Full nullity
The contract is declared void from the outset. It is as if you had never signed. Only the obligation to repay the principal actually received remains — without a single euro of interest.
Consumer loans, fast payday loans, car finance, pre-approved credit... If the APR is significantly above the market rate for that type of operation, the Spanish Usury Repression Act (1908) is still in force: contract void, full refund of interest paid and cancellation of any outstanding debt.
La Ley de Represión de la Usura, conocida como Ley Azcárate de 1908, states that any loan contract is void where the interest is "significantly higher than the normal rate of money and manifestly disproportionate to the circumstances of the case". Over a century later, it remains the legal basis of every usury claim.
The updated test of the Spanish Supreme Court (judgments 628/2015 and 149/2020) compares the contracted APR with the average rate published by the Bank of Spain for that specific type of operation: consumer credit, vehicle finance, payday loans, etc. Where the APR exceeds that average rate by more than 6.3 points, the contract is declared usurious.
The consequences are drastic: el contrato es nulo de pleno derecho, meaning you only have to return the actual principal received, without a single euro of interest. If you have already paid more than the principal lent, the bank or finance company must refund the difference with statutory interest.
When the contract is declared void for usury, the legal consequence is that only the principal lent must be repaid. Everything else is annulled and refunded.
The contract is declared void from the outset. It is as if you had never signed. Only the obligation to repay the principal actually received remains — without a single euro of interest.
You recover all interest paid throughout the life of the loan. On multi-year consumer loans with a high APR, these amounts often exceed the principal lent.
Comisiones de apertura, estudio, gestión, modificación, cancelación... cualquier importe distinto al capital prestado debe devolverse al anularse el contrato.
Life insurance, payment protection, unemployment cover or any policy sold to you with the loan. Once the main contract is void, all accessories fall and the premiums are reclaimable.
If you are still paying or have an outstanding balance, when nullity is declared the remaining debt is reduced to the outstanding principal only, with no interest. In many cases you will already have repaid more than the principal lent.
On all amounts claimed we accrue statutory interest from the date of each payment. It increases the final figure by 15-25%.
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The Azcárate Act of 1908 is still fully in force and the Spanish Supreme Court doctrine is settled. These are the three key references we apply to every case.
The founding act is still in force over a century later. It states that any loan with interest "significantly higher than the normal rate of money" and disproportionate to the circumstances is void. The legal basis of every usury claim.
The Plenary of the Spanish Supreme Court sets that the correct comparison is with the Bank of Spain average rate for that specific type of operation. The starting point of modern mass usury claims.
The Supreme Court tightens the test: an APR exceeding the market average rate by more than 6.3 points is usurious. Doctrine applicable to consumer loans, payday loans, vehicle finance and any mass-marketed credit.