Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Canadian Debt collector authority in the U.S.
I'm a Canadian Citizen, became US resident in 1992, moved to CA. Went to British Columbia in 1997 to do business, obtained credit card using Can. SIN number. My business failed, couldn't repay balance on BofMontreal card. Moved back to L.A. CA in 6/2000. Became US Citizen in 2002. Today I get a phone call from a collection agency in B.C. saying they are 'serving' me documents by mail. Can I be sued and a judgement rendered against me in California? And if so, can they garnish wages? Are they still able to collect? Will my credit report in the US be affected?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Canadian Debt collector authority in the U.S.
I have no idea what the law is in Canada. In California the statute of limitations is four years, unless you made partial payments or promises to pay. Lots of collection agencies try to collect legally uncollectible debts. Don't be fooled.
Re: Canadian Debt collector authority in the U.S.
You might want to find a board similar to this one in B.C. to ask the same question about statute of limitation for debt collection.