AprilApril,

If the account has gone to collections, you are being contacted by a third party collection agency. Hydro has discharged the debt and farmed it out to a third party collection agency.

If you do not want to be contacted by phone, you may send them a written communication requiring them to communicate with you in writing only.

This is your right under Canada's Collection Agency Act. This will however require you to provide them with your mailing address. But you may find it easier on your mental health to receive their requests by mail rather than phone.

For an overview of the process see my post on Debt Validation. The post talks about student loan and credit card debt, but the process of communicating with the collection agency is the same:

http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/threadview/1069.html

Situation: it could be about one of 2 debts, either an old cell phone bill from 2004 I was never able to pay (plus remainder of contract) or a hydro bill from 2008. I think it's probably the hydro bill, but I am not sure.

They are calling my business line, which is my cell phone, which I don't answer and let go to message. So far they have not gotten my mailing address.

If it's the hydro bill (which I know for sure it will have been sent to collection, regardless of it's to do with the collection agency trying to get in touch with me). The hydro debt was a mistake; ie, I moved out of the place I was living in, I was in a crazy not sane headspace at the time due to the stress I was under. I was working insane hours on a contract for the circus, the deadline was coming up too fast, I wasn't being paid properly and had had to borrow money (never able to pay back) to pay my rent that month which was why I found room-mates to take over my lease so I could move out into my boyfriend's place.

What I thought I told hydro was to transfer the account (which when I moved out was paid up to date) into the new tenants name but because of the headspace I was in I wasn't communicating clearly. What happened was they put the hydro bill in the new tenants name (the lease got transferred into his name) and my name.

It's not the fault of hydro that I communicated badly and didn't make it clear to take my name off the account. My boyfriend later told me that I should have told them to close the account.

The new tenant never paid the bill and eventually the hydro got shut off. He also never paid the rent and eventually (over a long fight for the landlord) got kicked out (he had taken the room-mates money that I had matched him up with that was meant to pay rent but instead spent it for himself).

So hydro can't get in touch with that guy, there is no trace of him and my old landlord thinks he's a con-artist. Now hydro wants me to pay the bill but they are having a hard time getting in touch with me, as I explained and it's gone to collections.

Anyways what do you think I should do? I haven't made any money this year really, last year I made $4,000, the year prior I made $5,000, and in 2007 I made $3,000. I am living off my art, my boyfriend (now fiancee) buys our food and he owns our home so my basics are taken care of.

My fiancee will not pay for the debt, and my family will not pay the debt. I am not making any money at the moment, I am self-employed and as you can see I am still struggling to bring my income up (I can't even go to the dentist, haven't seen a dentist in 10 years).