I gotcha, Richard. I do appreciate you answering, and I'm afraid that I've become somewhat bored of some of the C/A signature comments such as "if you don't want to have c/a's harassing you, then pay your bills", and am a little touchy on the subject.

Don't get me wrong, though. Yes, one should pay their bills, but no, not paying them is never an invite to having a collector illegally harass you. Human psychology is such that, collectors alienate debtors when they engage in these tactics. Even though the best thing for the debtor in many cases is to try to settle, many will dig their heels in the dirt and refuse to negotiate because of their distrust of collectors who are behaving in such a manner.

By the way, and this is totally o/t, but did you have to enroll in the National Insolvency Qualification Program for what you do regarding credit counselling and proposals? I am a paralegal (will be licensed later this year) and I'm actually finding myself very interested in this area, and am beginning to think this is something I might want to further explore professionally.

Hi Marq,

I don't know. We just deal with negotiating settlements on debt, so we don't try to enforce collection laws. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Just call the ministry and ask them what remedies you have on purchased debt, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Hi Richard,

The issue I am addressing is not whether or not the payment is owing, although I do know he is interested in negotiating and is aware that he can settle and has settled other debts recently.

"If not having money to pay is the issue contact the ministry and ask them what options you have since they don't govern the collection of purchased debt. I'm sure they will point you in the right direction."

This is not me we're discussing. My situation is listed elsewhere on this forum.

The issue I was seeking information about was a debtor's remedies when they are being harassed at their place of employment like he has been. I believe he is going to file a complaint with the ministry, and my question was whether or not the ministry could really help him if the C/A has purchased the debt and not acting as an agent for the original creditor.

If your your friend owes the money why just not arrange to pay it? Purchased debts can still be settled for less.

If not having money to pay is the issue contact the ministry and ask them what options you have since they don't govern the collection of purchased debt. I'm sure they will point you in the right direction.

Yes, so I was trying to remember which federal body would give debtors some leverage, and it turns out we have PIPEDA and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and, of course, the Criminal Code of Canada and Tort Law.

Suddenly I see how vulnerable a large portion of debtors are to unscrupulous C/As. I am asking on behalf of another person who has had no less than 5 phone calls this week alone to his work. One call right after the other from the same collector, after he informed them he could not speak at work or returns their call from his cell phone. They called back at his work number within 20 minutes, and on one occasion, felt that leaving him a VM on his work phone was insufficient so they contacted his boss by pressing zero a number of times in order to reach someone in his office. That happened yesterday. Today, more calls - at work. He is keeping record of it, but I was wondering what else he could do.

He has prepared a Cease and Desist along with a validation request, and is sending it via Registered Letter. However, what is he to do up until the time they receive the letter (3 days)? This could get him into trouble at work because of the frequency of calls, not to mention the embarassment it causes by informing bosses/co-workers of his personal business (the collector did not give specifics but did inform his boss of the company he was calling from, which is a collection agency and indicates such in its name). Finally, being persistent like that at work after being told not to call is unacceptable, especially making a nuisance of themselves to my friend's co-workers over a personal issue. It is harassment in my opinion, but it seems there is nothing he can do about it.

"Once an agency ceases to act as an agent for the original creditor, the provincial legislation loses its teeth"

...Exactly!

I read on this forum that there is federal legislation that does touch on collection agencies as well.

ETA: Found it: PIPEDA and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and, of course, the Criminal Code of Canada. Once an agency ceases to act as an agent for the original creditor, the provincial legislation loses its teeth.

Collection agencies are regulated at the provincial level only. If you are looking for case law check out canlii.org

I am having a difficult time finding the federal legislation and regs governing collection agencies. I found Ontario's Collection Agencies Act and Regulations (it was difficult to find the regs) and I cannot find the federal act/regs. I am looking for the federal act and regs for cases where debt has been purhcased by a C/A and no longer falls under the provincial legislation for Ontario.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.