Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi All,
I used to be a student in the USA and then worked in USA for sometime. Had american CC debit. Move d to Canada and become Canadian citizen. I wrkd very hard in canada, McDodanld, telemark, etc. Honestly continue to pay american CC debts. Till 2010 when we went broke. jobs hr cut and no over time. My creditors kept calling me form USA. I didn't reply. I believe one obtained court jud on me in the USA. I managed to keep good credit score in Canada all this time. Then suddendly I have started receiving calls from a Canadian collection agency who claim they have access to cr report, utility companies and provinsial property ownership records(how can it be legally possible). I am not american so how will they validate who I me. Pl Help. I am very scared.
I don't know if it's really common practice to sell American debt to Canadian companies for collection but I doubt it. They have no leg to stand on. I guess they could harass and threaten you but in order to actually take money from you they would need a court order and since the debt was accrued in the US they can't do that. They can't go to a Canadian court because they don't have jurisdiction. They could possibly go to a US court to get a judgement against you but that judgement can't touch you in another country. It is of course possible that the US and Canada have some kind of treaty that allows for debt collection across the border. I don't know. But barring that I don't see how the Canadian collection agency could do any more than make phone calls. In the US you can ask a debt collector to stop calling you and they have to oblige. You probably have something similar in Canada.
I don't know if the debt could be reported to Canadian credit reporting agencies and affect your credit rating. Maybe the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada could tell you what your rights are here and what they can do. I definitely wouldn't take the word of the debt collector about what the can and cannot do. They are notorious for making empty threats and flat out lying to you.
If I were you I'd call the above agency, your credit reporting agency and maybe also a non-profit consumer protection agency for advice. Don't freak out yet. You may have nothing to worry about.
But what leg do they stand on collecting an American debt in another country?
A legally owed debt so to say "goes with the debtor". Legal means of collecting it vary. Canadian law varies by province in regards to statue of limitations. As long as you use a licensed collector you can pursue the project.
But what leg do they stand on collecting an American debt in another country?
My understanding is that they're "internationally licensed" and have agreements with countries worldwide, There are only a few of them but they're very large companies with branches all over the world.
You can google, "international collection agencies" and come up with all sorts of information on them.
In India, banks used to engage recovery agents at a commission to recover debts like car loan, credit card defaulters who do not respond to letters/phones. these recovery agents used to go to the house and threaten and sometimes even beat the daylights of the people who are not paying the loan instalments back. can you imagine something like that happening in US?
A legally owed debt so to say "goes with the debtor". Legal means of collecting it vary. Canadian law varies by province in regards to statue of limitations. As long as you use a licensed collector you can pursue the project.
Its a simpler version of someone who is wanted for a crime in the US being arrested in a foreign country. The debt is a legal debt and just because OP is in another country doesn't mean OP no longer owes the debt.
You can owe money to a foreign hotel, they can often collect from you even though you are in the US, or Canada, or wherever, and no longer in the foreign country.
Not trying to sound unsympathetic, but they can collect from you (the OP) because you owe them. OP spent the money on the card and I am guessing foreign collection agencies exist because of people who rack up debt in foreign countries and then go running home to their countries. Not saying this is what OP did, but I am saying that the legality of it really shouldn't be the first issue. Paying a debt incurred should be.
In India, banks used to engage recovery agents at a commission to recover debts like car loan, credit card defaulters who do not respond to letters/phones. these recovery agents used to go to the house and threaten and sometimes even beat the daylights of the people who are not paying the loan instalments back. can you imagine something like that happening in US?
The question was regarding US debt in Canada. Ant BTW - vehicle repo will have the item in question on a trailer in roughly 90 seconds:>)
Its a simpler version of someone who is wanted for a crime in the US being arrested in a foreign country. The debt is a legal debt and just because OP is in another country doesn't mean OP no longer owes the debt.
You can owe money to a foreign hotel, they can often collect from you even though you are in the US, or Canada, or wherever, and no longer in the foreign country.
Not trying to sound unsympathetic, but they can collect from you (the OP) because you owe them. OP spent the money on the card and I am guessing foreign collection agencies exist because of people who rack up debt in foreign countries and then go running home to their countries. Not saying this is what OP did, but I am saying that the legality of it really shouldn't be the first issue. Paying a debt incurred should be.
A lot of debtors either have some assets they left behind or will return. It is a credit collector's pay day when a debtor needs access to credit or a job. Employers do run credit reports and (as long as it is applied across the board) positions can require clean credit showing financial responsibility.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
