Has anyone successfully sued collection agencies in Canada?
813804
I am not Canadian, but would assume each province has it's own laws.  I would send each agency a certified letter (or equivalent in Canada) with an explanation of the situation.  Inform them in this letter that you consider their harassment of you a violation of your personal rights.  If they do not stop, then I would first complain to the appropriate government agency.  If they do not help you, then I would retain an attorney.   A couple of years ago, I had a similar situation in which someone had the same name as I.  I could not get them to stop calling me. The crazy thing, it was over $19.95.  I put it stop to it by doing two things.  The called me from an "800" number.  So, I started calling them back and tying their personnel up on the phone ten or more times a day.  When they would call me, I would blow a whistle into the phone.  When they call people all day long, they wear a earpiece that fits into their ear.  The shrill whistle sound goes through them like a hot knife through butter.  They stopped the calls immediately.  Good luck with your problem!
750541
Two questions? First no I have never sued anyone.\nTwo my son is disabled but I did not apply for it, they gave it to him. Well one of the disability programs there are two of them.
1096982
well its hard to answer. but u better check with commerical lawyers bout the maximum % charged by any agency in canada.\n\nother then that ... try contacting with employer who are using agency servious .. if they help
714749
i don't think so. i'd seek legal advice, if i were you. you authorized the loan company to make debits, not so and so collection agency. they can sue you, but that's the point, i believe. they would HAVE to sue you to get their money. (if you didn't pay them, of course.) look into that. i also believe you have the right to settle your debt with the original loan company. if you do this, i don't believe you have to deal with the collection agency. they were essentially hired to harrass you and believe me, they will, with a vengeance. they are merciless. when you think about it, it's kind of like a loan shark that has hired a thug to beat you up. but, i would really seek legal advice. i used to work in a credit union and i would see all the time, people that claimed to have paid back loans and were still being debited. be careful.
145731
Actually any one can do it. If you owe a business money and you decide not to pay it most businesses instead of going to court will give it to a collection agency which intern sends you a nice letter and then if you dont pay it they put a nice spot on your credit.  Yes you know about any borrowing institututions who do it regually.  But through a collection agency almost anyone can.  If you see any you can dispute it though.
975925
Keep a log of the date and time when the collector calls.\n\nAfter you read the site listed below, you should send a letter by certified mail to the collector's business address. In that letter, state the following:\n\n"You are to cease and desist all further contacts with me, pursuant to the Fair Credit Debt Collection Act."\n\nYou will be given a receipt for the letter at the Post Office. That with a copy of the letter you wrote will be your proof that you notified the collector, in wrting, that it was in violation of the law.\n\nIf the collector continues after you recive a recipt that they got the letter, You can sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. \n\nIf you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney's fees can also be recovered. A group of people may also sue a debt collector and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector's net worth, whichever is less.\n\nYou must, however send the certified letter to the collector, and see whether they continue to violate the law.If possible, get a recorder for your phone. If the collector calls, you must notify them that you are recording the call for use in a lawsuit against them. State the date and time after you say this.\n\nThey would be extremely foolish to continue calling after that time, or otherwise contacting you, because of he lawsuit threat.
224145
That really depends on you are in the time line of the litigation.  Did you oppose the lawsuit?  Has there been a trial or a judgment?  Has the the court issued a writ of possession?
317036
Here is a method I used once to get rid of a legitimate debt that I owed. You may be ablet to adapt this and use it for yourself. \n\nI owed a $485 bill to AT&T that I refused to pay until they took down a cell phone tower that had been illegally erected right next to someone's back yard. Of course they ignored me, so I ignored them right back and things went round and round for a few years like that. finally the debt was sold to a collection agency and then to another one and finally to one in Florida. Up to this point none of them had reported it to any of the credit bureaus. Suddenly one day, there it was! A festering puss-filled sore right in the middle of my credit report! I immediately wrote a letter to the collection agency saying that the debt was not mine, that this was an old debt (by now it was over five years) that was being shopped around until they could stick it on somebody. I told them this was very damaging to my credit, that I had no other late payments, and I demanded they remove it immediately. Also, I said, at the time this debt was incurred there had been two other people living in the same county as me with exactly the same name as me, and it must have belonged to one of them. Again I demanded that they remove this thing from my credit report. About two weeks later I got a very apologetic letter from them saying how sorry they were for the mistake and yes it would be removed from my credit report immediately. It was and I never heard from anyone about this again.\n\n"Hell no," said Tom. "I'm not paying this. You can take this bill and shove it!"
669249
There are ways to get rid of some listings, but not all.  \n\n\n-Get copies of your credit report at\nwww.annualcreditreport.com\n\n-Examine your report very carefully for errors.  Incorrect balances, wrong reporting dates, anything that you can use as a basis to protest the entry.\n\n-Send a protest letter to the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) that has the report listed. They will "verify" the debt with the creditor, and must respond back within 30 days of the result. Note that "verify" only means that the creditor just has to inform the CRA it is a valid debt, and no proof or documentation is required. This is what most likely will happen. At this point you can send the CRA a letter protesting the entry, and they must put your statement on the record.\n\n-Now send a "validation demand" letter to the creditor. That means the creditor must supply copies of all bills, contracts, receipts, and anything that was used to calculate what they say you owe. The must demonstrate you have a legal obligation to pay. They have 30 days to respond.\n\nIf they do send this information, examine it carefully. If it's correct, decide if you still want to go to court. This is the information they will use to defend themselves, so if you have a case you can now take it to court.\n\n-If you do not get this information within 30 days, send a copy of the validation letter, plus another demand to remove the credit entry to the CRA, informing them that the creditor has violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If the CRA still will not remove the entry, you now have grounds to sue the CRA as well.\n\nBe sure to send all letters by certified mail, keep very accurate logs of when they are mailed and who you talked to. It is NOT necessary to send them by certified mail, return receipt. Your receipt will prove you mailed it, and the tracking number on it can be traced to show it was delivered. That will save you a few dollars in postage.\n\nContact me if you need more help. I am not a lawyer or credit counsoler, just someone who has been through this many times before (and still doing it!).\n\nYou are about to go to war! Knowledge of the law is your only weapon! Don't fight these guys unarmed! Read the links below.
