Living with debt is a reality for many British Columbians. For many individuals, this could mean being on the receiving end of numerous collection calls. For some, collection calls can seem quite intimidating and demanding. For this reason, BCâs consumer protection laws provide a way to request communication in writing only.
What information to include in your letter
If you are considering requesting communication in writing only, you must advise the creditor in writing. In your letter, it is important to:
- Clearly request communication be in writing only.
- Include identifying information such as your name, phone number, or account number.
- Provide your address so the creditor knows where to send the correspondence.
Be sure to send your request in a manner that will provide proof that your request has been received. We often suggest sending through registered mail, email with a read receipt, or fax with a confirmation report. For the consumerâs convenience, Consumer Protection BC has created a form for requesting communication in writing only which can be accessed on our consumer help debt collection page, under “I want the calls to stop”.
ADDITIONAL READING:
Getting calls from a debt collector?
What would you do? A guide to being a savvy consumer: debt collection calls
Asking a debt collector to only communicate with you in writing: what you need to know
Hi there, Have started receiving daily calls from CBV Collections asking for me by name and requesting my birthdate to confirm my identity. I told them I don’t give that information over the phone – Collector told me to look up their website and maybe I’ll be more cooperative after that. He wouldn’t tell me what it was regarding. I’m unaware of any outstanding debts and haven’t received any correspondence by mail. They’ve called as early as 0655 a.m. I only answered the first call as I’ve been trying to research what this is all about. What should I do? Thanks for your help đ
Don’t give them anything until they send you out a letter explaining what you owe and who you owe, asked them for their address/contact info and mail them a letter by register letter telling them not to call you home again and to only send you letters through the mail. Make a point of telling them that you should have and never received anything in the mail prior to them contacting you. Do a google search on the rules for what the collection agency can and can’t do. Don’t listen to Tatiana don’t provide the collection agency with any personal info and admit to anything until you have fully confirmed that you owe the debt, if you do and want to pay it off go back to the person you owed the money to and pay them, don’t deal with these corrupt agencies. Just my opinion.
Hello Judy,
Collection agencies are not allowed to share information with a person until they have validated that they are talking to the correct person, I would imagine this is why they havenât provided any information and are asking to confirm your birth date and identity. I would recommend contacting them to confirm if the debt belongs to you and getting some more information (you will have to identify yourself before they give you any information on the debt). CBV collections is licensed with us as a collection agency. Once you have more information regarding the debt you have a few options, if the debt in fact is not yours you can send them a form called ânot the debtorâ this will stop the calls. If the debt does belong to you there is an option to request âcommunication in writing onlyâ, this will stop the phone calls. You can use the link in the blog post above to properly notify a collections agency that you are either not the debtor or requesting communication in writing only.
If you have any questions about this process please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-888-564-9963 or info@consumerprotectionbc.ca. I hope you find this information helpful.
My daughter was going to try out a gym, she signed a form releasing them if she was hurt. She believes she did not sign anything to do with joining or paying their membership fees. She is being hounded by this gym to pay through phone calls and letters. She did not even take the tour of the gym. What can she do?
Hi Diane, we would like to know a bit more information prior to suggesting some options. Can you give us a call at 1-888-564-9963. Or email us at info@consumerprotectionbc.ca.
How long can collections keep calling you for about a debt? 4/5/6/7/8 years?.
What do you write to ask for a no contact except by mail letter, how should one compose same to comply with B.C law.
Hi David — I’m so sorry for the late reply, we didn’t see your question until now. How long a debt collector can contact you about a debt falls under a piece of legislation called the Limitation Act (not a piece of legislation administered by Consumer Protection BC). I’d suggest you seek legal advice for clarification. For communication in writing only, all you have to do is fill out this form and submit it to the collector: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/images/content/inquiries/communication_in_writing_only%202013.pdf. You can get more information about debt collection at http://www.debtrightsbc.ca..
Can I iniciate contact with credit agencies throught email only?
Hi Norman! Thanks for your question. By law, written communications can’t be limited to just email; that said, you may want to put your request on the Communication in Writing Only form to see if the debt collector would be open to communicating solely by email. Hope this helps!
My husband recently began getting calls regarding a 10 year old debt with which the age exceeds the Limitation Act by at least 4 years. Are we able to do anything beyond just requesting the in writing correspondence and ignoring the calls?
Hi Brenda — While we don’t administer the Limitation Act, I do have some information that I hope will be helpful to you and your husband.
First, your husband may wish to submit a Dispute of Alleged Debt form to the collection agency — this means that the collector isn’t allowed to communicate with your husband, unless it’s for communications necessary for a court action to proceed. Second, I would recommend that your husband take a look at a copy of his credit report to ensure it’s accurate and doesn’t contain information about this old debt.
I hope this information was helpful! Below are links to the two items I talked about:
– Link to Dispute of Alleged Debt form: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/images/content/inquiries/debt_in_dispute_form%202013.pdf
– Link to credit report information: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/consumers-other-businesses-home/how-can-we-help/credit-reporting