Overview

In Ontario, collection agencies must be registered and follow the rules laid out in the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act (CDSSA) and its regulations.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement registers and regulates these agencies. Check our directory to see if a collection agency is registered.

Your rights

Whether you owe money or not, a collection agency cannot harass you and must follow rules under the CDSSA.

If you think an agency has broken the rules and your rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the ministry at Consumer Protection Ontario.

Collection agency responsibilities

How they should contact you

In Ontario, if a registered collection agency reaches out to you, they must send you a private letter by mail or email. If you withdraw your consent to the use of email, the collection agency must send you the notice letter by mail.

The collection agency can contact you if they believe you are the debtor before sending you the notice letter, but only for the purpose of confirming your identity, home address or email address.

Their notice letter must include:

  • the amount of the debt on the date it was first due and payable and, if different, the amount currently owing
  • the product or type of product that incurred the debt – described in sufficient detail to distinguish from different products offered by the same company
  • the name of the business/individual you owe money to and, if different, the name of the original creditor
  • notification that the collection agency will provide a breakdown of the current amount owing, if requested
  • a mandatory statement advising you to contact the collection agency if you have questions, to request information about the current amount of debt owed, or the amount owed when it was first due and payable, and if applicable, a breakdown of the difference between those amounts
  • the name of the collection agency and collector that are demanding payment of the debt
  • the authority of the collection agency to demand payment of the debt
  • information that if you notify the collection agency or collector that a particular method of communication is costing you money, they are prohibited from continuing to contact or attempt to contact you by that method
  • the contact information of the collection agency, including the full mailing address, toll-free telephone number and, where available, email address and fax number
  • a copy of this disclosure statement, which explains your rights and the steps you can take if you think the agency has broken the law.

If you received a notice letter and you have questions about the letter or the alleged debt, contact the collection agency that sent you the notice, or if applicable, the original creditor. The ministry does not have information about your debt.

After the agency sends the notice letter

The collection agency must wait 6 days before they attempt to contact you to collect payment of the debt after sending the notice letter.

They can continue to attempt to contact you until they first speak with you. If the agency doesn’t leave a message and you don’t answer the phone when they call, the attempts don’t count as contacts.

After the agency speaks with you

Regulations limits how often and when collection agencies can contact you.

Contact includes:

  • phone calls you answer
  • email
  • voicemail
  • text messages 

Contact does not include:

  • regular mail
  • phone calls that are rejected and not answered, where no voicemail is left
  • contact you consent to or request 

They are not allowed to:

  • contact you on behalf of the same creditor more than three times in a 7 day period, without your consent 
  • call on a statutory holiday
  • call on Sunday, except between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
  • call on any other day between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

They cannot continue to contact you if:

  • you, your lawyer or your licensed paralegal sends a notice by verifiable means (such as email, registered mail, or a courier) to the agency with your lawyer’s or licensed paralegal’s contact information requesting the agency communicate only with them
  • you send the collection agency a notice stating that you dispute the debt and suggest the matter be taken to court
  • you tell the collection agency that you are not the person they intended to contact, unless the agency has taken all reasonable precautions to ensure you are, in fact, the person they have been trying to contact

Who an agency is allowed to contact

The agency is only allowed to contact certain other people besides yourself.

Your spouse, family member, relative, neighbour or friend if any of the following applies:

  • that person has guaranteed to pay your debt
  • you’ve requested that the collection agency discuss the debt with that person
  • they are only looking to confirm your contact information

Your employer in the following scenarios:

  • once, solely to confirm your employment, business title, or business address
  • your employer has guaranteed your debt, and the contact is about that guarantee
  • you’ve given the agency written permission to contact them
  • the call is about a court order or an automatic deduction from your salary

The collection agency is also allowed to do a credit search on you and register the debt to your consumer credit report – which may negatively impact your credit score.

What else a collection agency cannot do

An agency is unable to do the following under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act:

  • use undue, excessive, or unreasonable pressure or harass you
  • use threatening, profane, intimidating or coercive language
  • give anyone misleading information
  • threaten legal proceedings to collect a debt unless the creditor has given written authorization to commence the proceeding, and the proceeding is not otherwise prohibited by law
  • recommend that a creditor take legal action against you without notifying you of their intention to make this recommendation
  • publish or threaten to publish your failure to pay

You can file a complaint if you think an agency has breached the Act.

If you owe money

To stop a collection agency from contacting you, you can pay off the debt if you are able to or contact the collection agency to try and negotiate a payment plan. There may be other options available to you.

If the amount owed is wrong

If you are the right person but disagree with the amount the collection agency says is owed, or if you have already paid your debt and do not owe money, you can:

  • contact the collection agency and, if applicable, the original creditor to correct the error or get more information
  • check your consumer credit report to see if the amount is correct. Find more information about credit reports

How to dispute a debt

You can also dispute the debt. A collection agency cannot continue to contact you without your consent if you send them a notice by verifiable means (such as e-mail, registered mail, or a courier) to say that you dispute the debt and suggest that the matter be taken to court. Be aware that the collection agency could advise the creditor to take legal action.

Make sure you keep a record of all your communications, and always identify the debt by account name or number when corresponding with agencies.

If the agency keeps calling, file a complaint.

If you don’t owe any money

Let the collection agency know if you are not the person that they are intending to contact. The collection agency must take reasonable precautions to ensure that you are the right person to contact about the debt. If you are not the right person, they can’t keep contacting you.

If the collection agency continues to call, file a complaint.

Debt settlement

Credit counselling

If you need help managing your debt, you can find a credit counsellor through these non-profit associations:

Debt settlement agencies

Debt settlement agencies offer different services than credit counsellors. They charge you a fee to negotiate a plan to repay your debts.

All debt settlement agencies that charge fees for services in Ontario must be registered as collection agencies under the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act. You can search for registered agencies in our directory.

Consumer Protection Ontario through the ministry is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse any debt settlement agency.

A debt settlement agency must provide a debt settlement service agreement and a written report on the performance of the agreement within 15 days after you request it. Always take the time to understand your service agreement contract.

Agencies must follow strict rules concerning debt settlement. You can file a complaint with the ministry if you think a debt settlement agency has broken the rules.

What debt settlement agencies cannot do:

  • charge you fees if they are not registered in Ontario
  • charge an upfront fee of more than $50 before you enter into a services agreement with them or make your first debt payment
  • charge you more than 10% of your debt for a one-time settlement payment
  • charge you more than 15% of your debt for each debt payment in a series
  • say they can reduce your debt by 50% or more
  • say they can get collection agencies to stop calling you
  • claim that their program is approved by the Government of Ontario
  • claim that if you work with them there will be no negative effect on your credit report
  • try to restrict you from communicating with your creditors
  • give anyone false or misleading information

When to file a complaint

You can file a complaint if you think a collection or debt settlement agency has breached the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act or your rights have been violated.

If you’re not sure if your rights have been violated, review the rules an agency must follow or contact us. The quickest way to get a response to your questions is to contact us by phone, but you can also contact us by email or mail.

How to file a complaint

Learn more about the steps you need to take to file a complaint with Consumer Protection Ontario.

Filing a complaint with us cannot get you out of paying your debt. You remain responsible for money you owe regardless of the conduct of the collection agency or how long ago you incurred the debt.

Please contact us if you require an alternate format or accessibility accommodations to file a complaint.