Yes, you're absolutely right that what it takes to get consumer laws enforced are sizable numbers making formal complaints to the appropriate authorities. Despite the throng excoriating Natale's Office on the web, very few of them actually followed through with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Unless, I miss my guess, the volume of protests on this and similar forums for the last 2 or 3 years was likely the impetus for Pitkin's office announcing that phoney "draft statements of claim" would no longer be tolerated, even though the practice had been illegal for many years.

Administrators, as well as collection agency owners, debt settlement, debt clearing house and credit bureau brass often share a common backgound. For example, Brian Pitkin and noted consumer credit lawyer, Mark Silverthorn all share a background in collections and enforcement. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if we see Deanna Natale appointed to Consumer Protection or get posting similar to Pitkin thanks to her mom, Judy Sgro, MP

Such individuals seldom act unless public pressure is brought to bear. Even now I'd like to know if Pitkin actually followed through on it or just made the announcement to abate public outcry.

Incidentally, there's no point in complaining about a collection lawyer to Consumer Protection. Lawyers are not governed by the collection agency acts because they are legal counsel, not colllectors per se. You have to go through the Law Society of Upper Canada. However, if she is acting for Global Credit and Collections, then you can put a complaint into Consumer Protection about them.

If you have a complaint about a credit bureau, you can contact Pitkin's office directly, but only if the substance of the grievance is the credit bureau's deliberate non-compliance with the Consumer Reporting Act. Such complaints can be difficult because the credit bureaus know and use all the tricks of the evasion trade to get away with what they do. But again, that can and will change if the number of complaints warrants it.

Hi Everyone,

Here is a copy of the Canadian Collections act.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2006/elaws_src_regs_r06103_e.htm

Please read it and find all the breaches that Natale Law firm has conducted.

If you have received a "draft" claim or if you believe Natale Law Firm has broken any subsections in the collections act...document it.

Then take your evidence and submit your complaint here.
http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Pages/Complaint_Steps_to_File.aspx

As well end an email to:

Brian Pitkin
Registrar/Manager - PAYDAY LOANS AND DEBT RECOVERY REGULATION UNIT
Place Nouveau
Suite 1500
5775 Yonge St
Toronto ON M7A2E5
Phone: 416-326-8802

Email: brian.pitkin@ontario.ca

http://www.infogo.gov.on.ca/infogo/employee.do?actionType=browse&id=EMP0091673&infoType=telephone&locale=en

If enough people take a stand, we can all come together and have our governing bodies deal with this company.

What I want to know is when are they going to join forces with the Law Society and crack down on collection agencies who operate under the guise of being lawyers or paralegals?

My specific reference to this practice is Paul Kuperstein & Associates. The collectors who pay to use his name. I received calls and threats from them at one point, literally threatening to have me charged with fraud and have the police arrest me at my place of work, and when they call the ID comes up as Law Office. A BBB search comes up with this:

http://mwco.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=160&bbb=0107&firm=1087197

I'm pretty sure the ones calling me were actually from International Billing and Recovery Services Inc or Liability Solutions Inc and a complaint to the Law Society reveled that I was not the only person making complaints.

See, I've no issue with a creditor chosing to have their seriously past due accounts handled by a proper law firm if they so choose. I can understand that. What I dislike is the blatent behaviour of collection agencies who pose as law firms or lawyers or paralegals by paying a shady lawyer a few bucks to slap their name on some letterhead in order to get out from under the rules of the Collection Agency Act and still be somewhat untouchable by the Law Society. THAT has to be illegal somehow and frankly is a practice that should be stopped.

It sounds like anything goes in the province of ontario with collection agencies.

What has taken so long though for them to even notice. Those phoney form 7As are as close as you can get to impersonation of a legal court document. How could that useless Consumer Protection even call itself that with allowing these to have been done this long.

lol....
Hopefully they'll start to have some budget for this problem.
I also hope that more people have complained in writing to Consumer Protection... even though it's taken alot of years, written complaints are still necessary. even if it seems like a waste of time.

