http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_02l24_e.htm#BK14

No, as per Section 13.10 of the Act above, the acknowledgment must be written and signed to constitute a renewal of the SOL. But it's still best to keep all negotiations to the telephone and ALWAYS have them send you a signed and written unambiguous agreement that says "in full or final settlement of..." BEFORE you send them any money - or chances are they'll soon be after you for more.

Ray

Thank you so much for your time to reply Ray, i guess from what you said that the SOL period will be 2 years. My other question is, can an SOL period be renewed by talking to them on the phone and promising to pay a settlement, but i have not sent a letter or made a payment as of yet. the only reason im not paying yet is because there not sending me a settlement letter. they are saying they already sent one. the amount is 2000 and there settling it for 1000, and they didnt even charge interest on it. even thou ive been in default for more than 2 years. thanks for your fast reply for my other question.

That's an interesting and potentially complicated question. The issues are decided by the interpretation of Section 22(1) to 22(6) as well as the transition rules of Section 24 of the 2002 Ontario Limitations Act (or Bill 213).

As you can see (as per Sec.22.6), business contracts are placed in a separate category from agreements that are normally regulated by the Ontario Consumer Reporting Act.

Initially, there was a lot of discussion and even confusion that occurred between lawyers as to whether or not business contracts in Ontario could be based on extra-provincial laws and thus be allowed to defeat or modify the purpose of the Act which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2004.

The probable interpretation is that for consumer loan agreements, contract law cannot supercede statute law. And so for such debts, the 2 year rule of Section 5 of the Act must apply.

You can see one of a multitude of legal glosses/discussions about this below.

http://www.osler.com/resources.aspx?id=8290

Ray

I have read the website... and i can see that the SOL period is 2 years, but ive read in other sites,,,that your SOL period depends on your jurisdiction that is stated in your contract and not were you live... i want to know. a company like WELLS FARGO' wat is there SOL period in ontario and whats mostly stated in there contract, i went to futureshop to look at there contract, but there no more a lender for futureshop customers, and im obviously talking about a debt that has accured after 2004. can someone please answer my question honestly without giving me anymore confusion.