i don't bank with the TD Bank and haven't put any money into the account.....the bank had months ago left me a message to call them and i did.....I had to leave a message which I did....I said who I was and that I was returning their call....they didn't call me back and the collection agencies started .... I did leave online messages as well so I thought I could work something out with them but I guess not....I will be not so trusting in the future.

Like I said, I wonder if the bank would be amenable to reversing the joint account agreement. If they won't, it might be wise to get your money out of there as soon as possible and into a different bank, not just a different branch, to avoid any surprise offsets.

I accept fault for not making sure I understood everything about his account but at the time he was unwell and I was trying to protect the money we would need......he didn't leave a Will so I was faced with trying to sort through things and he left no money ...only a pile of debt....he would be home so would get the mail and hid his bills...I found them when I was packing up his clothes...as they were unsecured and my name wasn't on them I sent them all copies of the death certificate and told them he did not leave an Estate and they were not my debts.....his pension cheques went into the bank and the bank could have at any time taken payments for the overdraft but never did....I have a line of credit at my bank and they take monthly charges out....so I just didn't clue in but I should have.....this collection company isn't with the BBB and I don't know much about them but to send a letter saying they know where I work and therefore can pay this debt is a lie....I am retired.....I just have the gov. pensions and a pension from work so I certainly don't have a lot of money.

Last November 13, you first wrote in about the overdraft owing on your deceased husband's bank account, an account which became joint as a result of a misunderstanding.

I assume you inherited his estate and as such were responsible for discharging his debts, whether the account was joint or not. But if he had only negligible assets, there would be no onus on you to pay them. On the other hand, if your husband left sufficient assets to cover his debts, you would be responsible.

Which of the 2 cases is applicable, I don't know. However, in the first case, banks will often write off debts if presented with reasonable evidence that the agreement was not entered into by the second party with good faith and under full disclosure. In fact, I had one client, where the TD and CIBC banks voluntarily replaced over $10,000 created by signature misunderstandings. And it wasn't a black and white situation at all. In fact, no more than 50-50 on the client's part. But by visiting the bank managers and explaining the situation, they both readily went beyond what was statutorily required of them and gave the client the benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps this is something you might consider too. Anyhow, I don't think anyone is about to sue you whatever the size of your husband's estate - even if it's under the 2 year limitation period - because of the modest amount owing and the fact that your sole source of income is the widow's pension which is exempt from judgment enforcement.

I have been ignoring this collection agency as I refuse to deal with them over something that I did not do...Gatestone &Co. Inc...so they now have sent me a letter saying "employment verified"....now considering I am 69 yrs old and retired from my job 2 years ago this April I have to wonder where I am working....they really need to make sure of their facts before they sent letters like this out....I have 48 hrs to make full payment...the letter is dated January 9,2014 and today is the 15th.....I guess this might scare some people but not me....I am not responding and since this account is now empty and the previous letter from them was offering a deal I assume the bank sold them this account.

Banks generally don't make settlement offers through collection agencies, or if so, it's for 80% of the amount outstanding. Different story once they sell it to a debt buyer though.TD sometimes sells the debt off after they pass it to one collection agency. Other times, I've seen them rotate to as many as 7 collection agencies before selling it off. If that happens it's best to contact their manager of internal collections. I have their phone number somewhere.

Just make sure they know you're living on a pension. Not that they care, but so they realize there would be little point in suing you.

thank you for the advise......I haven't written them anything and won't be......I will wait it out and put money aside and see if they make a settlement offer.

If it is TD, they are usually easier to deal with than RBC. If it were in Ontario they would be very unlikely to sue over that amount. Probably same thing in Alberta. It would take several months before it ever came to small claims court anyway with a mandatory pretrial settlement conference before. And even if they got a judgment for the full amount, you would likely get real easy payment terms if you explained your circumstances.

But generally, TD sells their delinquent accounts to debt buyers or merged debt buyer-collection agencies like CBV, CRS or ARO after a year or more. If so - and you are in a position to settle - either wait the 2 years since the last payment was made before negotiating for 25% to 35% of the balance as of the write-off date. Forget about the additional interest.

Also, from now on keep all your correspondence with whoever is collecting on it to the telephone. No need to go writing anything. And don't send any more money without having a signed written settlement in hand from them FIRST or you'll be sorry.

it is ....he dealt at TDCanada Trust and I deal with the Royal Bank......so his right now his has a zero balance and for now it will stay that way.....if they were to take you to court how long would I have before a court date would be set.....I am thinking once I have enough money I would consider paying 50%....it does irk me that I didn't cause this debt though and wasn't informed about the overdraft.

Yes, that's right. But ensure it's an entirely different bank, not just a different branch of the same bank.