Collection Agency indicated they are going to proceed
Question: A collection agency called and told us that if they don’t get payment by 3pm the following day they would proceed. When we asked what this meant, the agent replied “I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer” What does proceed mean??
Answer: Most of the time it doesn’t mean anything. A collection agent’s job is to collect money, so they will tell you whatever they think will help them collect money. If a collection agent tells you something, and then can’t explain what it means, it’s likely that that means they won’t be doing anything.
A collection agency can phone you and send you letters. If that doesn’t work, they could “proceed” to take you to court and attempt to get a judgment and garnishee your wages. However, court actions cost money, so that’s a last resort for a collection agent.
Also, they know that if they do start a wage garnishment, it is likely that you will file a consumer proposal or bankruptcy to stop the garnishment, so there is little point in them forcing the issue too far.
For more information, please see our article on dealing with collection agencies.