Q.Is it possible to avoid paying a debt due to the passage of time?

A.It might be possible to avoid paying a consumer debt, but not a debt owed to the government, in circumstances where the relevant limitation period on your debt has expired prior to your creditor commencing a lawsuit against you. Each province in Canada has a limitation period which forces creditors to sue individuals on consumer debts within a certain number of years. As a practical matter, once the limitation period on your consumer debt has expired it is very difficult for a creditor to successfully recover a debt from you unless you pay it voluntarily. Failure to pay a debt will likely have negative consequences for you in the future.

Each province in Canada has a limitation period for consumer debts. Limitation periods are not consistent in each province ranging from two years to six years. It is possible for a consumer to restart the clock on a limitation period by either making a partial payment or making a written acknowledgement of the debt to the creditor or the creditor's collection agent.

Each year collection agencies collect tens of thousands of consumer accounts in circumstances where the relevant limitation period has expired and the consumer is no longer legally responsible to pay the debt. Depending upon the age of your consumer debt and the province you live in it may be illegal for a collection agency to attempt to collect a particular account from you where the limitation period has expired.

If you want to learn more about limitation periods you might want to speak to Mark Silverthorn or buy a copy of this e-book titled A How-to Guide for Dealing with Collection Agencies in Canada .