Collection Agencies - continual phone calls and rude behaviour - Canada

a good place to talk about links

RE: continual phone calls and rude behaviour

Postby Fran & Jean » Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:59:00 PM

There are rules governing collection agencies. Hope this helps.

Here is a list of rules that must be followed:

o No calls before 8am or after 9pm

o While on the phone or leaving a message, there can be no obscene, threatening, or vulgar language used

o Bill collectors must correctly identify themselves and the company they work for. They cannot give you misleading information. For instance, they cannot disguise themselves as a lawyer if they in fact, are not one.

o They cannot threaten to sue you if they do not have the means or authority to do so.

o They cannot trick you into paying your bill by making false claims to sue, attach your wages, or take your property.

o When you agree to make a payment, they cannot process it before the time that was agreed. They cannot accept a post dated check for more than 5 days into the future, unless it is in writing.

o They cannot process any payments are that are not authorized.

o When calling and leaving a message, they have to provide a return phone number for you to call back.

o They can only leave one message per day.

o If you ask them to stop contacting you by phone and contact you by mail only, they must to abide by that request - no questions asked, no exceptions.

These rules and regulations are put into place for your protection to ensure you are not harassed by bill collectors. Remember, a collection agency does have a right to conduct their business and do their job to try to get a payment out of you - but you do not have to endure illegal collection agency tactics.

If you feel your rights have been violated, you can report the company to the Better Business Bureau. You can also contact your state attorney general's office and file a complaint. If you need to make an immediate call to report a violation, the Federal Trade Commission is also there to help. They can be contacted at 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Fran & Jean
Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:49:48 PM
Province: ON


RE: continual phone calls and rude behaviour

Postby MeMyself » Tue Jul 27, 2010 04:07:12 PM

If they sue you what are they going to get? They may not be able to garnish a pension, I know they can not Garnish a disability pension. If they can Garnish, in Ontario they can only Garnish 20%. They will have to take you to Small Claims court first. If they manage to win, you can ask the Judge for hardship relief and they may get nothing. So it probably is not worth suing you. It costs them money.
MeMyself
Member
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 06:15:56 PM
Province: ON


RE: continual phone calls and rude behaviour

Postby Melissa28 » Tue Jul 27, 2010 03:18:44 PM

Hi Granny,
You are being intimidated by STUPID collectors, but don't worry too much about their threats. This is not supposed to happen. It is NOT legal to harass like that even if you owe money. Plus, there's only a certain number of times they're allowed to call you. And they don't have the right to demand more than you can afford or go after your family members for your debts. They want you to pay more because it's very clear "they want their money" just like they said it. Those jerks get commissions besides a salary. The more they collect the more they get. That's why collectors behave obnoxiuosly and use nasty tricks to get their purposes. If you cannot pay more, you cannot period. You're paying (even if minimum) so they don't have a case to take you to court. It's just a scare tactic, don't worry. Don't give yourself bad credit by filing bankrupcy (unless you really need to) just because some morons are so annoying. Thare are rules they should follow. Next time tell them you will record all their insults and sue them for harassment.
Melissa28
Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 07:20:56 PM
Province: ON


RE: continual phone calls and rude behaviour

Postby LaLa_82 » Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:53:27 PM

I don't think that they can harrass you like that, Especially if you are paying. I heard that as long as you are paying some amount of $, that they can't refuse it and shouldn't harass you. I would check into that if I were you.
LaLa_82
Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 12:44:44 PM
Province: ON


continual phone calls and rude behaviour

Postby granny59 » Tue Jul 27, 2010 09:30:20 AM

I do owe money to Can Tire and Contact Resource is the company that is doing the collection. I have been dealing with this company for over a year now and getting nowhere.
I live in Ontario and am on a Survivor Pension and a small union survivor Pension which totals 661.00 per month.
I have not been able to find a job because I move to Ottawa to be with my daughter and granddaughter and most jobs are either Bilingual or they do not call regarding an interview because from my resume they can probably tell that I am not a young person even if I have experience.

CRS continually calls and leaves messages threatening legal action if I do not respond and return their call. Some calls I return and some I do not. I am making a very minimal payment each month from my pensions and they want more.

They have told me to use the available credit on another credit card to pay them even though I was not using that card and paying down the balance on it with the help of the cardholder. CRS said they would send a letter to the other credit card holder and get them to send them the money in the balance on that card to them. I told them to try and see where that would get them.

Today they left a message to call, which I did, only to be put on hold for 10 solid minutes and then somehow the phone call disconnected from their end. Called back and had to leave a message for them. Will see what happens now.

Have been told by these people to get a job paying cash and send them the money, told the person that was against the law and she said whatever we want our money.

I am at the point of going to see a bankruptcy trustee and declaring bankruptcy. The staff at CRS have been rude and called me stupid, called before the 6 day period had elapsed, etc......
Have also told Canadian Tire that they have hired one rude firm. The last time called last week it was a recording telling me that the person calling me was busy and to hold, this was for the complete 4 minutes of the voice mail limit. Called and complained about their "stupid" voice mail telling me that the person calling was busy and was told by the girl I was speaking to, that the only "stupid" person was me calling to complain about the message. Later that day I received another voice mail from them which was only music and that CRS was calling.

What can I do besides declaring bankruptcy to get rid of these people even though I am making a small payment each month?
granny59
Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 09:18:19 AM
Province: ON


,

Return to Collection Agencies - Discussion Area