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Saskatchewan: Debt Collection;
SK Collection Agencies and Bill Collectors

 

Debt collection in Canada is governed by the provinces and territories. All the provinces and territories have similar laws, which attempt to strike a balance between giving creditors an opportunity to collect the money that is owed to them and preserving the debtors' rights not to be unduly harassed and to be treated with dignity. Collection efforts can be persistent but collectors cannot phone at unreasonable hours or jeopardize the debtor's job by interrupting him or her at work.

 

Unreasonable Collection Practices

The Collection Agents Act controls the practices of collection agents and collectors and requires them to be licensed and bonded. An agency that practices prohibited methods of debt collection can have its license suspended or cancelled, and may have its bond forfeited to pay persons who suffered a financial loss.

The Act also controls the methods used by collection agents and collectors to collect debts. They cannot:

    • collect or try to collect more than is owed or add additional fees or expenses to the debt;
    • demand payment without giving the name of the creditor, the balance owed and the identity and authority of the person making the demand;
    • harass the debtor, his or her family and household;
    • call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. or on Sundays or holidays;
      • Holiday means:
        1. Sunday;
        2. New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Saskatchewan Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and when one of those dates, other than Remembrance Day or Boxing Day, falls on a Sunday, it includes the following day.
    • make a call by a method for which the debtor would incur costs;
    • give any person false or misleading information that may be detrimental to a debtor or a debtor's family;
    • contact a debtor's employer, except to verify the debtor's employment or in respect of payments under a wage assignment or a court order; or
    • send the debtor documents that appear to be court documents.
 

 

For more information:

    • Registrar
      Consumer Protection Branch, Saskatchewan Justice
      Suite 500, 1919 Saskatchewan Dr.
      Regina, SK  S4P 4H2
      Phone: (306) 787-5550 Fax: (306) 787-9779
      Toll-free in Saskatchewan: 1-888-374-4636
      E-mail: consumerprotection@justice.gov.sk.ca