Our lawyers at Chand & Co. are here to help you if you have loaned someone money or supplied them with goods or services but are not getting paid. Our lawyers are committed to representing our clients and obtaining the best possible outcomes. We will do everything possible to pursue the collection of what you are owed.

When you are in business, whether big or small, every dollar you have to spend on the business matters. This means that when customers are not paying their debts, the damage to your business could be detrimental. The unpaid debts might mean that you can’t keep inventory stocked, pay your employees, or fund your business growth. When all the recovery efforts against your debtors fail, you can decide to go the legal way with the help of a debt collection lawyer. You will need an experienced lawyer to guide you through the court process and obtain a court judgment against the debtor. A lawyer ensures that you commence the lawsuit on time to avoid violating Ontario’s Limitations Act. The act outlines that a creditor must initiate legal action against a debtor within two years of receiving the last payment from the debtor. If the limitation period expires, you will lose your right to bring a lawsuit against the debtor.

Our debt collection lawyer, Guelph, will advise you whether to take legal action against the debtor. If the debtor is judgment-proof, suing them may not be the best option. A judgment proof is a description of a borrower who does not have enough income or assets for creditors to seize when there is a court order to pay a debt against them. For example, a debtor who is unemployed or broke can be considered judgment-proof. Also, a debtor who has legally protected income or assets is also judgment-proof. You cannot seize the assets of someone that the court considers judgment proof. Unemployment benefits, social security, or disability benefits do not count as assets a creditor can seize. Even if a judgment proof, also known as collection proof, is not permanent, the judgment can be valid for years. The judgment proof can even be renewed upon expiry.

Obtaining a judgment against a debtor doesn’t mean that you will recover the debt owed. The trickiest part involves enforcing this judgment against the debtor. When the court awards you a judgment, you can take additional steps to learn more about the debtor and whether the debtor is capable of honouring the judgment against him or her. The examination in aid of execution can be conducted whereby the creditor, debtor, counsel, and court reporter are present. During this examination, you can question the debtor to determine if the debtor intends to obey the judgement or has any reason for not doing so. The debtor presents several documents to support their financial position. If the borrower brings insufficient documents at the execution hearing, you can adjourn and request a court order for the production of the necessary documents. When examining the debtor, you can inquire about the non-debtor’s assets. You will need a lawyer to help you question the debtor to obtain the necessary information.

Another way of enforcing judgment against a debtor is through a writ of seizure and sale of land. This court order is issued when a borrower fails to make payments on a loan for an extended period. You cannot obtain a writ of seizure and sale if the debtor has only missed a few payments. This aggressive move is adopted when the debtor ignores all attempts at collection for a loan in default. A writ encumbers any land owned by the debtor and any land the borrower acquires later on. With the order in place, the debtor can not sell or remortgage their home without first clearing the loan.

A notice of wage garnishment is also a common way of enforcing judgment against the debtor. A creditor obtains a court order proving that the debtor owes them money and has defaulted on payments. The garnishee deducts money from the debtors’ bank account or wage and uses it to repay the debt owed. Sometimes, the garnishee can receive a wage garnishment notice but fail to effect it. In this case, you can take legal action against the garnishee to have the garnishment order effected. You will need our Guelph debt collection lawyer to guide you through this process.