11083
It would be hard to deal with without a lawyer.  The simplest thing would be to show the proof, document it, and threaten to sue if they collect from you wrongfully.  If they did so after you had given them proof they likely would be liable for much more than the amount taken.  But if that didn't scare them off, you'd still need a lawyer.  You should also make sure the credit reporting agencies haven't acted on the same bad information, and make sure the collection agency hasn't caused your credit to be affected. Ask your lawyer about that -- the collection agency will have to have that cleaned up.\n\nBy the way, I disagree with a previous poster who wrote "Generally if someone takes you to court for some reason and loses, they are required to pay your legal costs." Unless there is a special reason, in the United States the loser does not pay the legal fees of the winning party. (Costs are technically something different than legal fees, and are much much less than legal fees.)
414252
The previous answer is untrue. \nAs per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if you TELL them to cease and desist from calling you, it is usually sufficient. If not, you'll need to put your request in writing, and you're well within your rights to do so. If you owe them money, that's one thing, but they don't have a right to call and harass you. Continued calling after you've advised them to stop constitutes harassment.\nIf you still have problems, even after putting your request in writing, contact the FTC.\nI pray that your financial situation improves, too. :)
238913
It's going to take a lot of letter writing and research.\n\nGo to the links below and study up on the laws.  There are links to sites that will give you step-by-step instructions on what to do.\n\nThe quick walk-through:\n\nGet a copy of your credit reports at www.annualcreditreports.com.  Check for errors or negative reports.\n\nWrite a complaint to the credit agency requesting they be removed.  They will then contact the creditor and "verify" the debt.  If no reply in 30 days the report gets removed.  \n\nNote there is a differance in "verify" and "validate".  "Verify" simply means they will contact the credit and ask if it's a valid debt.  "Validate" means that all records, logs, receipts, and anything that was used to calculate the debt must be produced and a copy must be sent to the consumer.\n\nSo, your next step is to contact each creditor and demand that the debt be "validated".  \n\nMany times, the creditor either does not want to mess with the time and paperwork involved in looking this information up.  Other times the records were destroyed.  If they do not send this information to you, contact the credit bureau and demand that the report be removed because the creditor failed to validate the debt.\n\nIf the report still stays, you have grounds to sue both the creditor and the bureau for damages, and violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.\n\nKeep a log of all letters and phone calls you make.  Do NOT let the collection agencies push you around, you have the law on your side.  Make them prove the debt or remove the report from your credit history.\n\nJust keep in mind....if it is a legitimate debt and everyone follows the rules, the report will stay on your records, no matter what you do.  It will stay for 7 years.\n\nGood luck\nGET ARMED!
270350
I can't say that I was shaken down, but here's my story.\n\nI was going to Toronto to a trade show with some merchandise in my car. I told the inspector that when I approached the booth at the crossing, then she tells me to pull over to the office because I didn't have the proper paperwork. So, I stop there and wait about half an hour for the inspector to tell me what I need to do. She then tells me that I must go downstairs to the broker to get a bond for the merchandise in order to enter Canada. Now, I am thinking what the heck does a bond have to do with entering Canada other than just harassing me.\n\nSo, of course I go and do what she says since I really don't have much of a choice. After, I get all the paperwork and pay the fees, I then go back upstairs to the inspector for her to review the documentation. She now stamps the paperwork and lets me thru but she also makes a statement prior to my leaving the office. She states that upon my arrival at the convention center, I must immediately report to the Customs officer on site so that he/she can inspect the items in question for any other discrepancies. \n\nThis sort of confuses me because I am wondering why the heck woule they have a Customs officer at the convention center. So, when I arrived I asked the people there and they all told me there's no Customs officer located there, never had and probably never will.\n\nSo, she purposely intimidated me into thinking that I had to report to the officer when there was no need nor was there actually anyone to report to!\n\nShe must have really got a kick out of it, I really tempted to go back to this inspector on the way back to question why she would do such a thing, but figured I would lose the argument since there was now no proof plus I will be the lonely American argung with all the Canadian customs officers, losing battle.\n\nBut, in the end I realized that our own Customs people harasses people regularly as well, I've been harassed several times upon returning into the country, even I had nothing to declare nor having done anything wrong.
676282
My wife got subpoenaed by citiwankers..yeah they can do it..but not a credit bureau. \n\nLet em try and go and have your say.
861042
No, phone them and set up a payment plan. They will try to work with you and avoid going to Court. It costs them money to go to Court. Or you can contact a local Credit Counselling company in your area. They can also help you set this up.
1093197
I would contact the better business bureau and place a negative report on their business. Next I would contact the credit card agency and ask them how to dispute this charge. Since this is from December 05 you might have a hard time getting them to do anything since that is almost 6 months ago.\n\nAs far as small claims court goes, you have 2 choices in filing a case. You can report it in your precinct where you live and if they will not go across state, which i do not understand as i have done this several times with medical collections....then you can file in the precinct where the business resides. You would need to call the county clerk for that county or the sherriff's dept and they can tell you which precinct that address would fall under. Best of luck.
1145082
yes, I had the same letter in here in Canada, it's a scam, don't phone them, contact the police