The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page 10 MONEY TALh Wednesday 12 Collection agencies must abide by certain rules Collection agencies are modernday bill collectors used by companies to retrieve money they are owed They may pronde a valuable service to their clients but the general public often views them v ith mistrust Some people fear bill collectors can have them extradited or put in prison if don t their debts immediately But today s laws say collection agencies can threaten consumci Under provincial law Hard economic times call for survival plan tiy Ian CA Layoff is a chilling word but it isa reality foran increasing number of people these days as Canadians endure the worst economic times in eight years Here arc pointers for holding on by the skin of your teeth until you are back the workforce 1 Unemployment insurance requires an application Apply at a Canada Employment Centre shown under E in the blue Government of Canada pages at the back of the phone book 2 Do not sign at least not without consulting a lawyer if the company asks you to sign a release form before youcan receive severance pay S a request could mean you arc entitled to more money than the company is offering Budget ruthlessly Even if you have household budget prepare one now and be serious about it Stop eating out Cancel vacation plans Do not spend a cent thats not necessary Credit cards should be locked away and not used until you havca job again except to provide a cash reserve a lastditch emergency Severance pay The law allows you a taxfree transfer into a registered retirement savings plan of for each year of employment plus 500 for each year before 1989 when you had entitlement to retirement benefits from a pension plan or deferred profitsharing plan Avoid a mandatory tax deduction at source by having the company make the transfer directly Additional amounts do not qualify for RRSPs and arc taxable However you could ask the company to wait unul 99 1 when you may be in a lower tax bracket to pay you this money Reimbursed contributions from your pension plan plus any com pany contributions you have earned arc also RRSPcligiblc providing the company deposits the cheque directly Hunt for a job of course but consider going into business for yourself A selfemployed person has many potcnuaf tax deductions unavailable to an employee bills may become diffi cult to pay If necessary contact the companies and ask them if you may reduce payments you get a job If mortgage payments become impossible ask the mortgage lender about deferring payments for a limited period and adding them to the mortgage when you arc employed again 10 Do not dip into your unless it becomes vital to do so Then take out amounts untjer S5000 to reduce lax withheld ForCAsadvicc on TVsec your Wealth available on broadcast channclsinOnlarioand on satellite across Canada or sec Money in the on your comm cable channel Moneycare is general financial advice by Canadas chartered accountants Ian is with Associates FINANCIAL tUlll SERVICES LT FIRST TIME BUYERS FINANCING AVAILABLE TERMS OF 10 YEARS AVAILABLE Principle plus interest plus plus heating can be as high as plus all Other debts an be as high as MONTH 39 INTEREST RATE YEAR A MO RATE O FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL DAVE KRAUSE DONNA KRAUSE I tors t allowed harass peo ple says Elaine registrar of the Collection Act for Ontario Consumer Ministry Although overdue bills must be paid know thai the best way to do business is to deal fairly with con sumers To ensure fair treatment On Consumer Ministry work with the credit and finance in to establish rules for col lection agencies Understanding these laws and your sibihties as a consumer can make things more comfortable if you re forced deal with a collection agenc Here a brief description of rules collection agencies must follow When a company gives your overdue account to an agency for collection must be notified in writing at your last known ad dress Before a collector demands of the debt you must be given the name of the company the money is owed to the name of the collection agency and the amount of money you owe This gives a chance to make sure the account is yours and the amount is correct Silly as it may sound some people are so intimidated by the thought of dealing with a tion agency they pay other peo ples bills or pay more than they owe says If you find a mistake in the amount the agency says you owe notify both the collection agency and the If the account is correct avoid confusion by dealing only with the collection agency Credit experts at Ontario s Consumer Ministry say the best policy is to deal openly with a col lection agency If possible pay off the account Once it has been cleared you won have to deal with he agency any longer But if can pay the entire amount right away to the agency and explain why In your letter suggest an alter native method of payment such as a series of monthly In If possible its a good idea to demonstrate your good faith by enclosing a partial pay But there no guarantee your offer will be accepted Your refusal to pay can still result in court action This could lead to seizure of assets or assignments garnishee of wages from your pay If you plan to pay your debts on an installment plan payments should be made in one of two ways Cheques provide you with the bank record of payment You may also wish to give cash to the collection agent if a receipt is supplied on the spot Never send cash through the mail Provincial rules prohibit col lection agencies from the follow ing activies Agencies may not make telephone calls of such a nature or frequency they constitute harassment of the debtor or the debtor family A call about a collection can not be made on a Sunday statutory holiday or any day before am or after p m A collection agency may not imply or give out false or misleading information that could damage the debtor or deb tor s family An agency can continue demand payment of a debt from a person who claims not to be who they re looking for before trying in every way to ensure the person actually is the debtor Consumers who believe theyve been treated unfairly by a collec tion agency should send a letter of complaint to the nearest Con sumer Services Bureau of the Ministry of Consumer and Com mercial Relations listed in the telephone book Blue Pages A free brochure A consumers guide to collection agencies is available from the Consumer In formation Centre telephone in the Toronto area or collect from ares code 807 on ly From other parts of the pro vince call toll free 18002681 Sepclal visual equipment for use by the hearing and speech Im paired Is available at 4163268566 Build your RSP with even more options Royal Bank Rf Savings Plans now off r vou more investment options Which means more- flexibility Choose hi guaranteed high interest rate deposits daily interest savings with higher rates paid on higher balances or redeemable and non redeemable term deposits With more options and more ways to combine them you can pick an that exactly right for you Our interest rates are truly And we offer you the convenience of instant tax receipts RSP specialists are on hand to help you at every Royal Bank branch Come in today and pick the option thai best suits your needs ROYAL BANK 232 GUELPH ST GEORGETOWN 8772244 83 MAIN ST S GEORGETOWN 8775181 RSP by Phone Call 18006689700 hours a day