we will provide you with 3 free quotes from our local debt collection attorneys. In the legal phase, our local attorney will reach out to your debtor and try to negotiate a payment. Our partners can also go to court and get a payment order via the legal system in Mexico. This payment order can then be used to enforce your claim via enforcement court.
Ordinary proceedings
If you owe someone money and you don't pay them, they can send you a Demand Letter. This is a letter that reminds you that you have to pay the money back. If the person doesn't agree that they owe the money, there is a 'preparatory media' procedure that might help the parties reach an agreement within three months. But this doesn't happen very often and usually people just sue each other.If a person owes money to another person or company, the legal process starts with the creditor filing a claim with the District Court.
The debtor would get a summons telling them that they have 15 days to bring a defence. If you do not do what the creditor asks, the creditor can ask the court for a default judgment. This means that the court would decide in the creditor's favor without hearing your side of the story. If you do go to court, the court will listen to both sides and make a decision 40 days later. But sometimes these time requirements are not followed.The courts normally give solutions in the form of executive orders, specific performance, or injunctions.
Punitive damages could be given but this is rare because it is very difficult to prove. Before you start legal proceedings, you may want to consider taking legal action in another country or starting arbitration or international arbitration. Arbitration may cost more than a regular lawsuit, but it would be finished more quickly.
Bank transfers are a popular way to pay for things internationally. They are fast and secure. Export transactions usually have insurance to protect against customers who can't pay. The Allianz Trade risk office network monitors the financial well-being of customers and sets a credit limit for each client. This limit is the maximum amount that the client can trade and claim if something goes wrong.
Another option is to use a Standby Letter of Credit, which is when a bank guarantees that the debtor will be able to repay their debts. This option is often used for export shipment transactions because it provides a reliable guarantee that can be used as a 'payment of last resort' if the client fails to meet their contractual obligations.An irrevocable and confirmed Documentary Letter of Credit is a type of guarantee that a debtor makes to a beneficiary. This means that the debtor agrees to pay a certain amount of money to the beneficiary through a bank, once certain conditions have been met.
In Mexico, it may be difficult to get this type of guarantee from a bank, but people often use checks or promissory notes instead. It is advisable (though difficult) to negotiate for payments in advance, or for down payments. Payment instalments are often used as well.The amount of money you will need to pay a lawyer depends on how big and complicated your legal problem is. To make sure you are getting the best deal, it is a good idea to ask for quotes from more than one lawyer. You can do this easily by using Debitura.
Get started with
legal debt collection
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Debt enforcement in Mexico
If you have a written acknowledgement of your claim from the debtor, or a court order, you can go to the bailiff's court in Mexico to get help enforcing your claim.
A judgment is final when all appeal venues have been used. If the debtor does not satisfy the judgment and we can find their assets, we can request a mandatory enforcement order from the court. This is called an attachment order, sale of specific assets or liquidation of the company. This process can take up to two years.
The way to do this and how much it will cost is different for each person. You can tell us about your case on Debitura, and we will give you 3 different options within 24 hours.
Get started with
debt enforcement
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Insolvency proceedings in Mexico
If the person you owe money to can't pay you back, you can start an insolvency procedure. This is when you sell their things to get money. The money goes to the people they owe in order of importance.
- In 2007, an amendment to the Insolvency Law allowed debtors to establish a pre-package reorganization agreement with the approval of creditors, in order to issue an Insolvency Declaration and declare the company in Concurso Mercantil.
- The Concurso Mercantil debt restructuration process is inefficient and proceedings may last for years. As a result, liquidation is often the default procedure when a debtor becomes insolvent.
- Liquidation may only be requested by the debtor; however, a debtor may be placed into liquidation as a result of its failure to submit an acceptable debt restructuration proposal to creditors through Concurso Mercantil proceedings.
- A liquidator (Interventor) is appointed and given responsibility for managing the company, selling assets and distributing proceeds to creditors according to their priority ranks. Creditors are normally given roughly six months to file their claims.
Our analysis concludes that the risk of conducting business in Mexico is medium-low. Based on this medium-low score, we recommend being careful providing credit and considering charging upfront payment or using credit insurance when trading if you don't know the customer in Mexico well. If possible, provide a short credit period or even better upfront payment. The medium-low risk score is based on the following factors:
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The economic risk in Mexico
Economic risk in Mexico is medium (3 out of 6). An economic risk of 3 out of 6 is relatively low in North America.
GDP and economic growth are critical drivers for economic risk.
The GDP of Mexico is 1293,04 bn. USD (2021), growing by 4,8% per year.
In terms of the size of its economy, Mexico ranks #16 out of 183 countries and has a large economy.
Having a view at the growth rate, it is ranked #83 out of 183 countries and is therefore considered an excellent growing economy.
GDP per capita is 9926 USD, ranking Mexico number #64 out of 183 countries. The result of this is purchasing power of citizens in Mexico is around the average compared to all other countries.
