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Tips for dealing with collection agencies

(NC) – With Canadian consumer debt at an all-time high, Canadians are more likely than ever to receiving calls from collection agencies. A collection agency is a company that intervenes on behalf of creditors to recover money owed by people in debt. Your creditors — the people to whom you owe money — use these agencies to recover the amounts you owe them. If you owe money to a company or a supplier and have not paid them on time, or at all, that company or supplier may turn your file over to a collection agency.

Knowing how the process works will make the experience of dealing with a collection agency more understandable and maybe less stressful. Here are some tips from consumerinformation.ca for dealing with collection agencies:

• You must be notified in writing that your file has been given to a collection agency. Try not to panic. The agency is trying to recover the money you owe its client.

• If possible, pay the amount you owe.

• If you are unable to pay it all at once, contact the agency and explain.

• If you reach an agreement with the agency, get it in writing.

• Never send cash. Make sure that you obtain a receipt for your payment from the agency.

If you have concerns about the actions of a collection agency or you feel you've been treated unfairly, contact your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office. You can find links as well as information about a variety of other consumer issues at www.consumerinformation.ca. The site has everything you need to know about being an informed, empowered consumer – from dealing with collections agencies to calculating whether or not you should buy or rent a home. It's free to use and extremely easy to understand.

www.newscanada.com

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