1) Under certain circumstances, consumers can legally stop collection calls, such as by sending a letter requesting the calls stop if the debt is disputed or the consumer has a legal representative. 2) Robocalls from collectors may be illegal if they do not properly identify the caller. Consumers can complain to regulators about anonymous robocalls. 3) Provincial laws prohibit collectors from disclosing debts to third parties, creating issues for collectors using automated messages that identify the collector. Consumers can complain to enforce these laws.

1. Under What Circumstances Can You Stop
Collection Calls?
by Mark Silverthorn – Former Collection Lawyer and Collection
Industry Insider
You may be very upset because you are receiving collection calls! If these calls are
made at your workplace they can cause you a tremendous amount of grief,
particularly if the bill collector speaks to a receptionist, fellow employee, or
supervisor. Collection calls at your place of employment may harm your reputation
with your co-workers or your boss. In some instances, workplace collection calls
might result in a job loss. When I represented consumers some clients complained
that their boss threatened to fire them if they received any more collection calls.
Workplace calls are not the only type of collection calls you might want to avoid.
Collectors might call you on your cell phone or on your landline at home. If a
collector calls your home phone number then he could end up speaking to a
member of your household such as your spouse, partner, or even your children.
Your creditors, and their collection agents, have the right to call your friends,
acquaintances, and family members for the sole purpose of obtaining your current
address or phone number. It is, however, illegal for collectors to (i) disclose the
existence of your debt to others, or (ii) in the case of a collection agency, to
disclose the name of the collection agency to others—which could result in the
disclosure of the existence of your debt.

2. Stopping Collection Calls Can Help You Relax And Give You Time To Deal With Your Debt
When I represented consumers I would often send letters to collection agencies—
and in some instances to creditors–demanding that they stop making calls to my
client, and in accordance with provincial law that all future communications were to
be made to my office. It would not be unheard of for one of my clients to receive
five to ten calls from a collector in a single day. In one case, a collector called my
client’s mother 20 times over the space of a few days leaving messages with her
asking my client to return the call.
This blog will answer the question “How can you stop collection calls?”
I am going to address this topic in four major sections:
1. stopping collection calls on money owed to a bank
2. stopping debt-related robocalls
3. your rights under provincial law to stop collection calls
4. using laws restricting workplace calls to stop collection calls
In many instances, if you are receiving collection calls you might be able to stop
these calls. To do so, however, you will need to take some action to stop these
calls. This might involve writing a letter to the firm making these calls. It might also
mean that you will have to make a written complaint against the organization which
is making these collection calls to you alleging that they have broken the law.
1. You can stop collection calls on a bank debt
If you are receiving collection calls on monies owed to a bank then you can stop
these bank collection calls by doing one or more of the following:
1. by sending a registered letter to the firm making the collection calls requesting that
you only receive communications in writing
2. by sending a registered letter to the firm making the collection calls stating that (i)
you dispute the debt and (ii) you intend to bring the matter before a dispute
resolution body, or you are prepared to resolve the matter in court, or
3. by sending a letter to the firm making the collection calls (i) requesting that it
communicate only with your legal advisor, and (ii) providing a telephone number
and address for your legal advisor
This right to stop collection calls on money owed to a bank is very broad in scope.
You can stop bank collection calls, as well as collection calls from a collection
agency or even a law firm attempting to collect a debt on behalf of a bank.
Under federal Debt Collection Practices Regulations (SOR-2009-257) enacted under
the federal Bank Act it is illegal for you to receive collection calls after the recipient
of your letter referred to above receives it.
2. Those robocalls you are receiving might be illegal
Did you know those robocalls you are receiving might be illegal? If you receive a
collection call the first thing you will typically hear over the phone is the voice of a
live collector who is seeking a payment from you. But this is not always the case. It
is becoming more and more common in the collection industry for those collecting

