519-646-2222Blog Articles
SOMETIMES BANKS GET IT RIGHT
Great promotional campaign! Whether it was just a gimmick or a real effort to show appreciation the campaign worked – jerking tears from some viewer’s eyes. Have you seen the viral video it was very clever, very exploitative and very well done!
Read morePLANNING A BANKRUPTCY
Do people really plan to go bankrupt, and if they do when is the best time to start thinking about it? It may sound surprising but very few people actually plan to go bankrupt. Think about it from a logical point of view – how many people do you know who plan to fail at […]
Read moreDON’T GET CONNED BY BOGUS EMAILS
There are lots of them around, all kinds of solicitations and promises, some are by telephone. “Dear MyBell member, The credit card we have on file for your MyBell Internet service was declined when we attempted to bill. Please visit our Account Information pages. Click Here , and update your credit card information as soon […]
Read moreBANKRUPTCY & SURPLUS INCOME
Is a strict reliance on the LICO a fair and reasonable way to calculate surplus income? In at least one discharge hearing, Plamondon, before the bankruptcy courts the Registrar felt that a strict adherence to the Superintendent’s Standards for calculating surplus income would be unfair. The Registrar, in rendering his decision, observed: “In my view, […]
Read moreSHOULD BANKS BE MORE RESPONSIBLE?
Current lending policies encourage people to get into debt. Consumer debts are bankers assets. There is little doubt that the credit granting industry promotes a culture of greed and immediate gratification both amongst its employees and customers. Even low level bankers are driven by bonuses and are known to fudge numbers to help people qualify for […]
Read moreIF I GO BANKRUPT WILL I EVER GET CREDIT AGAIN?
We have talked about this topic before but it is a question that keeps arising and is worthy of revisiting. There is an urban myth that “if you go bankrupt you will not be allowed to get credit again for seven years”. This is in fact utter nonsense. But the myth arises from the fact […]
Read moreARE YOU AFFECTED BY THE WAGE GAP?
And where did the gap come from anyway? Although it sounds as though opportunity is being taken away from younger workers they don’t have an exclusive on weaker wages. Since 1970 average Canadian family incomes have dropped by about 40% after being adjusted for inflation. A critical difference between then and now is that in […]
Read moreHOW TO GET CREDIT AFTER BANKRUPTCY
Credit becomes available surprisingly quickly after discharge from bankruptcy. Some companies actively solicit credit business from former bankrupts simply because it makes sense, really good business sense. Here’s why, most people who have filed for bankruptcy do not want to do it again. Most people who have filed for bankruptcy want to re-establish credit and […]
Read moreARE YOU READY FOR THE INTEREST RATE INCREASE?
Apparently it is coming and that is not doom and gloom hype. We have been blogging about rate increases for months and it looks like they are finally coming. Due to low incomes and the proliferation of contract and part time jobs in Canada most Canadians have become dependent on debt to meet the basic […]
Read moreCOLLECTION CALLS CAN BE VERY ANNOYING
Proposals or bankruptcies can help stop them. We service London, Chatham, Sarnia, Woodstock and Windsor – when you need help we are there! Even though Collection Agencies are regulated some seem to play close to the line with the frequency of telephone calls and the volume of demand letters. It’s hard to go it alone, […]
Read moreIMAGINE HOW SOCIETY WOULD CHANGE
If 70% of Canadian families could be supported on one income It’s not an unrealistic ideal in the early 1970s at least 70% of Canadian families were supported on a single income. Women had been in the workforce right up until the end of the second world war then during the baby-boom years of the […]
Read moreRSPs, Investments and Debts
Strange bedfellows on the face of it but there is a strong adverse relationship between savings and debt. For several decades Canadians had great retirement opportunities through many larger employers, mostly manufacturing and other industrial companies with union negotiated pensions. Unfortunately, during the past 2-3 decades those opportunities have been eroded at an alarming rate. […]
Read moreCanadians struggle to live without debt
Job stability and income are both in decline but the use of debt continues to increase. A saving grace for some Canadians has been the recent surge in real estate values, but that value increase can create a deeper debt problem for many others. Moving unsecured debt from credit cards and lines of credit to […]
Read moreHOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO BANKRUPT?
And why should I pay anyway? One of the primary considerations for people contemplating bankruptcy is cost. If you call around it seems that trustee fees are all very similar but are they? The average cost for a (no-asset and no-surplus income) bankruptcy seems to range between $1,800 -$2,400 but that is not always the […]
Read moreBANKRUPTCY – THE PROCESS
This blog provides you with a quick overview of the process of bankruptcy – what to expect. SEEKING HELP Only a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can file a bankruptcy – credit counsellors or debt consultants can only help you to find a trustee. Sometimes they will charge you a fee for the referral. You can find […]
Read moreTOO MUCH DEBT
How do you know when you have too much debt, and what are you going to do about it? There are many clues to having too much debt (credit) some of which seem obvious but others are not so clear. According to recent statistical reports the average Canadian owes about 1.7 times annual income in […]
Read moreWHAT HAPPENS TO MY HOUSE IN A BANKRUPTCY?
Without knowing the specifics of your situation the answer is not entirely clear but let us lay out some possible scenarios for you. First of all the underlying purpose of the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act is to help an honest person find relief from the burden of debt so that they may continue to […]
Read moreTARGET STORE – CCAA FILING
The Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) provisions are facilitated by a trustee in bankruptcy working in conjunction with lawyers and the courts. In layman’s terms a CCAA is essentially a large dollar value proposal filed as an adjunctive provision of the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act (“BIA”) through a bankruptcy trustee. Some trustee’s specialize in filing […]
Read moreDO YOU RENT YOUR HOUSE FROM THE CRA?
Some people do and don’t even realize it! The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is notorious for its sometimes seemingly draconian collection abilities. They can garnishee incomes and accounts and register on title of property with the need for Court Orders. When the Agency makes mistakes, and they do, there is little recourse unless it is […]
Read moreWHAT HAPPENS TO STATUTE BARRED DEBTS
IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS? The Limitations Act of Ontario sets the basic limitation period at two years. Accordingly, if you owe a debt, that you have stopped making payments on for a period of two years or more the creditor is “barred” from resorting to legal proceedings to collect the obligation. In other words the creditor […]
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