Toronto man sent to collections for ticket he says he doesn’t know anything about
Posted November 23, 2022 10:36 am.
Last Updated November 23, 2022 12:53 pm.
In this edition of Speakers Corner, a Toronto man says he has been getting bombarded by calls from a collection agency for a fine he has no recollection of ever getting.
“It’s just crazy,” the man, who did not want to be identified, told CityNews.
“The agents who are calling me say that the City of Toronto is taking me to collections over an unpaid ticket, claiming I owe $250.”
The problem is he said he never remembers getting this ticket and despite numerous attempts, requests and demands, nobody is telling him what it’s for.
“Every time I ask these collection agents won’t tell me. They get angry, start yelling and making threats,” the man said.
The collections agency contacting him is one of the several contracted by the city to get back unpaid fines. The company did not respond to our requests for comment.
The man was able to track down the ticket number through a lawyer and he was able to determine it was issued 15 years ago, but that’s about all the information he has at this point.
“I don’t know where this ticket is coming from,” he said.
“I went to the City and gave them my name. They checked and said my name is clear on their end.”
CityNews reached out to the City of Toronto’s director of court services, Susan Garossino.
“A person may find information about a provincial offences case online on Court Case Look Up or contact City of Toronto Court Services between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding holidays),” she said.
But the man said he did all of that and still doesn’t have answers. He gave CityNews the citation number and no offence was found in the online system when we checked.
“There could be many different reasons why he can’t find out,” Ryan Swalm, a paralegal with DefendCharges.ca, told CityNews.
Swalm said due to the age of the conviction, it’s a bit tougher to investigate but not impossible. He said the man could try and appeal.
“He could say that there’s been a mistake or that possibly it’s a case of mistaken identity. I’ve seen that as well,” Swalm said.
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Another option is to go to the Ontario Court of Justice administration building.
“He could ask to speak to a court services manager there and tell them that there’s a file, it’s very old, he’d like to see if it’s been archived,” Swalm said.
“If they want this information, they will need to provide the defendant’s name and date of birth so we can confirm the ticket/case number before providing information to ensure we have the correct case,” Garrosino added.
We also sent the citation number to Garrosino but she did not address it specifically.
The man who spoke with us is questioning why he never —after 15 years— got anything in the mail. He’s had the same address and no default or payment reminder was ever sent.
“I never received anything. The first time I heard about this is after collections agents started calling my phone and they won’t let up,” he said.
Swalm said it all depends on how much time he wants to spend on this. Also, if the man is in collections, there are fears it could impact his credit.
“At the end of the day, while not ideal, if he’s worried about his credit, the easiest thing to do is simply to pay it and move on with life,” Swalm said.
The man said he plans to get more information before doing that.
“I have no problems paying tickets that I actually owe,” he said.
“But first, I will go back to the court to see what this ticket is for and why I got it.”
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