Wherever you may be in this world, borrowing money or purchasing items on credit and repaying the capital amount and the relevant interest component is a standard procedure. You would get into such a transaction with good faith but somewhere down the line during the course of the said transaction, you could encounter problems with repayment. When that happens your creditor would try to obtain the due monies from you.
Debt collection in Canada
This is the same procedure adopted in any country and not particular to any one of them. It is the same even in Canada and if you borrow you are liable to pay. If there is a repayment delay you could be called upon to pay some additional costs that fall due because you have failed to repay within the stipulated time limit.
Similar to laws everywhere creditors in Canada are also bound by certain legislations, it is true that you would be a defaulter but like the creditor, you too would have certain laws to protect you. Creditors in Canada or their representatives are bound and governed by the Collection Agencies Act. They need to strictly follow the laid down guidelines and ensure that they keep to the set parameters without deviating from the same.
Once you default on your credit line the creditor could use their own office to recover the due amounts or they could delegate the debt to a collection agency to recover the due amounts. The other alternative would be for the creditor to sell the debt to a collection agency.
Make a complaint if they break the law
Whatever your creditor would do they and the rest to whom they have passed on your debt are bound by certain laid down criteria, any deviation would allow you to file a complaint against those who deviate from procedures. There are some very pertinent issues that are laid down in the Collection Agencies Act which no debt collection agency could deviate from.
For instance, they are prevented from falling over at your workplace to collect a debt if they do they would be breaking laws laid down in the Collection Agencies Act. Similarly, collection agents cannot call you on any telephone that you have not provided to them at the time the transaction was initiated.
The Collection Agencies Acts specifies as to when and what times a collection agent could contact you. They are expressly forbidden to contact you on the phone on holidays. They could call you from Monday to Saturday between 7.00 AM and 9.00 PM. They could also call you on Sundays between 1.00 PM and 5.00 PM. If they deviate from these laid down guidelines you could make a complaint against them.
Hence when you are first contacted by a collection agent it is imperative that you note down the details of the debt, when you owed it, to whom, the caller’s name, the company he represents, and his telephone contact. He is obliged to disclose all such details to you. If he does not and continues to bother you, then you are at liberty to file a complaint under the Collection Agencies Act.
It is prudent to remember that you have statutory rights though you are a defaulter and have many avenues and recourse to law if your creditor or any of their appointed representatives break the law. It is imperative that you know all your rights stipulated under the Collection Agencies Act.
This is if you are to deal with a collection agency but it would be in your best interests to ensure that your debt is not transferred to a debt collection agency and when informed by your creditor that they would do so, to contact them and reschedule your debt.
If you are unable to do so then you would need to deal with a collection agency and an agent appointed by them. In any case it would need your total attention as you would not be able to refrain from paying up your debt as your creditor would pursue you till they are paid their dues.
If you are really pushed to a corner and are harassed by a collection agency the best avenue open to you would be to file a complaint. You would need to collate all information that is in your possession and file the complaint well or it could be thrown out without much of a hearing. It is how and what weight your complaint would hold that would matter hence having all the information in your hands is very important.
To do so you could follow the following steps and make a comprehensive complaint against a collection agency if you find that they are deviating from the parameters set to them within the Collection Agency Act.
- Draw up and file a complaint with all details in a set sequence with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Do the same with the Federal Trade Commission by way of a filed complaint again written clearly and precisely.
- Get in touch with your domiciled State’s Attorney-General.
- You could also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau
If you are being contacted by a collection agency it would be in your best interests to ensure that you keep all records of contact with you as they would come handy at a later date. If you pay up and the debt is settled then you would not have a problem but there are a majority of debts that go sour and when it does having information from the beginning would be in your best interests.
The Collection Agency Act has ample protection for the creditor and the debtor hence it is necessary that both parties conduct themselves with decorum and proper discipline. It is when one side deviates from the norm that things would get out of hand and issues crop up that would end ultimately in legislation. There is protection for you under the Collection Agency Act hence if found wanting to use it for your benefit. Any help for financial problems contact gtacredit.com or call 416 650 1100
