Collection Agencies - Questions about collections - Canada

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RE: Questions about collections

Postby jmarks020 » Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:07:20 PM

That's great news to hear. I doubt highly that D&A will stop calling me, but the nullification of legal proceedings will allow me to sleep much better at night.

I appreciate your in depth explanation of something I did not fully understand. Best of luck with anything you may face in the future.

Thank you profoundly,
Jason
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RE: Questions about collections

Postby footloose » Thu Dec 01, 2011 01:50:26 PM

Thank you Jason for an excellent response to my questions. I now have a very clear picture of your situation.

In Ontario, the limitation period for the initiation of a legal proceeding for the collection of a debt is 2 years, not 6 years, effective for all debts incurred after December 31, 2003. That means, in your case, the limitation period has expired and no further legal action can be taken against you. And if this debt has been written off by the creditor ( university ), then it has been sold to D & A Collections.

The debt still remains but no legal action can be taken to recover this debt. All D & A Collections can do is to keep calling you with possibly the occasional follow-up by letter. And this debt has ballooned to $9,000 as a result of interest accummulation.

This debt is currently listed as an R9 on your Credit Report which is the worst rating that you can have for a debt, but it will purge from the report 6 years from the "date of last activity". That will help to increase your Credit Score.

D & A Collections is currently the owner of this debt. If, in the future, you wish to discharge this debt, do not offer D & A Collections one penny more than 10% of the original amount of this debt which, of course, does not include interest. This is a moral decision on your part. If you do decide to make this offer, be sure to get a WRITTEN BINDING OFFER from D & A Collections BEFORE you make any payment to them. Otherwise, any payment will be considered a partial payment on this outstanding debt.

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RE: Questions about collections

Postby jmarks020 » Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:50:32 AM

Sorry for the vague details, I'll try to sort this all out.

1) I attended several semesters at the university, all of which were paid for myself (work and bank loan, no OSAP). In my last semester, I left midway, but I still owe tuition for it. So the answer to your first question is no, I did not pay for my last semester.

2) The student account that I am referring to is my online student account, which supplies information about grades, classes and dues owed. This is where I realized that the university had written off my balance (likely when they passed it over to the collection agency).

From this, I gather that I now owe that debt to the collection agency, as they have purchased it from the university. What I'm wondering is how to proceed. I am currently paying off my student loans that I took from the bank and really can't afford another nine grand over my head at this time.

As I mentioned, my last payment at the university was in January of 2006, which, if I understand correctly (and I may not), means if this debt is not collected by January 2012, it is noncollectable. Am I right in assuming this? My credit has already been hurt by this debt, and I wonder what the best way to proceed is.

In case you are still a little hazy, here is a step by step account:

2002-2005: I attend university in Ontario. I work and take out a bank loan. I pay for every semester I attend.

2006: My last payment is made to the university for the previous semester (2005) I attend half a semester, leave school and do not pay my tuition for my last semester (2006).

2006-2011: I go to another school (paid in full) and forget completely about the debt I owe my previous school.

November 2011: I begin receiving calls from D&A which I don't answer. I then receive a letter stating I owe them $9,000 from my past debt.

Hopefully that clears everything up.

Thanks in advance,
Jason

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RE: Questions about collections

Postby footloose » Wed Nov 30, 2011 05:53:33 PM

Very interesting analysis and you could very well be right.

Let's see how jmarks020 responds to my questions.

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RE: Questions about collections

Postby TJ.brooks » Wed Nov 30, 2011 05:47:55 PM

As I read it he attended for several semesters and paid tuition using money he earned working and from money he aquired through a bank loan but not a student loan from the bank. He apparently had committed to another semester...which he did not attend but was still expected to pay for.
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RE: Questions about collections

Postby footloose » Wed Nov 30, 2011 05:35:39 PM

Jason, I appreciate your response to my questions but it is still unclear to me regarding your situation.

Here is what I understand is your situation.

You attended a university in Ontario in 2005/2006. Your intention was to attend for one semester, however, you left the university after only attending for half of a semester.

Here is where the confusion begins. You state in your post "...it was one semester of unpaid university tuition that must have accrued a significant amount of interest...". You further state " I paid my tuition cash via work and an outside bank loan ".

The question is: Did you or did you not pay your tuition for this semester?

You further state " I logged on to my student account to see the details of my balance owing ". What student account are you referring to? And, if you had paid your tuition as you indicated in your follow-up post, then why would you looking to see the balance owing in your student account?

Please supply a complete detailed analysis, step by step, as exactly what happened. Too many times, I have to play " Forensic Accountant " and try to sort out a jig-saw puzzle with too many pieces missing.

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RE: Questions about collections

Postby jmarks020 » Wed Nov 30, 2011 01:18:30 PM

Thanks for the prompt reply.

First off, this debt is not a student loan, it was one semester of unpaid university tuition that must have accrued a significant amount of interest when I put it on the back burner. I paid my tuition cash via work and an outside bank loan.

What happened was that I did half a semester and left the university 5 years ago. After getting this collection letter, I logged on to my student account to see the details of my balance owing. My file said that I had no outstanding charges. I looked into my payment history and saw that a few month's ago they placed a "Tuition Write Off" payment for the full amount owing on my account. As well, I noticed that I had last made a payment to them in January of 2006, hence my thoughts on the SOL.

I will read your article as well. Hopefully you can help me understand my options a little better.

Thank you in advance,
Jason
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RE: Questions about collections

Postby footloose » Tue Nov 29, 2011 07:06:03 PM

Jason, is this debt a student loan incurred in Ontario under OSAP?

Please explain "...this institution has already written off my debt..."

What institution are you referring to? Was this the bank or credit union that originally issued you the loan?

"Now after reading through a hundred threads I realize that my SOL date may be fast approaching." You stopped too soon. You should have read one hundred and one threads...................my last one, written on November 28, 2011 under the title " A.R.C is this a scam".

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Questions about collections

Postby jmarks020 » Tue Nov 29, 2011 05:13:28 PM

Hi,

Last month I started receiving daily phone calls from a number in Mississauga. As a rule, I never pick up my phone to an unknown number and they didn't leave me a message. I Googled the number and found it to be D&A Collection Agency. Since then I haven't picked up when they call me daily.

This week I received a letter stating that I owe a balance of $9000 from a school I once attended and that I had 5 days to respond to the letter (that deadline has passed).

Now after reading through a hundred threads I realized that my SOL date may be fast approaching. My last payment at the school was a bursary (deposited into my account by the school) in January of 2006. I currently reside in a different province, but my debt was incurred in Ontario.

Now it isn't to be said that I am avoiding my debts, but this institution has already written off my debt (I checked) and I have far more pressing student loans to payback.

Does anyone have any advice on how I should proceed?

Thanks,
Jason
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Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2011 04:53:48 PM
Province: NB


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