[Mr.Coffee]

long story short but I had a similar issue but not with a parking authority and regarding a case that I knew I did not owe the money. I contacted a lawyer (work with him actually, so easy to get the advice) and, to paraphrase, this was more or less what his opinion was regarding collections agencies:

"Collection Agencies cannot go into your bank account or garnish wages without your permission or obtaining a court order. They can’t insist on anything, unless a judgment has been obtained against you and a court order so issued. Now, insofar as threatening to effect your credit rating or score, as you know it is an indication of how confident a lender like a bank would be that you will repay your debts on time. Equifax and Trans Union are two of the biggest agencies in Canada that act as a repository for ratings. Yes, a collection agency can “tattle” on you – but here we are talking about a disputed amount under $500 for shoddy work performed by (my edit, don't need that here). Hardly the stuff to effect a mortgage or car loan with your bank.

Here is the Credit Report Tipsheet from the government.

http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/...dit_Report.pdf

Collection Agencies must conduct themselves within the confines of the Collection and Debt Repayment Practices Regulation, which is under the Fair Trading Act (Alberta).

Below is section 12 being a “shopping list” of prohibited practices from the regulations. I draw your attention to 12(j) in particular.



Prohibited Practices

Prohibited practices for collection agencies

12(1) No collection agency or collector may

(a) collect or attempt to collect money for a creditor except on the belief in good faith that the money is due and owing by the person to the creditor;

(b) charge any fee to a person for whom the collection agency or collector acts in addition to those fees provided for in the agreement with that person;

(c) if a collection agency,

(i) carry on the activities of a collection agency in a name other than the name in which it is licensed unless it has received the approval of the Director to do so, or

(ii) when using an automated call system, fail to provide a contact number for the debtor to call when leaving a message;

(d) if a collector, collect or attempt to collect a debt without providing

(i) the collector’s name as shown on the collector’s licence in all contacts and correspondence, and

(ii) the name of the collection agency as shown on the collection agency licence in all contacts and correspondence with the debtor;

(e) make any arrangement with a debtor to accept a sum of money that is less than the amount of the balance due and owing to a creditor as final settlement without the prior express consent of the creditor;

(f) fail to provide any person for whom the collection agency or collector acts with a written report on the status of that person’s account in accordance with this Regulation;

(g) make any personal call or telephone call for the purpose of collecting or attempting to collect a debt on any day except between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. in Alberta;

(h) directly or indirectly threaten or state an intention to proceed with any action for which the collection agency or the collector does not have the prior express consent of the creditor or for which there is no lawful authority;

(i) contact or attempt to contact the debtor, any member of the debtor’s household, any relative of the debtor, the debtor’s employer or any neighbour, friend or acquaintance of the debtor by any means in such a manner as to constitute harassment, including without being limited to

(i) the use of threatening, profane, intimidating or coercive language,

(ii) the use of undue, excessive or unreasonable pressure, or

(iii) the use of telephone or e‑mail to call or send messages excessively;

(j) give any person, directly or indirectly, by implication or otherwise, any false or misleading information, including, but not limited to, references to the police, a law firm, prison, credit history, court proceedings or a lien or garnishment;

(k) continue to collect or attempt to collect money from, or continue to communicate with,

(i) the person, where the person has informed the collection agency or the collector that the person is not the debtor, unless the collection agency or collector first takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that the person is in fact the debtor, or

(ii) the debtor, where the debtor has informed the collection agency or the collector by any verifiable means, including, but not limited to, personal service, certified mail, courier, facsimile, or e‑mail, or by any other method, that the debt is in dispute and that the debtor wishes the creditor to take the matter to court;

(l) contact a debtor’s spouse or adult interdependent partner, relative, neighbour, friend or acquaintance unless the contact is limited to the purpose of obtaining the debtor’s residential address, personal telephone number or employment telephone number;

(m) contact the debtor’s employer for any purpose other than to confirm the debtor’s employment status, business title and the address of the business, in preparation for legal proceedings;

(n) contact the debtor when the debtor has notified the collection agency in writing to communicate only with the debtor’s representative and has provided a current address and telephone number for the representative, and the representative

(i) makes reasonable arrangements to discuss the debt with the collection agency or collector, and

(ii) discusses the debt with the collection agency or collector in accordance with the arrangements;

(o) contact a debtor at the debtor’s place of employment if the debtor

(i) requests the collection agency or collector not to contact the debtor there,

(ii) makes reasonable arrangements to discuss the debt with the collection agency or collector, and

(iii) discusses the debt with the collection agency or collector in accordance with the arrangements;

(p) communicate information about the debt or the existence of the debt with any person except the debtor, a guarantor of the debt, the debtor’s representative or the creditor of the debt unless the debtor has expressly consented to the communication;

(q) indicate to the debtor or any other person contacted for the purpose of collecting the debtor’s debt that the collection agency or the collector is part of a law firm or the legal department of a business, including a legal department of the collection agency itself or of the creditor of the debt;

(r) if a collector, indicate to a debtor that the collector is a legal collector, litigation specialist or the like;

(s) charge any fee to a debtor beyond the debt that is due and owing from the debtor to the creditor, excluding a reasonable fee for a dishonoured cheque, if the fee was disclosed to the debtor in writing prior to the submission of the cheque;

(t) refuse to provide sufficient information on request to the debtor to ensure that the debtor is aware of the identity of the original and current creditor of the debt and the details of the debt;

(u) enter into or arrange wage assignments with a debtor or the employer of a debtor;

(v) exceed 3 unsolicited contacts on behalf of the same creditor with a debtor in any period of 7 consecutive days, not including contacts with a third party to locate a debtor, mistaken contact with a third party, or contacts by traditional mail;

(w) cancel or alter a payment agreement with a debtor if the debtor has complied with the terms of the agreement and the debtor’s financial circumstances have not changed materially, unless the debtor has misrepresented the debtor’s financial circumstances;

(x) pursue a non‑judgment debt where the last payment or written acknowledgement by the debtor is more than 6 years previous;

(y) do anything that is prohibited by this Regulation.

(2) A term of an agreement entered into by a collection agency is void if that term

(a) misrepresents the rights and powers of a person collecting or attempting to collect a debt,

(b) misrepresents the obligations or legal liabilities of a debtor,

(c) is misleading as to its true nature and purpose, or

(d) otherwise contravenes the Act or this Regulation.

(3) Notwithstanding section 110(2) of the Act, a collection agency must not enter into an agreement or contract with or make a request of a representative or employee of the collection agency who is exempt under that section to undertake any action that contravenes this section.

(4) Subsection (1)(m), (v) and (w) come into force on March 1, 2006."

Hope this helps.