Hi -

My OSAP (2500 of 9000) is still with NORDON.

I was wondering under when or how they could contact HR at my work directly to get the money ? I get this weird feeling that they have done so and out of the blue HR wants to meet with me tomorrow morning....

nordon can't garnish your wages - they would have to send your file to the government who would initate court proceedings to obtain a judgement against you.  and you would have had to been notified of this.

more likely, nordon has illegally contacted your hr department and they want to get some info from you regarding the slimeballs.  first of all they are not supposed to call you at work.  more importantly, NORDON NEEDS YOUR PERMISSION TO SPEAK TO YOUR EMPLOYER. 

first of all meet with HR and see what they say.  if nordon DID contact them and you can get someone in hr to draft a letter of complaint, DO IT.  send the complaint to HRDC Collection Services, 140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV, 2nd Floor, Hull, PQ K1A 0J9 (thanks mark for posting this address).

pigeon had posted earlier an interesting bit on collection agencies.  here it is.... 

It is a criminal offence for a collection agency to harass or intimidate you, to send you threatening mail or to threaten you over the telephone or in person. It may be a criminal offence if a collection agency is calling you many times a day at home or at work or is using scare tactics to get you to pay them.

If a collection agency is harrassing you:
• Log all calls from any collection agency. You will need a record of harrassing phone calls etc to back up your complaints.
• Get and write down the
  • person's name,( although they often use phony names )
  • phone number ( use call display if needed )
  • the name of the Agency and
  • the time and date of each call
• Tell them to stop contacting you as it is criminal harassment.
• If they make one more call CONTACT THE POLICE and YOUR PHONE COMPANY
• Report them to your provincial Corporate and Consumers Affairs office. This will place their licence at risk.
• If you get a letter purporting to be from a Collection Agency's law firm or lawyer, http://www.canlaw.com/lawyers/lawsocieties.htm - complain to their law society about harassment by that lawyer.

You do not have to speak to anyone from a collection agency or deal with them if you choose not to.

When they phone do not speak to them. Get the person's name, phone number and company name then hang up without saying another word. When they call back (and they will call and call) log the calls, but just continue to hang up without speaking to them. Always make a log of all calls and report the harassment to your phone company and to the police.
• Do not tell them where or if you work.
• Do not tell them where your bank is.
• Do not tell them anything at all.
  They have NO right to extract any information from you whatsoever. Your chat will only give them more information they can use to harass you further. They are looking for information they can use to sue you and when (and if) they get a judgment, they will use that information to seize your bank accounts or garnishee your pay.

If you have a debt in collection, the damage to your credit rating is already done. You may as well let them sue you. It will take many, many months, possibly years, for them to sue you and they may or may not proceed. Even it they do sue you, there is no guarantee they will get a judgement. They cannot touch your assets or garnishee your pay without first suing you and winning a judgement against you. That could take years.

Collection Agenices do not like to sue. When they sue, they need their client's permission and usually it is not worth their while. They will huff and puff and bluster and do anything to trick you into paying today. Do not be conned. Do not discuss your finances with them. If you do make any payments to them, get a postal money order so they do not learn where your bank account is.

Well folks......it looks like Nordon is the CA of the week. Do you think all the CA's get together and reserve different parts of the month to unleash their dogs o' war. It just seems like we get wave after wave but each wave is about a different CA.

Lost.....I'm not sure what your work situation is like but most decent HR departments are extremely familiar with the rules surrounding garnishments and collections. When you meet with your HR department be extremely explicit that you did not authorize the CA to contact them. You may find yourself in a situation where your company complains to the ministry.

Pigeon,

There are no decent HR Departments.

But they do pale in comparison with the CA's

A little off topic, I grant you.

 Lost, 

 Unless NorDon has a judgment, they cannot arbitrarily execute with a wage assignement. Ontl the law firm representing the Government can motion the order with a judgment already in place.

 What you are describing here is what collectors do to stir you up - and determine if there is an avenue of execution to attach.

 If the collector discussed ANYTHING about your indebtedness, or revealed and private, confidential, or proprietary information with a third party without your expressed written consent, then it is an unlawful practice.

 Mom of 2 ... 

 What you have copied and posted is a "version" of the collection agencies' directives that can be found on most of these "Non-Profit" credit counseling firm's web sites. It is grossly exaggerated, unfortunately. Thepolice do not take these matters in accordance with call of duty. It is SOLELY a provincial ministry  (business and consumer services and OSAP c/o the MBS) issue.

 You wrote:

 "It is a criminal offence for a collection agency to harass or intimidate you, to send you threatening mail or to threaten you over the telephone or in person. It may be a criminal offence if a collection agency is calling you many times a day at home or at work or is using scare tactics to get you to pay them."

 It is not a criminal offense for a collection agency to intimidate you. Being it is that a collector is callign you to pay unpaid debt, and can use the law to enforce it upon youm this is intimidating to even the strongest of people.

It is only a criminal offense if a collection agency breaks a law of the criminal code. 99% of all mail issued by an agency can be interpreted as threatening in one way or another. The Provincial Government approves ALL literature that agencies are allowed to mail out. Every letter that you and everyone has received is approved by the Province, Crown, and lender. 

  Now, harrassment, as in "stalking", or "Coveting", or Direct Physical Contact that is threatening" is a criminal offense. Collectors are telemarketers. Ther eis no physical element. It is all verbal and psychological. Harrassment as in "bothersome" is not a criminal issue. it is a Provincial Ministry complaint. Harrassment can be defined as being contacted by telephone with such frequency that is disrupting you at your place of employment or at home. A couple of calls doesn't constitute harrassment unless the colelctor has made serious threats to you that place you in a position of fear and panic. Even these charges must be proven - or somehow substantiated for the ministry to act. It is a serious charge either way.

 Regardless, whoever wrote these directives is wrong. I have seen similar information on a BC Government website that had wrong and, wuite frankly, "controversial" content similar to what is posted previously.

 Johnny  

"Like in many third world countries" Mark?

How is Canada not a 3rd World Country?

A 3rd World country is one in which the poor are marginalised and denied their civil rights. Canada

A 3rd World country is one in which being a government employee automatically assures you of a lifetime of effortless income far above the standards expected of the citizens. Canada

A 3rd World Country is one in which there is an enormous gap beween the richest and poorest. Canada

A 3rd World Country is one in which there is a herditary class of impoverished and uneducated people. Canada

A 3rd World Country is one in which crossing the social class barriers is virtually impossible. Canada

A 3rd World Country is one in which getting your government to look into let alone rectify a siystem that tolerates and even encourages criminal activity against the poorest citizens is nothing more than an opium dream. Canada

A 3rd World Country is one in which a social safety net for those in dire need is decried by the wealthy class as parasitical and in which the poor are criminalised. Oh, Canada! My erstwhile home and never again to be native land.

If I'm going to live in a 3rd World Country, I'll live in one that is a tropical paradise and where I can make a VERY comfortable living. And one that admits to being a 3rd World Country, so has a chance of improvement.

Canada, the first step is admitting you have a problem!

 MOST "third-world countries" provide free education, Islander. I live in Canada. I like to be referred as a number one, actually.  

 I am sure Mark did not intend to diss anybody regarding sucha  common descriptive.

Thanks everyone for your replies...

False alarm, it wasn't NORDON nor anything to do with money matters.........

Lost

glad to hear it was a false alarm.