You can see a more detailed picture of GDP and economic growth in Mexico in the table below:
Another critical driver for the economic risk score is the inflation rate and the interest rates. You can see a more detailed picture of monetary KPIs in Mexico in the table below:
The inflation in Mexico was 5,7% in 2021 which is considered a medium inflation rate.
The interest rate for businesses is 4,89%.
The business environment risk in Mexico
Our analysis shows that the business environment risk in Mexico is medium (3 out of 6), which is a pretty average risk score in North America.
Economic freedom and rights determine the business environment risk in a country. Take a look at the important facts for Mexico in the table below:
As you can see in the table, the property rights index is 53 in Mexico, which is considered quite low in North America.
The business freedom index is based on 10 indicators, using data from the World Bank’s Doing Business study. The Index is 66 in Mexico, a quite average score for a country in North America.
Mexico's overall economic freedom index is 66 out of 100 and is based on factors such as the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
The political risk in Mexico
The political risk in Mexico is medium, with a score of 3/6. This is a pretty average political risk score in North America.
The governance and political stability indicators are important drivers for political risk. An overview of Mexico can be seen in the graphs below:
The rule of law index analyses to which extent agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the quality of the courts, and the police's ability to enforce court orders.
When doing business in a country, the rule of law index is critical as it describes your ability to enforce commercial contracts.
In Mexico, the rule of law index is at -0,8 points, with the score going from -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong). Mexico has, therefore, a very low rule of law index, which means it is often close to impossible to enforce your contracts. We, therefore, recommend avoiding credits and recommend charging upfront payment instead.
Other drivers for the medium political risks are the very weak control of corruption, the very weak political stability index, and the large shadow economy that is 28,07% of Mexico's GDP.
The commercial risk in Mexico
In Mexico, the commercial risk score is 3/4, which in our model is a medium score. This medium commercial risk score is pretty average compared to the average in North America.
The commercial risk is relying on a country's international trade relationships. You can see some of the key facts for Mexico in the table below:
Mexico has a foreign exchange reserve of 207.8 bn. USD.
Mexico has a negative trade balance of -1,5% of GDP. The meaning of this is that Mexico imports more goods and services than the country exports.
The annual growth of exports of goods and services has been growing 6,95% annually - now 40,43% of GDP. Import of goods and services represents 41,93% of the GDP in Mexico.
The financing risk in Mexico
We have calculated the financing risk to be 1/4, which equals a very low risk. A very low financing risk score is low for countries in North America.
The country's banking system, efficiency, and stability influence the financing risk. You can find the extra information for Mexico in the table below:
In Mexico, the credit information sharing index is 8 on a scale from 0 (low) to 8 (high). The result of this is accessibility and quality of credit information available in Mexico is high.
This makes it easy for you to understand the credit risk of your counterpart in Mexico. You would be able to find a good local credit rating agency that can help you analyse the creditworthiness of your specific customers.
Your juridical rights as a creditor are 10 out of 12 and, therefore, very strong.
The very low financing risk for creditors also impacts the medium interest rate in the private sector of 4,89%.
Debt Collection in Mexico: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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The debt collection process in Mexico typically happens in multiple steps. It starts with sending reminders to the debtor via email, SMS, and letters in hopes of getting them to pay or acknowledging the debt. If that fails, a debt collection partner can help you decide the next steps which may include debt surveillance, legal collections, or debt enforcement. The court system in Mexico is complicated and slow, making it important to act before going to court. At Debitura, we offer a risk-free solution for debt collection and can help you at every step of the process in Mexico.
The debt collection process in Mexico typically involves three steps: pre-legal collection, legal debt collection, and debt enforcement. Firstly, parties try to reach an agreement through amicable negotiation. If this fails, the matter may move on to formal debt collection and legal proceedings. Finally, debt enforcement with the help of bailiff's court could be utilized to recover the debt. At Debitura, we offer free quotes from local partners in Mexico to help with all three stages of the debt collection process.
In Mexico, if a debt is in dispute, a civil lawsuit is necessary. Debt collection legal options include debt enforcement and insolvency proceedings. Legal actions require a local lawyer, and creditors can file a claim with the District Court. If the debtor fails to respond or a settlement is not reached, the creditor can obtain a payment order through the legal system. Liquidation may be an option if a debtor is insolvent, and a liquidator is appointed to manage the company and sell assets. Local debt collection attorneys can assist in navigating these legal procedures.
Debt collection costs in Mexico vary based on the type of collection, but Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay model for pre-legal collection with a success fee of 10-20%. Legal action costs depend on your specific case and desired actions. We can provide you with 3 quotes from the best debt collection lawyers in Mexico.
The length of the debt collection process in Mexico can vary depending on the debtor and the case. If the case is resolved during the pre-legal phase, the process usually takes 3-6 months. However, if legal action is necessary, the process can take longer, typically 12-18 months.
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