Recovering a Debt

A client owes my business a five-figure invoice. What's the fastest path?

Demand letter with a short deadline, then file in the biggest small-claims room your province offers (Ontario's $50,000 ceiling now swallows most invoice disputes; Alberta's $100,000 more still). Undefended, you'll have default judgment quickly; defended, push the settlement conference hard — payment plans backed by consent judgments convert promises into enforceable instruments. In parallel, decide the commercial question honestly: continuing supplier leverage, security you might take, and whether their solvency makes speed the strategy.

The debt is four years old. Is it too late?

Possibly — and possibly not. The basic clock (2 years most provinces, 3 in Quebec) runs from default or discovery, but a written acknowledgment or any part payment restarts it, and some instruments and registered securities run on longer schedules. Dig out the last payment date and every message where the debt was admitted before concluding anything. If you're the debtor of an old debt: the same analysis is your defence, and a single "goodwill payment" coaxed by a collector can revive the whole thing.

Can I garnish their wages or bank account?

After judgment, yes — that's exactly what garnishment is for. Wage garnishment flows a portion of each pay (provincial law protects a subsistence share; support debts reach deeper) through the employer to you. Bank garnishment catches what's in the account when served — pairing it with intelligence about paydays beats luck. You'll need to identify the employer or bank; debtor examinations exist precisely to make debtors disclose them under oath.

Collectors are calling me at all hours over a debt I don't think is mine. What are my rights?

Real ones. Provincial collection legislation requires licensing and bans harassment, threats, misrepresentation and calls outside permitted hours — regulators take complaints seriously. Demand written verification of the debt's particulars before discussing payment; dispute it in writing if it isn't yours (identity errors are common); and check the limitation date before paying anything on an old debt. If it is yours and it's drowning you, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee's free consultation on proposals and bankruptcy is the regulated, honest version of what "debt relief" ads pretend to sell.

They just declared bankruptcy. Is my money gone?

For ordinary unsecured debts, mostly — the stay stops collection, and you file a proof of claim with the trustee for a share of whatever the estate pays (often modest). Survivors exist: secured creditors take their collateral, and some debts (support arrears, fraud-based debts, court fines) pass through bankruptcy. Consumer proposals pay negotiated portions over time and are worth voting on rather than ignoring. If you suspect assets were moved to defeat creditors, tell the trustee — clawback powers exist. And prospectively: this is why speed, security and collectability checks are the real debt-recovery doctrine.