Are you living in fear of Banks and Debt Collectors letters and phone calls? Do you worry about Bailiffs visiting your home? 
, so thanks to you. Interestingly, it appears that in Canada (and I could be wrong about this) creditors are under no legal obligation to validate or verify a debt upon request, although it still produces results by requesting it so they know you won't just lay down. Most of the time they know full well that they simply cannot produce the necessary evidence and it would cost them more than they would make $$ wise to do so, and as usual take the lazy route of intimidation tactics.... except for one, namely Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)I recently had occasion to thumb through a new book about the rampant corruption of Canadian Banks called "Thieves of Bay Street" where CIBC was cited many times from accounting fraud to the Enron mess etc. etc.etc.. Despite what you hear about the "stability " of the Canadian Banks, they've had their asses bailed out too (although very quietly ) and they are just as corrupted as any other.
Needless to say they have come at us full force with their scumbag lawyer completely ignoring my letters, estoppel etc. and they have served us with a lawsuit for $23,000 complete with a handful of "duplicate copies" of statements and a photocopy of a brochure claiming "assignment" from CITIBANK. So rather than accepting defeat from these thieves, I did some research (a lot actually), trotted down to the courthouse and filed a lengthy defence, complete with affidavits, material facts and demands for strict proof of all their allegations. We now have a court date for a "settlement" hearing July in small claims court before any notion of trial can occur. I have introduced into the court record my last letter to them indicating how I attempted to resolve the account 5 times and how they refused by instead taking me to court - talk about negotiating in bad faith...
big surprise there...lol - but it's in the court record to show what A-holes they are. They can hardly claim injury when they refused relief 5 times!If I can make one observation about our collective efforts (and again I may be wrong on this), is that I believe if we are to "win", we need to focus on the key factor: burden of proof. We can argue points of law, opinions,lawful bills, straw man etc., but in my humble opinion our real power comes from forcing them to answer our questions and demands from them for facts and evidence which THEY are under the burden to provide - because that's when they start to squeal. But if we try to make arguments that the banks have not lent anything in the first place (even though WE know that) then the burden shifts to us for proof. WE must be the ones who ask "what competent facts or evidence do you have to support your claims?"...and in the court "who provided the evidence ?", "do they have first hand knowledge (under oath or affidavit)?" It is up to us to challenge every presumption they claim and make them prove it by way of certified evidence! In our case they are going to have to spend a small fortune attempting to collect witnesses, real accounting, real documents, certifications, affidavits etc. This is a game of attrition; of making these whores spend more than we are worth to them. In our case the whore attorney has placed exhibits on record that she knows damn well are inadmissible (because they are not certified in any way) because she thinks we'll fall over and die because (oh my god, she's got the 'evidence' to prove her case!!). Attorneys hate it when you fight back. The only reason she has pursued this is because a) she makes a ton of money by doing it, b) she was salivating expecting a delicious summary judgment, and c) either way she gets to charge more money to the client... and at $400 per hour she'll make a few grand at least reading my 40 paragraphs of defence material - which by the way cannot be dismissed as "Frivolous" (the lamebrain attorney's favourite reflex action word) because I have not argued law, I have demanded PROOF!
I am sure she'll try to introduce phoney witnesses and BS documents in another attempt to intimidate at our hearing but we will be ready.Wish me luck. I will keep you abreast of developments. My thanks to all on this website for the great insight!
PS - If no one has yet recommended this other viewpoint, I highly recommend Marc Stevens and his book "Adventures in Legal Land", and his videos on youtube. I found them helpful in obtaining a perspective of strength, and instead of being focused on anger and fear, rather refocusing on empowering ourselves to hit these bastards with what hurts them most: their own words and their own rules. Cheers!
