Depending on Banks ( and also on the quality of your legal representation) the dation in payment process can be more or less difficult or lenghty. That is our experience in the law firm.
If you cannot keep the payments. It is always good to send a dation in payment notice to the Bank before they start the repossession. It adds if you also send proof of your financial status.
Dation as payment is actually a right (http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/1094/legal-tip-27-dation-in-payment-a-right.aspx . I would say that it is a fair play specially if you bought a product whose price was irrsponsably inflated by the money-lender for its own benefit.
In my opinion it is in some extent, a good way to somehow " punish" the excesses of Banks during the boom. We, as plain citizens, need to play the arms we have, and this is, in my opinion, a good one.
Regarding chasing the debt against Uk assets, I think I have heard this happening in one just occassion, in the media, and the legal information contained there did not seem too accurate to me.
For the seizing of UK assets to happen, a repossession judicial procedure needs to be followed up in Spain first and then the Bank needs to enforce the Court decission against UK assets. This has a cost for the Bank that they will put into consideration first, obviously, specially as Uk Courts are quite reluctant to authorise this type of enforcements and of course will pay a good attention to the defense you have displayed, the procedure being correct and your rights in the UK.
It is important though that you attend any notification being sent to the address the Bank have for you as if not, the Bank could try to use the European Enforcement Order for unconstested claims. Again, this one is not either a one-shot-procedure and requires respect to procedural and substantive Law both in Spain and in the UK. (
related post here)
As a golden rule, before the Bank starts repossession, I would encourage you to send a good notification for dation in payment to the Bank with accurate legal grounds and a show of your financial conditions. A good specialist lawyer is recommended: of course it does not need to be us ;)
Cheers,
Maria
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Vejer, Costa de la Luz, Cadiz, Spain by Landahlautus at Flickr.com