Need help from the members and Johnny...

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   Hello all,

Here's one I'll bet people haven't heard (or at least is a variation that people haven't heard).

My story is basically this - back in 1995-1999 I attended university, and for three of those years (1995-1998) I took out a student loan with the RBC.  Both portions of that loan were paid off by mid-2000.

I returned to school for a second BA in 2004-2006, during which time I took out another loan.  During this time, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, which flared in 2006 and drove me into bankruptcy in July 2006, before any consolidation agreement could be signed.  I fought my way out of bankruptcy around 2010 or so, and during negotiations with my lawyer (I had returned for an MA, and we were trying to sort out whether a new grace and interest-free period had begun), the loan was tossed into collections.

Tossed very BADLY into collections.

On the Federal side, the wrong principle amount was sent into collections, so there's a $500+ discrepancy causing the entire interest calculation to be wrong.  The provincial side, however, is what matters here - they threw the wrong loan into collections.  Instead of throwing the 2004-2006 loan into collections, they sent the 1995-1998 loan.

To cut a long story short, in 2012 Canada Revenue took around $500 out of my tax refund towards it.  I first attempted to recover the money through a demand, and when that failed, I filed suit in small claims court.  After the suit was filed, they took around another $500 (which has been added to the suit).

So, yes - I am suing THEM.  I am asking the judge for punitive damages, in the hopes of creating a deterrent and causing a ripple effect that will finally put the checks and balances into this system that it sorely needs.

But, while I can prove that the wrong loan is being used by the Ontario government, as well as that the 1995-1998 loan is paid in full (thank you, RBC), and I can demonstrate that CRA is liable, in order to get the punitive damages, I need to be able to prove pattern of behaviour.  Basically, I need to be able to prove that my case was not an isolated incident, and that this sort of thing happens often enough that a deterrent is necessary.

So, I need affidavits.

The settlement conference is Tuesday (hopefully they will settle and a deterrent will be established then without a trial, but you never know).  If it fails, then this goes to trial, and forum posts will not be sufficient evidence to prove pattern of behaviour.  So, if you have had a case where money was put towards a student loan that shouldn't have been, or a student loan was placed into collections that shouldn't have been, or the amount was increased (not by a collection agency) that shouldn't have been, please get in contact with me.

And, Johnny, I've left a message for you on this, but if you could provide something stating your observations (without breaking client-lawyer confidentiality), such as how many cases you have seen, how many cases of this nature you get per year, etc.

Best regards to all,

Robert Marks