3. accounts to use automated messages. Those organizations using automated
messages for the purposes of collecting a debt must not run afoul of the federal
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) whose
mandate includes protecting Canadians when they use a telephone. Earlier this year
the CRTC had discussions with representatives from the collection industry at which
time the CRTC raised concerns about the use of automated messages in the debt
collection process because the identity of (i) the company making the call was not
disclosed, nor (ii) in some cases, the company on whose behalf the call was being
made.
New CRTC directives require automated messages to disclose caller’s
identity
I have been informed that in the first half of 2014 the CRTC advised collection
agencies that if they contact a consumer using an automated message the
collection agency must disclose the name of the creditor or the name of the
collection agency. If a collection agency were to comply with this CRTC directive
then it could conceivably be breaking provincial law across the country. I am
referring to provincial laws banning disclosure of the existence of a debt to anyone
other than the debtor, something commonly referred to as third party disclosure in
the collection industry.
Provincial law prohibits the disclosure of your debt’s existence to
anyone other than yourself
In virtually every province it is illegal, under provincial law regulating the conduct of
collection agencies, for a collection agency to disclose the fact—to anyone any than
the debtor—that monies are owed to a creditor. As a result of this law, when a
collection agency leaves a voicemail message requesting a return call the name of
the collection agency is not mentioned in the voicemail message.
If the name of the collection agency were mentioned on a voicemail message, and
the message was listened to by someone other than the debtor, then an illegal third
party disclosure would occur. An example will help illustrate this point. Imagine if
your name were John Smith and your 12 year-old daughter listens to the following
voicemail message on your landline at home.
This is a message for John Smith. This is Brian White from ABC
Collections. Please return my call at 1 (888) 123-7777.
If John Smith’s daughter listens to this message then it would be reasonable for her
to conclude that her father owes money because a company which would appear to
be a collection agency has requested a return call.
Making a complaint if you are receiving robocalls
This recent action by the CRTC has placed creditors and collection agencies who
want to use automated messages between a rock and a hard place. It might be
impossible for a collection agency to comply with the CRTC directives requiring
caller identification without breaking provincial law banning third party disclosure.

4. If you are receiving automated messages from an organization seeking payment of
a debt and the automated message discloses the name of your creditor or the name
of your collection agency then you might want to make a written complaint to the
following organizations, alleging that provincial law has been broken–provincial law
prohibiting third party disclosure—and you should demand that they stop all further
phone calls to you:
• the government agency in your province responsible for licensing and regulating
collection agencies
• senior management at the collection agency, and
• senior management at the creditor
If you receive an automated message that does not disclose the name of your
creditor or the name of its collection agent—a collection agency or possibly a law
firm—then you might want to file a written complaint with the CRTC alleging that on
a specific date you received an automated call where the identity of the caller was
not disclosed
Province/Territory The right to stop collection calls from a collection agency
Alberta Advising the agency in writing
1. that the debt is disputed and the matter may proceed to court, or
2. that the consumer authorizes the collection agency to speak to his/her
representative (which may be a family member, relative, or friend) and
the representative makes reasonable efforts to discuss the debt at a
mutually convenient time
British Columbia Advising those making the collection calls—persons employed by a
creditor, collection agency, or law firm—in writing:
1. that the debt is disputed and the matter may proceed to court,
2. that the consumer is represented by a lawyer and providing the lawyer’s
name and contact information, or
3. that all future communications are to be made in writing
Nova Scotia Advising the agency in writing to communicate with the consumer’s
lawyer and providing the lawyer’s name and contact information
Ontario Advising the agency by registered mail
1. that the debt is disputed and the matter may proceed to court, or
2. that the consumer is represented by a lawyer and providing the lawyer’s
name and contact information
Quebec Advising the agency in writing
1. that the debt is disputed and it may proceed to court, or
2. that all future communications are to be to the consumer’s lawyer and

