MATTE ARTICLE: Tips for Dealing With Collection Agencies

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 19, 2013) - With Canadian consumer debt at an all-time high, Canadians are more likely than ever to receiving calls from collection agencies. A collection agency is a company that intervenes on behalf of creditors to recover money owed by people in debt. Your creditors - the people to whom you owe money - use these agencies to recover the amounts you owe them. If you owe money to a company or a supplier and have not paid them on time, or at all, that company or supplier may turn your file over to a collection agency.

Knowing how the process works will make the experience of dealing with a collection agency more understandable and maybe less stressful. Here are some tips from consumerinformation.ca for dealing with collection agencies:

• You must be notified in writing that your file has been given to a collection agency. Try not to panic. The agency is trying to recover the money you owe its client.
• If possible, pay the amount you owe.
• If you are unable to pay it all at once, contact the agency and explain.
• If you reach an agreement with the agency, get it in writing.
• Never send cash. Make sure that you obtain a receipt for your payment from the agency.

If you have concerns about the actions of a collection agency or you feel you've been treated unfairly, contact your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office. You can find links as well as information about a variety of other consumer issues at www.consumerinformation.ca. The site has everything you need to know about being an informed, empowered consumer - from dealing with collections agencies to calculating whether or not you should buy or rent a home. It's free to use and extremely easy to understand.

About Industry Canada - Office of Consumer Affairs

The Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) promotes the interests and protection of Canadian consumers. Well-informed and confident consumers help stimulate competition and innovation in the Canadian marketplace.

The OCA aims to ensure that consumers have a voice in the development of government policies and are effective marketplace participants. It provides research and analysis on marketplace issues in support of both policy development and intergovernmental harmonization of consumer protection rules and measures.

It also identifies important consumer issues and develops and disseminates consumer information and awareness tools. Finally, the OCA provides financial support to not-for-profit consumer and voluntary organizations, in the form of a Contributions Program, to encourage them to reach financial self-sufficiency and assist them in providing meaningful, evidence-based input to public policy in the consumer interest.

www.consumerInformation.ca helps consumers find authoritative information on consumer issues. The information available on www.consumerInformation.ca is provided by objective, trustworthy and reliable sources, including federal, provincial and territorial governments, and non-government sources.