by Raymond » Mon Sep 15, 2008 09:30:08 AM
I'm sorry but you are on the wrong track. Many think that you can sue over anything but that is not so - although things are gravitating that way in the US and therefore, ultimately, will in Canada.
The root cause of this isn't simply greed by lawyers but the fact that virtually all of the major decisions affecting the principal spheres of our life have been transferred from politicians, (who have become increasingly effete) to judges who are, of course, lawyers. Whether it's some zany interpretation of our charter rights, labour law or wacky decision on economic torts (i.e., HWY 407), our politicians stand entirely at their mercy. Can it only be matter of time before some PETA loving judge rules that a marriage can also be between a man and a sheep? Don't laugh, it could be more than a bahhhd joke.
I've mentioned the particular difficulty "hard inquiries" present before by quoting the clauses in various provincial consumer reporting acts that allow anyone one to access anyone's credit file for something so vague as "a business reason" - which could also mean a "claimed" business reason. Hard to believe, but if you view my posts on "privacy issues," you'll see it's all exasperatingly true.
And so you can't sue someone for doing something that's legal. Also, as "extortion" is a criminal code offense, there aren't grounds for that charge either. True extortion would exist if a lender threatened a debtor with some form of bodily harm or illegal injury if they didn't pay up.
To repeat once again, I'm not condoning avoiding valid debts by refusing to settle if one can pay. Moral issues, although they are beyond the scope of this forum, are incomparably more important than legal ones.
But because of the increasingly eroding buying power of our dollar we are slipping into a debt crisis, and a greater percentage of people are simply unable to pay. My advice and comments have been, and are, directed to this group, not the group who only want to shaft a creditor. Nevertheless, the mindless collection agencies who collect on these debts don't differentiate the capable form the incapacitated. For them, a meal is a meal.
Ray