Can the US collection agency find me in Canada?

Hi Joe

Welcome to the forums. The chances of recovering the debt of US in Canada is next to impossible as FCRA laws are different. Also, you need to file a separate credit report in Canada.

Since you said that you won't be returning to the United States, please be alerted that in case if you return to the US for some time, there might be a judgment against you. And you may be required to go through the legal process.

Sometimes, people get a statement from their bank or credit bureau to verify that they are worthy of credit in this new country. So you may be burning a bridge that you may need one day to establish credit in your new country.

And there is an added risk as the debt is large enough, the company can take your debt to an international debt collection agency. They will track you down and file a court proceeding against you. This has been done before but it is not common. And some countries have treaties with other countries regarding the pursuit of international debtors. So just be aware of the risks when you make such a decision.

As a responsible citizen, I will always suggest you to pay your debt rather than leaving it behind. At least, that will solve a lot of tensions on both sides of the border.

Regards
Roxette

[quote=JoeIsAskingForYouHelp]I moved to Canada a few months ago and still have unpaid credit cards (medical bills) in US for total amount around $7000. I am not looking to return to US. This is not big amount for the credit cards companies and it doesn't look like a big amount of money to search the person outside of US. Do you think they can find me in Canada or will look for me in Canada? If I will buy a property in Canada can the US creditors somehow arrest my property and sale it to get the payment? What are my chances to be found in Canada?

I appreciate you help,
Joe.[/quote]

Thank you for your response.

What debt amount you have to have, so the international collection agency will be interested to search for you outside of US?

In the worst case if they found me a couple of years later, do you know if my debt will be more than $7000?

I remember somebody told me that after 7 years all you debts are gone.

You sad that if my debt is large enough, the company can take your debt to an international debt collection agency. They will track you down and file a court proceeding against you.

What are the court proceeding?

If I bought a property in Canada, can the collection agency enforce the Canadian law to put a loan on my property or arrest it and sale it to get the debt from me or somehow badly affect my credit history in Canada?

Thank you for your help,
Joe

Hi Joe

Good to hear from you back. :D

Quote:

Hi, I was taken ill in the Us while on vacation from Canada.I had health Ins fome my husband's company.The bill came to 11,700.00 Us.The hospital phoned me about a month after got home and said they had the wrong ins info.I re-gave it to them and about 3 weeks later recieved a letter front the ins co. requesting the info that they needed, and was told I needed six months health history from my Dr.After getting that info together(which took a while, as My GP forgot to send the info), I had to aslo send the bill to Health Bc.It has been 3 months and the claim is still open as not all the info has been passed back and forth.Now I am getting collection calls from the Us, and one acting on behalf of the Us hospital from Quebec.I cannot do anymore to hurry this up but I do n ot have 13,000 cdn to pay them at the moment either.Do I have any legal right to tell them to go through the Ins agency and Bc health or do I have to listen to them all the time?Thanks.Ps.I was only in the hosptital in the Us for maybe 4 hours.

My mom took ill and was hospitalized in last year while visiting me from Canada. Her provincial health care covered most of it and the rest was covered by her Blue Cross/Blue Shield extended travellers plan. She didnt pay a dime. However it does take time.

Hi i owe a bill to rogers cable from 7 years a go. its know in collection with a law office called natale office is it woth paying it back or what should i do?? plz help[size=6][/size]

Rogers cable? That is canadian right? Where do you live now?

I recently left Canada and moved permanently back to the US. I was upset about being assessed an early termination fees of $300 for cancelling my wireless account early and called to ask them to waive this from my final bill. Rogers refused to waive the fees and I told them point blank that I would never pay the bill (I owe them $1,777.41 - lots of data roaming charges in US while in process of moving) as they have no recourse against me. That didn't change the answer from Rogers at all. Apparently they would rather get $0 than $1,400 from me. So, the brainiacs running Rogers can 'suck it'.

I'm no expert but I do believe that in my case they have no recourse against me or my US credit history. They can send me all the harassing letters they wish; they will all go straight into the shredder.

To the poster regarding Rogers Cable, if you are now living permanently in the US with no designs on returning to Canada - then I think this answer will apply to you as well.

Any experts can confirm?

They can assign it to a US based collection agency who CAN report it on your credit reports.

Really? That's rather astonishing given it apparently doesn't work the same way in the other direction (bad US debt can't follow you to Canada) according to earlier posts in the thread. Usually these sorts of things are "reciprocal" in nature between US and Canada.

a few mounths ago i got my newfoundland cell changed to alberta it was all good then i got a bill for 161.00$ went and paid it next day got another bill for 50.00$ went to wher i pay my bills they and they said thats it was bell's fault put it on credit for my new bell mobile # yester day i gott a letter from a collection agency saying i had 6 days to pay the 161.00$ and to day i got a notice from bell saying i have an balance of 161$ on my old acount is this legal

hi, i owe one of the credit cards in canada and it went through a credit collection agency and somehow sending me demand letters in my former address but im already living in Thailand

can they still follow me here, whats gonna be there next move