By Monty Loree: - Federal Government Orders Banks Pay Back
July 30, 2005
The Federal Government ordered all of the major banks to refund 10% of all mortgage interest back to their customers. This is an unprecendented move by the Canadian Federal Government. This order came after the banks all reported record profits for the 10th straight quarter. The banks will apply the interest paid back to the customers existing mortgage balance, giving them a little break on what they owe.
This will spell a little relief for the banks' customers who are weighed down with a record amount of debt.
A spokesperson for one of the banks was shocked and was full of disbelief. He said that, "The banks are businesses that need to make profit. We shouldn't have to apoligize for giving good service and receiving a high amount of reward."
A bank customer who overhead that interview replied and stated, "We don't really have a choice on how much interest we pay. We have to live somewhere. The banks are not really negotiable on what they charge for interest. We're over the barrel most times when we've had to reapply for our mortgage. I feel like a slave to the banks. I am VERY happy about the governments action here today!"
This certainly is news. It's the first time in the history of Canadian banking that banks have been demanded by the banks to refund a clients money in mass. We'll keep reporting as we learn more.
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By Monty Loree: - Canadian Collection Agencies ordered to STOP
July 30, 2005
Millions of Canadians will be ecstatic with the latest Privacy Commissioner's rulings on collection agencies' misbehaviour.
The problem is that most collection agencies report collection items illegally to credit bureaus, Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada.
"There is usually no legal or contractual basis for collection agencies reporting to the credit bureaus", says a representative from an Privacy Activist group. He followed by saying that "based on the Privacy Commission's PIPEDA paragraph 4.3 of consent for disclosure of personal information, consumers NEVER consciously give permission to the collection agencies to report items to credit bureaus." The only exception to this is if the collection agents have proper and legal "transfer of rights" agreements in place with the original creditors.
In summary, what this ruling means to people who are currently having debts collected by collection agencies is that they might not have to be reported to the collection bureaus. As well, all "illegal" collection items reported by collection agencies to the credit bureaus in Canada will have to be deleted in the next 30 days.
This will be a huge relief to consumers who are having trouble getting credit because of the collection agencies illegal and improper reporting activities.
To see if collection items have been properly removed from your credit reports we recommend to order your credit reports from both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada.
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