5. The Law and Unsecured Debt

If you're being harassed for basically anything, be it a lease, a rent payment, a credit card (visa or mastercard) or utility, ANYTHING, what you have is basically a contract dispute.  Under the law, it looks like this:

1.  Rogers/Visa/Fitness Club has a contract with John Smith.  John Smith agrees to borrow money/use a service at this price"

2.  John Smith is in violation of his contract by not making payments

Contracts are disputed and broken all the time.  The thing with a contract though, is that there is no way for it to enforce itself outside of the service agreement you've entered into.  So, yes, Visa can close your account for being in violation of your contract, but it can't take payment from your account, or garnish your wages, or do anything at all.  Their "opinion" on their contract is as valid as yours under the law, the the only person who can say who is right or wrong is a judge.  Not a lawyer, and certainly not a collection agency.  If you don't want to pay your bill because you think your contract was unfair, or because you think a martian told you that it's invalid under inter-galactic law, that's your opinion and you are legal entitled to it. 

3.  If you want to enforce a contract, you must take it to court and have a judge decide who is right and who is wrong.  This WILL NOT happen.  After 10 years in financial services, I have seen over 10,000 Canadian's credit reports, which list judgements. THE ONLY TIME I've seen a judgement is for 1. Alimony and Child Support or a legal fine for breaking a "real" law, like burning down someones house.  Credit cards and utilities DO NOT sue,  because when they do, and the debtor loses, the debtor declares bankruptcy 99% of the time, debt is erased, and the credit card company is out both the balance owing and their legal fees.  The will NOT sue you.  They WILL threaten to, but they WILL NOT do it.

Finally, all financial obligations become unenforceable after two years.  That means that if a credit card like VISA or Mastercard wants to sue you, which they will not do, they lose their ability to after two years.  You have no realistic chance of being sued for the first two years, but if it has been two years since you've made a payment, you're really in a good position because they cannot enforce it UNLESS you open the door by admitting (in writing) that you owe it, or by sending them a payment.  Obviously, do not do either of those things.