ARC Corp is the collection agency I am dealing with.

I just received another statement from them yesterday and notice they are charging me interest, which is equal to approximately $50 a month.

How do I know if they are authorized to charge interest on this debt? Should I send a debt validation? Does that work in Canada?

PS - Also, I've already made three payments on this debt, what if they can't validate on the debt or provide proof that they are allowed to charge interests/fees? Do I proceed to sue?

roger85...
contact your local consumer protection and ask them for verification that the collection agency is legit and licensed. Once you have that... contact the collection agency and ask them for written proof that theyhave an item in collections.

There is NO LAW that says you have to deal with a collection agency. You only have to deal with them by contractual agreement...IE... you agreed for the creditor to use a third party collection agency.

Roger,

Have you contacted your former bank to determine which agency is responsible for your past due account? If not, that'd be one of the first place I'd check with. Get the info straight from the horses mouth.

I can't quite remember if I had given them the account number the very first time I called them when I approached the collection agency through the sources that my original creditor gave me, but yes the account number is on these statements.

But I do remember them giving me the info of my account through the phone with the date and the suspension of the account, which was quite precise.

How much proof do I need before I know that this CA is actually the CA that has my debt?

Can we assume that your account number was listed on the letter provided to you by the collection agency? If so, my guess is that they are authorized to collect on behalf of the creditor for your account.

Should by some chance that not be the case, your next step would be to speak with either a lawyer or licensed paralegal regarding the account.

Here is the story. I owed my former bank some money on their credit card and was arrears a couple month on payments. I called them regarding the account and they said it was send to a collection agency and gave me their contact.

I called them a couple months later regarding the account and they said it is in their hands. So I requested a letter stating the amount owing, which they sent a couple weeks after.

On the letter, it states that they are authorized agencies to collect the debt. Also included in the letter is their company's name, number, address, etc.

I've already made two payments, but on my third payment, the statement was sent about 3 weeks late and now I am feeling skeptical about them.

Since it is the original creditor that gave me their contact and I have two copies of the statement they sent me stating they are authorized, is this enough to keep on paying?

If all things go bad, say they never had my debt to begin with, and is taking money from me for nothing, will the letters be enough evidence to file a lawsuit on fraud or scam or whatever?

I'm a very skeptical person and may be over-exaggerating on the last part, so I need some professional advice.