Dealing With Collection Calls
In British Columbia, Consumer Protection BC is responsible for enforcing BC debt collection laws and for licensing third-party collectors. If you are getting calls from a collector, it is important to know your rights and responsibilities.
You can request that a collection agency contact in writing only. To make this change, you must notify the collection agency of your request. After they receive your notification they cannot continue to contact you by phone.
You can dispute a debt by notifying the collection agency and the original creditor that you don’t feel you owe the debt, or that you have already paid it. The matter will then be referred to court for resolution.
If the collector is calling the wrong person, you can inform them that you are not the person they are looking for and request that the calls stop. You should be prepared to confirm that you are not the person they are looking for by supplying information such as your address and birthdate.
A collection agent must send you a written notice about your debt before they start calling you unless they are calling to confirm your contact information or they purchased the debt from the creditor. If it is not clear if they are the creditor or the collection agent, you can ask them.
In addition, the following are the rules debt collectors must follow:
They can only call between 1 pm and 5 pm on a Sunday (your local time)
They must not call you before 7 am or after 9 pm on weekdays and Saturdays (your local time)
They must not call you, a family member, or a friend at any time on a statutory holiday
They must not discuss the details of your debt with another person without your permission - however, they can contact a family member, friend, or acquaintance to confirm your contact information
They must not contact you in a way that will cost you money
They must not publish or threaten to publish details of the debt except to a credit reporting agency
They must not use threatening, profane, or intimidating language
They must not put excessive pressure on you
They must not threaten to sue you unless they are actually taking legal action
They can’t try to collect any amount that is more than what you owe; they can’t apply their own interest rates or fees, but interest can be charged at the rate in your initial credit agreement
If you believe a collector has violated the BC Debt Collections Laws, you can file a complaint with www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.
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