Montreal

Q: What impact does bankruptcy have on my credit?

Bankruptcy does impact your credit and will drop it to the lowest possible level. A bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 6-7 years. There are lots of ways to rebuild your credit following a bankruptcy though.

How professional debt relief can stop debt collectors and legal action against you

One of the biggest stressors of having too much debt is dealing with collection agencies.

When a “Bankruptcy Trustee” or a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (they mean the same thing) files a bankruptcy or consumer proposal on your behalf, a stay of proceedings is issued to all your creditors.

A stay of proceedings is a legal order that stops debt collectors from contacting you for money owed, and it is automatically instated after a consumer proposal or bankruptcy is filed on your behalf. It also stops most legal proceedings against you and prevents your wages from being garnished.

FAQ

Licensed Insolvency Trustees (LITs) charge fees for their services. They vary depending on the complexity of the case and the amount of work involved and are regulated by the government.

The fees charged by LITs for consumer proposals and bankruptcies are based on a tariff set by the government, based on the amount of debt, the number of creditors, and the complexity of the case.

In addition to the tariff, LITs may charge additional fees for services such as counseling sessions and filing fees. It is important to note that the fees charged by LITs are regulated by the government to protect consumers from excessive fees.

Bankruptcy trustees are now called Licensed Insolvency Trustees. They handle much more than just bankruptcies. They can assist with budget creation, credit counselling, debt management plans, consumer proposals and bankruptcies. Licensed Insolvency Trustees are regulated by the government of Canada and are ethical qualified professionals.

Bankruptcy and a consumer proposal are both paths to becoming debt-free, but they work in very different ways. A consumer proposal is a legal agreement where you pay your creditors part of what you owe over time and the rest of the debt is forgiven.

Bankruptcy is a last resort option and often not needed in many cases. You may be forced to sell assets, but many people keep their homes during a bankruptcy. You will then be released from most of your debts.

Bankruptcy does impact your credit score and your credit rating will drop it to the lowest possible level. A bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 6-7 years. There are lots of ways to rebuild your credit following a bankruptcy though.

Good debt management practices like paying bills on time and keeping your balances at 30% of your credit usage are key. A secured credit card, where you pay a deposit against your credit limit, are a great way for people to rebuild their credit.

Many people with debt troubles do not need to file for bankruptcy and often find better a alternative to suit their needs. Some of these include:

Credit counselling, where one of our Trustees can help you create a budget or develop a debt repayment plan.
Debt consolidation, this combines your debts into one payment and can lower your interest rate.
Consumer proposal, where you agree to pay back some of what you owe, and the rest of the debt is forgiven.
Our Licensed Insolvency Trustees can assess your situation and help you find the best debt relief option for your situation. The first consultation is free.

The only person who can legally file a consumer proposal or bankruptcy on your behalf is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee. Licensed Insolvency Trustees are regulated by the federal government of Canada. Licensed Insolvency Trustees are qualified professionals who have been granted a license by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

Their job is to help debtors make informed decisions about their financial future and guide them through the process of becoming debt free. Our Montreal team is highly qualified and experienced. You can trust them to treat you, and your situation, with discretion and the highest quality of care.

How we've helped

Our clients say it best. Hear from people we've helped about their financial recovery journey and their experiences with BDO.

“

I am truly grateful to BDO Debt Solutions and my representative Ron Gagnon who helped me to fix my debt problems. I will admit I did not know what to do until I met Ron, who took the time to thoroughly explain everything to me and gave me hope for a better tomorrow because I thought I would never be out of debt. Ron was so patient with all my questions and prompt to reply to all my inquiries. Ron also followed up with me and always explained everything to me in full detail. I feel like I will never be able to say thank you enough for all the guidance, help and new information I learned to not only become debt free but to also the new tools to avoid debt problems from ever happening again. I would not trust anyone else to help me and the kindness and professionalism speaks for itself with this amazing company. I highly recommended BDO to everyone because I feel that they are the best at what they do and because of how hard Ron worked to help me with my complex case. Thank you once again BDO Debt Solutions for all you do and all your vast knowledge in helping to prepare me for a better future ahead!

Amitpal, Quebec

Montreal

A few words to express my gratitude to the team at BDO for making my experience with them from day one to the end of the journey a pleasant one. If only I had found them earlier, life would have been less stressful. Once I forwarded all the needed applications, information and documents to them it was a quick process. Everyone is understanding and not judgmental. Things progressed so smoothly that I was able to complete the payback period much sooner than expected. I would recommend BDO in a heartbeat. "

Anonymous, Quebec

Je tiens à vous dire un énorme merci ! Merci d'être venue aujourd'hui pour appuyer mon dossier. J'étais très émue de vous voir témoigner concernant mon dossier! C'était vraiment apprécié! Je recommande BDO à tous les gens que je connais! Vous êtes une équipe incroyable, professionnelle et très attentionnée! Merci infiniment encore pour tout!

J.C., Québec

Rimouski