[38] Bill 65 Original (PDF)
Bill 65 2004
An Act to amend the
Collection Agencies Act
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. Section 22 of the Collection Agencies Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2002, chapter 18, Schedule E, section 3, is amended by adding the following subsections:
Prohibited practices and methods in collection
(2) Without limiting behaviour that can be prescribed as prohibited practices or prohibited methods in the collection of debt, the following are prohibited practices and prohibited methods in the collection of debt:
1. To directly or indirectly threaten or state an intention to proceed with any action for which the collection agency or the collector does not have lawful authority.
2. To make telephone calls or personal calls of such nature or with such frequency as to constitute harassment of the debtor, his or her spouse or any member of the debtor's family or household.
3. To make a telephone call or personal call for the purpose of demanding payment of a debt,
i. on a Sunday,
ii. on a statutory holiday, or
iii. on any other day except between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
4. To give any person, directly or indirectly, by implication or otherwise, any false or misleading information that may be detrimental to a debtor, his or her spouse or any member of the debtor's family or household.
5. Except for the purpose of obtaining the debtor's address or telephone number, contacting a debtor's employer, spouse, relatives, neighbours or friends unless,
i. the person contacted has guaranteed to pay the debt and is being contacted in respect of such guarantee,
ii. the person contacted is the employer of the debtor and the collection agency or collector is contacting the employer in respect of payments pursuant to a wage assignment or an order or judgment made by a court in favour of the collection agency or of a creditor who is a client of the collection agency, or
iii. the person contacted is the employer of the debtor and the collection agency or collector is contacting the employer for the purpose of verifying the employment of the debtor.
Definition
(3) In this section,
"spouse" means either of two persons who,
(a) are married to each other, or
(b) live together in a conjugal relationship outside marriage.
2. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Discipline committee
22.0.1 (1) The Minister shall establish a discipline committee to hear and determine, in accordance with the prescribed procedures, if a collection agency or a collector has engaged in a prohibited practice or employed a prohibited method in the collection of debt.
Appeals committee
(2) The Minister shall establish an appeals committee to consider, in accordance with the prescribed procedures, appeals from the discipline committee.
Composition
(3) The composition and manner of appointment of the members of the discipline committee and appeals committee shall be as prescribed.
Result of a determination
(4) If the discipline committee makes a determination under subsection (1) that a collection agency or a collector has engaged in a prohibited practice or employed a prohibited method in the collection of debt, it may order any of the following as appropriate:
1. Impose such fine as the committee considers appropriate, to a maximum of $10,000.
2. Suspend or postpone the imposition of a penalty for such period and upon such terms as the committee designates.
3. Fix and impose costs to be paid by the collector or collection agency.
Appeal
(5) A party to the discipline proceeding may appeal the decision of the discipline committee to the appeals committee.
Payment of fine
(6) If a fine is imposed under subsection (4), the collector or collection agency shall pay the fine within the period specified by the discipline committee or, where there has been an appeal, by the appeals committee, and where no period has been specified, within 60 days after the fine has been imposed.
Public access
(7) Decisions of the discipline committee and the appeals committee shall be made available to the public in such manner as may be prescribed.
3. Section 30 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1998, chapter 18, Schedule E, section 53, is amended by adding the following clauses:
(m) governing the composition and manner of appointment of members of the discipline committee and appeals committee;
(n) governing procedures for hearings under section 22.1 and respecting the manner in which and the frequency with which decisions of the discipline committee and appeals committee are made available to the public.
Commencement
4. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
5. The short title of this Act is the Collection Agencies Amendment Act, 2004.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill amends the Collection Agencies Act by specifying that certain behaviours are prohibited practices and prohibited methods in collection of debt. The Bill establishes a discipline committee and an appeals committee to deal with complaints concerning engaging in prohibited practices or employing prohibited methods in the collection of debt.