5. Collection industry sources have advised me that the CRTC is currently auditing
collection agencies for compliance with the CRTC’s new directives requiring
automated messages to identify the caller. The $64,000 question is whether or not
provincial bodies regulating collection agencies will enforce provincial law banning
third party disclosure as it relates to automated messages. It is possible that
collection agencies might be instructed by provincial regulators to stop using
automated messages.
3. Your rights under provincial law to stop collection calls
Earlier in this post I set out how you could stop collection calls if you were receiving
calls on a bank debt. Depending upon where you live in Canada, you might have
the right to stop collection agencies from calling you, regardless of who you owe
the money to.
In some, but not all, provinces and territories consumers have a legal right to send
a letter to a collection agency, containing particular language, after which it is
illegal for that collection agency to make any more collection calls with respect to
that debt. This right, arising under provincial or territorial law, is not available to
the residents of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland, the
Yukon or Nunavut. These rights are summarized in the following table.
4. You might be able to stop collection calls at your workplace
Some, but not all, provinces ban or severely restrict a collection agency’s right to
call a consumer at their place of work. This means that it might be illegal for a
collection agency to call you at your workplace. The following table summarizes
restrictions on workplace calls by collection agencies under provincial law.
Province Restrictions on Workplace Calls By a Collection Agency Under
Provincial Law
Alberta Prohibited if a consumer asks the collector not to call at work and the
consumer makes reasonable alternative arrangements to discuss the debt
British
Columbia*
Workplace calls are only permitted in the following circumstances:
1. For the sole purpose of obtaining the consumer’s home address or home
telephone number and the collector does not already have that information
2. On one occasion where the collector has been unsuccessful contacting the
providing the lawyer’s name and contact information
NWT Advising the agency in writing
1. that all future communications are to be in writing, or
2. that all future communications are to be to the consumer’s lawyer and
providing the lawyer’s name and contact information

6. consumer at the consumer’s residence, or
3. Where the consumer consents to the workplace call
New
Brunswick
Banned, except where consumer consents
Newfoundland Banned
Quebec Workplace calls are only permitted in the following circumstances:
1. The collector does not know the consumer’s home address or home telephone
number, or
2. The collector has been unsuccessful at reaching the consumer at the
consumer’s home number
*Restrictions on workplace calls under B.C. law apply not only to collection agencies but also to
creditors, and law firms.
That bill collector calling you at work might be breaking federal law
If you are receiving collection calls on a bank debt then it might be illegal, under
federal law, for those making these collection calls to call you at your workplace.
It is illegal for a bank, or a collection agency or a law firm, acting on the bank’s
behalf, to call a consumer at the consumer’s workplace unless it satisfies one or
more of the following:
• the organization making the collection calls does not have the home address or
home telephone number for the consumer,
• attempts to contact the consumer at their home telephone number have been
unsuccessful, or
• those making the collection calls obtain written authorization from the consumer to
call the consumer at work
Making a complaint if you receive illegal workplace calls
In the previous paragraphs, I have set out–under both provincial and federal law–
when it is illegal for you to receive workplace calls. In a perfect world collection
agencies would comply with laws banning or restricting workplace calls. In fact, a
senior executive at a collection agency recently confirmed that “Collection agencies
routinely make workplace calls across Canada.” This means that collection agencies
in Canada today regularly make illegal workplace calls to the residents of British
Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Furthermore, based upon
my knowledge of the collection industry, I would be shocked if creditors were not
routinely making illegal workplace calls to the residents of British Columbia.
If you are on the receiving end of an illegal workplace call then you should make a
written complaint:

7. • to the government agency in your province responsible for licensing and regulating
collection agencies
• to senior management at the collection agency, and
• to senior management at the creditor
There is a good chance that your written complaint will result in the end of these
collection calls from the firm calling you.
Stopping collection calls by enlisting the assistance of a bankruptcy
trustee
Furthermore, you can stop collection calls immediately by filing a consumer
proposal or filing for personal bankruptcy—after which it is illegal for a creditor,
or anyone acting on behalf of the creditor, to demand money from you. As a
practical matter, it is very rare for a consumer to receive a collection call after filing
a consumer proposal or filing for personal bankruptcy. To learn more about
consumer proposals and personal bankruptcy you should contact a local bankruptcy
trustee.
About Mark Silverthorn
Mark Silverthorn is a former collection lawyer and collection industry
insider. He is the author of The Wolf At The Door: What To Do When
Collection Agencies Come Calling (2010) published by McClelland &
Stewart.