My brother lived in canada and moved to England and the royal bank tried to collect. There are jurisdiction issues as the original contract in regards to collections would apply to his province only, and since hes not a resident of any, their only option would be for a judgment that is only valid in the territory it's issued from and a hope he will return.

To sue him in England, he would only need to proove the debt did not occur there and he's fine.

The royal bank first sent him letters to him the UK as his statements went there because he had planned on coming back, and he then got one or two from the collection agency in the UK over the next year, but nothing ever happened. His was an $8,000 visa. This was though, 10 years ago.

He is moving back in a few months and got his equifax to apply for a mortgage. Nothing on there derogatory.

As for calling a lawyer, you only need to talk to one in your province as it's by your provinces laws that a debt can be collected, and it need to be by a collector licensed in your province.

Nameuser>>>thanks for the info

Richard C>>> Larry does seem nice and reasonable. I think I stated something akin to this...It was his choice of profession that I was dissing. Someone's got to do it though, right? Filling a market need, he is....

I believe debts in Quebec have to be collected by collection offices located in Quebec, unless this changed recently. It used to be you only had to have an office in Quebec and other offices could collect there but they are a lot more strict now in that province with regard to collections.

Either way, you left the country. Yes make a quick call to a European lawyer and make sure they can't do anything but it seems like a really big hassle for a creditor to collect a debt in another country. I'm aware it happens but the costs associated are quite high, especially for Quebec. It would depend a lot on how much you owe.

What you will get here is just opinions. If you want the real answer you will need the advice of a licensed attorney familiar with both Canadian and European collection laws since your situation is complicated and somewhat unique.

My opinion: Save your money and time on a lawyer's opinion and If you owe the debt still and it wasn’t completely resolved, arrange to pay it back.

Regarding your other post on Larry Pomfret and Invictus Collection Group; he is actually a nice and reasonable guy. Resolving your collection issue by suggesting he is a parasite probably wont get much done there very quickly.

It seems like you are taking the right first steps and doing your due diligence, I’m sure you can work it out with him.

OK, weird case to address here (please bear with me)

The history:

1) I'm Canadian and I live in Quebec
2) I used to live in Europe for a few years
3) Moved back to QC > 3 years ago

The story:
1) I was tracked down on the Internet (at work) by a collection agent working out of Ontario. He also had my email address. After we got off the phone, he sent me proof of the money that I once owed. I have not received a written notice of this account by post.
2) He informed me that I owed a large sum of money in country X in Europe due to a credit card debt that I apparently did not pay off before moving home.
3) He does not own the account, he is just collecting on it for another debt collection agency in Euro country Y on behalf of the creditor in country X.
4) He was polite and reasonably respectful, but insinuated that if I didn't pay him, he would report me to the credit bureau. I assume he meant Equifax.

I told him to send me everything in writing, including his collections license # in QC, as well as proof that he can collect on this account.

My questions are:

Now, this debt is obviously more than 3 years old. I thought that I had paid it off (when I left Europe). What kind of impact can this have on my credit rating here in Canada? What are the statutes of limitations on debt collections in Europe? Who has jurisdiction? Help!!!!!!!

Thx in advance for your opinions....