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Printer friendlyListen to Mark Silverthorn speak on the phone with collectors
From time to time Mark Silverthorn will speak to a collector in circumstances where it is educational for the public to learn what collectors may be saying or their employers are doing. Mark may be speaking to a collector working for a creditor, a collection agency, or someone working in a law office. In certain situations Mark will arrange to record these telephone conversations so a visitor to this website may listen to them. In some circumstances there may be additional material such as correspondence that may be relevant that will be included in a story.
To record calls with collectors, Mark has begun using some of the newest technology available. This includes two pieces of hardware anyone can buy at the retailer The Source by Circuit City, the Panasonic RR-US550 IC Recorder, and the Nexxtech Cordless/Wireless Phone Recording Controller, which together cost less than $150. Please note that these devices can only be used to record telephone calls if the telephone they are connected to has a suitable headset jack.
When Mark Silverthorn records a telephone conversation with a collector employed by a creditor or a collection agency, or someone from a law firm it is Mark Silverthorn's policy to inform the other person on the phone before recording the telephone conversation. If you are going to record a phone call with a collector or another person you are not legally required to inform the other person that the call is being recorded. If a collection agency is going to record a telephone call with you it is required by law to disclose the fact that the call is being recorded before the call is to be recorded. Of course, you have the option of terminating the call in the event you do not wish to have the call recorded.
On or about June 1, 2009, Mark Silverthorn spoke on the phone with a collector named David Lynch from Unik Collectrite Inc., a collection agency operating in Cornwall, Ontario, in connection with a collection letter dated May 12, 2009, from Unik Collectrite Inc. in which an Ontario resident is threatened with a garnishee unless she pays an account within three days. In response, Mark Silverthorn wrote a letter dated June 6, 2009, on behalf of his client to Brian Pitkin, the Ontario Registrar of Collection Agencies, complaining that Unik Collectrite Inc. contravened subsection 24(a) of Regulation 74 enacted under the Ontario Collection Agencies Act for making false or misleading statements.