Someone Owes You Money

Template:Consumer Law Guide TOC Suppose you loaned someone an amount of money. They promised to pay the debt within three months. But they did not pay the debt. You want your money. What can you do? This section of the booklet looks at what you can do to collect on a debt.

How do I write a demand letter?

You can write a demand letter that says how much the person owes you and tells them they must pay you. For example, a demand letter about a loan can say something like this:

I am writing about a loan I made you of ______________(insert amount) on ______________(insert date of loan) for ______________(insert purpose of loan). Our agreement was that you would pay this loan in full by ______________(insert date of repayment). To date, you have not made any payments. It has now been ______________ (insert number of days) since the loan was due. The full amount of ______________(insert amount) is now due. If I do not receive payment in full by ______________(give a date), I will take legal action to recover the amount of the loan, as well as interest, filing fees, and any other costs. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at______________ (your phone number).

You can write a demand letter yourself or you can ask a lawyer to write it for you. A demand letter, sent on the lawyer’s letterhead is often very effective. If a demand letter does not work, you may need to go to court.

When do I go to court?

You can go to Small Claims Court if the debt someone owes you is for $25,000 or less. If the debt is more than $25,000, for example $28,000, you can make a claim for this amount plus some contribution for your expenses. Small Claims Court is for people who do not have a lawyer. There are small claims courts located throughout the province. To find out how to make a claim in Small Claims Court, go to Clicklaw, online at www.clicklaw.bc.ca. Type "Small Claims" in the search box. The site links you to a video about Small Claims Court, available in Chinese, Punjabi, Vietnamese, and English.

To collect more than $25,000, you have to go to BC’s Supreme Court. This is much more complicated and expensive than Small Claims Court. To find out how to make a claim in Supreme Court, go to www.clicklawbc.ca and type in "Supreme Court" in the search box. If you are in the Lower Mainland, you may wish to visit the Vancouver Justice Access Centre where staff can give you information about BC’s Supreme Court.

The Justice Access Center is located at #290-800 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z2C5. The operating hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A sum of money or an obligation owed by one person to another. A "debtor" is a person responsible for paying a debt; a "creditor" is the person to whom the debt is owed.

A letter describing a legal claim sent to the person against whom the claim might be made, offering to settle the claim without the necessity of legal action on terms set out in the letter. Demand letters are usually issued before court proceedings are commenced to try to settle a potential claim without the need for litigation.

A court proceeding in which one party sues another for a specific remedy or relief, also called a "lawsuit" or a "case." An action for divorce, for example, is a court proceeding in which the claimant sues the respondent for the relief of a divorce order.

In law, a calculation of the allowable legal expenses of a party to a court proceeding, as determined by the Supreme Court Family Rules. The party who is most successful in a court proceeding is usually awarded their "costs" of the proceeding. See "account," "bill of costs," "Certificate of Costs or Expenses" and "lawyer's fees."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."