"In a letter dated October 27, 2008, Brian Pitkin, the Ontario Registrar of Collection Agencies, wrote to Ontario’s collection agencies advising them that two specific collection industry practices involving lawyers’ demand letters would no longer be tolerated and would be considered illegal in the future.

In his letter, Brian Pitkin indicates that the practice of collection agencies having lawyers send a demand letter on the lawyer’s letterhead to a consumer, together with an enclosure that appears to be a court document, would no longer be permitted. In the industry this type of enclosure is known as a “draft statement of claim”—the word ‘DRAFT’ appears on the enclosure. In this letter Brian Pitkin states that this practice may be illegal pursuant to the Debt Collectors Act, R.S.O. 1990 Chapter D4, which makes it an offence to use imitations of court forms.

In his letter to collection agencies dated October 27, 2008, Brian Pitkin also informs collection agencies that in the future the Ontario Registrar of Collection Agencies will no longer tolerate lawyers sending letters to consumers demanding payment of a debt on behalf of collection agencies, unless the lawyer’s letter discloses that the lawyer has, in fact, been retained by a specific collection agency."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above news, quoted from Mark Silverthorn's website, indicates that Brian Pitkin has finally decided (or claims to have decided) to enforce the Ontario Collections Act after 18 years!

Jeepers, what's the big rush, Brian?

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2006/elaws_src_regs_r06103_e.htm

("RSO 74" means Revised Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 74)

And here's the "RSO 1990, D4," that Silverthorn refers to.

http://www.heydary.com/resources/legislation/ontario-legislation/ontario_debt_collectors_act.html

Now don't you think that a complaint letter to the Discipline Committee of the LSUC would be a bit more of a deterrent to a collection lawyer than a $20 fine?? No wonder Silverthorn never mentioned it in his book!!!!

Ray

[This post contains important news from Mark Silverthorn for the thousands who receive bogus "Form7A's" from collection lawyers threatening lawsuits each year. It's reposted from this morning so as many as possible will see it before it gets buried in the queue by spam.]

Oh no! What's the D-Rex of Debt, Deanna Natale gonna do now?

It appears our complaining about those phoney "Form 7A's" (draft/pseudo Statements of Claim) which collection agencies pay lawyers $15 a pop to send out may have had a hand in motivating Brian Pitkin, Registrar of Ontario Collection Agencies, to no longer tolerate them.

Mark Silverthorn's website contains info on his interviews about the above issue by the Toronto Star Newspaper and CFRB 1010 radio.

http://www.collection-calls.ca/breaking-news-for-ontario-residents.html

The article also informs readers that collection agencies' manipulation through needlessly racking up debtors' cell phone charges will no longer be tolerated.

This forum has been hammering Pitkin's lack of action since Deanna Natale started flooding the country with bogus Court documents and legal threats. She did so immediatley after dumping piranha outfit, Total Credit Recovery and going with nearby Global Credit and Collections in early 2007 to spread her misery.

As Mark states, he, along with countless other collection lawyers, mailed thousands of psuedo court documents which they knew were in clear violation of the Collections Act of Ontario, Reg. 74. But since Brian Pitkin refused to do anything, collection lawyers had little to fear.

** It should be noted that Reg. 74 (1990) of the Collection Agencies Act of Ontario has been updated by Regulation 103/06 and contains the prohibition about serving misleading court documents in Section 23(1)

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2006/elaws_src_regs_r06103_e.htm

(Please don't get Reg. 74 confused with RSO 1990, Chapter 14 of the Ontario Collection Agencies Act.)

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90c14_e.htm#BK25)

Silverthorn, on his website, fails to mention, what I've been saying all along about such practices being a direct violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct 2.02(6) of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Being a lawyer himself, who's sent out thousands of these rubbish documents, and likely not wishing to offend his peers who still do, (like David Pomer of Pomer & Boccia), he conscipuously avoids this important fact in his media interviews.

Perhaps our endless criticism of Pitkin's lethargy (or divided allegiance) may have motivated him to announce his Ministry will take enforcement action. Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. but at least he's put collection lawyers on public notice.

Ray

come on folks... peace and good will....

What was the EXACT date of last payment on the account?

Ray