A collection agency contacting you about a debt is legal. Harassing you is not. Ontario's Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act sets specific limits, and every agency has to mail you a summary of your rights along with its first notice.
Before the First Call
The agency has to send you a private letter, by mail or email, with the details of the debt. It then has to wait 6 days before it tries to contact you to collect. If your first contact from an agency is a phone call demanding payment, write down the date. It may already be breaking the rules.
What a Collection Agency Can't Do
- Call at the wrong times. No calls on statutory holidays, no calls on Sundays except between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and no calls on any other day between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless you asked for them.
- Call too often. Once the agency has spoken with you, it can't contact you more than 3 times in 7 days for the same creditor without your consent.
- Threaten or intimidate you. No threatening, profane, intimidating, or coercive language, and no undue, excessive, or unreasonable pressure.
- Mislead anyone. It can't give false or misleading information to you or to anyone else.
- Threaten court without authority. It can't threaten legal action unless the creditor has authorized it in writing.
- Charge you fees. The only fee it can charge you is for an NSF (bounced) cheque.
- Ignore how you asked to be contacted. If you told the agency to stop using a contact method because it costs you money, it has to stop using it.
Who Else They're Allowed to Contact
| Who | Only when |
|---|---|
| Your employer | Once, to confirm your job, title, or work address. Or about a guarantee, a court order, or a wage assignment, or with your written permission. |
| Family, neighbours, friends | To get your contact information, if you asked the agency to talk to them, or if that person guaranteed the debt. |
How to Make the Calls Stop
1Wrong person or wrong amount? Tell the agency, and the original creditor, and send any documents that prove it. The agency has to take reasonable steps to make sure it's contacting the right person. Check your credit report too.
2Disputing the debt? Send a notice by a method you can prove (email, registered mail, or courier). Say that you dispute the debt and suggest the matter be taken to court. After that, the agency has to stop contacting you without your consent. The debt itself doesn't disappear, though, and the creditor can still sue.
3Keep a log. Write down the date, the time, the caller's name, and what was said for every contact. Investigators ask for exactly this.
4File a complaint with Consumer Protection Ontario at ontario.ca/consumerprotection if an agency breaks these rules.
Write down what happened once: dates, times, and what was said. Then turn it into a dispute letter or a complaint in minutes.
Draft It With Asya →Frequently Asked
What time can debt collectors call in Ontario?
Not on statutory holidays, not on Sundays except between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and not between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on any other day, unless you asked them to.
How many times can a collection agency call me in Ontario?
After it first speaks with you, a collection agency can't contact you more than 3 times in 7 days on behalf of the same creditor without your consent.
Can a collection agency call my employer in Ontario?
Only once, to confirm your employment, job title, or work address. Otherwise only about a guarantee, a court order or wage assignment, or with your written permission.
How do I make a collection agency stop calling me in Ontario?
Send a notice by email, registered mail, or courier saying you dispute the debt and suggesting the matter be taken to court. The agency must then stop contacting you without your consent, though the creditor can still sue.
Sources & Verification
Figures, rules, and contacts in this article come from official sources:
- Ontario — Stop collection agency calls
- Ontario — Guide for collection agencies: prohibited practices and conduct
- Consumer Protection Ontario — Debt Collection: Information About Your Rights (PDF)
Learn more about how ComplaintCA verifies information on our About page.