How to Stop Collection Calls

“The worst was the collector calling me during my grandson’s birthday party – he was yelling at me and demanding payment,” said James*, remembering the stress he experienced dealing with debt collectors. “They’d also call early every morning – even on weekends – I finally had no choice but to turn off my phone.”

James is just one of the thousands of Canadians who have struggled with the stress of constant phone calls, emails, and texts from debt collection agencies. Sometimes they’d call every hour, which eventually caused him to reach out to us for assistance.

Why would the people you owe money to hire a collection agency? When a debt is unpaid and becomes overdue, banks and other lenders turn to debt collection agencies to chase down the person who owes them money. Collection agencies receive a percentage of any debt amount collected, so the more persistent their attempts, the greater their potential payday. That can mean constant calls, texts, emails, a registered letter sent through Canada Post, and even phone calls to friends, family members, and employers. No one wants their boss told they are behind on their credit card or loan payments!

Collection agencies also have legal methods available to force you to pay. It’s not unusual for a collection agency to take someone who owes them money to court. If the presiding judge rules in favour of the collection agency, a garnishment order is sent out to the person’s employer, and money is deducted from each pay. Bank accounts can also be frozen – any funds found are then sent to the creditors.

So, what can be done to stop all of this? The good news is a Consumer Proposal can be leveraged to immediately end any collection agency action. A licensed insolvency trustee can put into place a “stay of proceedings” which will “stay” (or stop) all legal action, as well as put an end to all collection calls. Think of a Consumer Proposal as a massive wall constructed by you and the collection agencies. Your creditors cannot penetrate the wall once your Consumer Proposal is filed.  And only a licensed Insolvency Trustee can build and support the wall.

Once that wall created by a Consumer Proposal is in place, the Trustee notifies all creditors of your filing, processes all paperwork (they have 45 days in which to vote to accept, reject, or negotiate a counteroffer), and supervises the entire Proposal process for you, from start to finish. 

Best of all, the moment the Proposal is officially filed with the court, all further interest and penalties stop dead. This provides further relief for you because now the negotiations with the creditors are about a fixed settlement amount, which could be as little as 20 to 30 percent of what you originally owed.

A Consumer Proposal can provide you with both peace of mind and an end to the constant harassment from creditors and collection agencies. It’s an affordable way to get rid of bad debt and obtain a fresh start financially.

Are you getting constant collection calls? We’re here to help! Let us help you get back on track financially by contacting us today.

*not his real name.