ca demanding that I apply for Bank loan

I owe about $17 500 in student loans (it's a provincial student loan from Quebec), anyway for many years I wasn't able to make payments and the loan was sent to CBCL's Quebec branch. I made payments of $100 per month for about a year then they stopped cashing my cheques. When I finally spoke with someone at CBCL they informed me that my account had been transfered back to the ministry of education of Quebec. I made repeated attempts to contact the ministry and find out where to send my cheques as I did want to continue paying but finally gave up(but I did give them my contact info). Then six months ago (roughly two or three years since making my last payment) I get a call from CBCL. They ask me how much I can pay, I tell them about $100 per month. The gentleman I'm speaking with is polite tells me where to send the cheques and everythings fine. I ask him on the phone to send me some paperwork about my account, I then write a letter asking the agency to to send me some paperwork and to in future only contact me by post.

Well I didn't get the paperwork I wanted. And they called. Three weeks ago I got a call from Ms. Joseph from CBCL. She informs me that I need to send more cheques, I tell her that I will do so and again ask for some paperwork/receipt from them. While on the phone to me she makes all sort of suggestions : that I should borrow money from friends and family (both out of the question) and then suggests that I should apply for a loan from a bank, stating that the rates are quite low and that it would be a good idea. I thank her for her suggestions and tell her that I'll think about it. Then today she calls me up to ask if I applied for a loan. I tell her that I looked into it but that it didn't look like I was eligible (I self employed making under 20k, barely enough to house and feed myself). She then tells me that she is reassesing my account and that I need to apply for a loan before she can do so. I need to provide her proof that I tried to get a loan and was turned down so that I can continue to make my $100 payments otherwise CBCL will be demanding the full amount. And I have to all this done by the end of the week!!!

Is this a common practice? Can she demand that I apply for another loan? Or is CBCL breaking/bending the rules? What should I do?

OK, but she wants me to fax her a letter from the bank stating that I don't qualify for a loan. Is she within her rights as a CA to ask for this or is she breaking a rule? If so which one?

My relationship so far with CBCL has ok and I'd like to keep it that way. I only want to call them on this if it can't come back to bite me on the ass.

At first I thought it was a suggestion, now she's saying that it's a requirement. If I don't get this to her she will deny me the ability to make monthly payments and simply demand the entire amount.

I believe his name was Mr. Leroc, not sure of the spelling.

 

Buff,

 

Have you had the same request for proof of bank loan denial that I have?

I'm still not sure what I should do. Do I go and get my 'doctor's note' from the bank and fax her my application and it's almost certain denial to appease her. Or do I politely tell her to shove it and run the risk of starting the CA phonecall nightmare? I just don't know. I've also never applied for a bank loan and have no idea if I can even get her this info intime!!!

Talhoffer,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to respond yesterday. Simple Plan came to town last night and I had some stuff to finish up at work before the show. I'm not a huge fan, but felt the need to go anyway. Bands just don't come here, especially not bands that I've actually heard of.

Anyway, on to the advice. I wouldn't even bother trying to get that bank note. They can't make you do it. I'm not even sure they're allowed to ask for it. I think someone was out for a quick commission hit. If you make a payment, they get part of it, so they want to know you really can't get them the money. The other possibility is that they had some cranky boss on their case because they haven't brought in enough money and they need some kind of proof that they tried to get it.

As for stuff coming back to bite you, it doesn't matter what you do. If you don't pay the entire amount yesterday, they won't be happy and they'll continue to harrass you.

I live in Quebec right now, but I'm from another province and still have my old cell phone and no land line. There's no way I'll ever give that number out to a collection agency, so they just can't phone me because they have no number. The number also doesn't show up on call display (not even ANI, which toll-free numbers use), so I can call without them getting that number. 

I also learned the hard way not to give them a work number. They had one for me last year and called a lot, including every day for a bit. It got to the point where people stopped taking messages for me because it was the same person all the time. I think I missed a few important calls, but obviously I survived. Now that I'm in a different town, they don't have a work number anymore. I won't be putting any phone numbers or employer info on the next financial sheet.

When I call them, I usually just choose some random payphone and let that number show up on their call display. When they ask if that's a good number to call me at, I stifle the laughter and say yes. They get mad when they call back later and get the recording saying that this phone can't accept incoming calls. 

Buff