Dear Jeff,
I’m trying to get my finances back in order. However, it seems like I get new collection letters every week from different companies that are unknown to me. I have a credit tracker but it doesn’t seem to have all my debt listed. I’m afraid of blindly paying bills I get in the mail and getting scammed. Is there a way to find out all my bills as well as be sure I’m paying the right people?
Brent A.
Etobicoke, Ontario
Brent,
Always keep in mind that the creditor and the credit bureau only have 30 days from the date you submitted a dispute about a debt that you believe is not yours to respond. If the account information can’t be verified as yours OR even if the bureau and the creditor simply don’t respond then you’re legally entitled to have that item removed from your credit report.
At that point, the collector attempting to get you to pay has no recourse but to stop calling. Once you tell a collector that a debt is not yours and you don’t wish to be contacted again, they must stop calling or face penalties with the FTC and even a civil suit if they’re really intent on continuing to hassle you and you want to pursue it in court.
Make sure to carefully document dates when you contact any creditor, as well as the credit bureaus. Additionally, using certified and registered mail for written communication creates a paper trail that includes the date an organization or company received a letter from you.
And if it ends up that the debt really is yours and needs to be paid, make sure to consider your options carefully. If you can’t afford to pay everything that’s owed on that debt to the collector all at once and they say they won’t accept anything except payment-in-full, you may still have options. Debts in collections may still be able to be included in a debt management program even if it’s with a third-party collector. It may be worth it to talk to a credit counsellor to see if they can negotiate on your behalf to include that debt in a debt management program.
Best of luck,
Jeffrey Schwartz
Executive Director
Jeffrey Schwartz is the Executive Director of Consolidated Credit Canada and Former President of the Credit Association of Greater Toronto (CAGT).
Thanks for submitting your question!
Consolidated Credit’s executive director, Jeff Schwartz will review it and give his response here, along with any additional tips that our credit counsellors have to offer. If you need immediate assistance, please call us and a credit counsellor will get you the help you need.
Please note: We try to answer all questions within 48 hours. However, not all questions may be answered on the website. If your question is similar to one we’ve already answered, we’ll direct you to the appropriate response via email. If we need more information, we’ll contact you at the email provided.
