What is Canada Legal Referral?
Canada Legal Referral (Canlegal) is a collection agency and commercial credit reporting company that recovers unpaid debts and provides credit risk assessments for businesses across Canada.
The company's full legal name is Canada Legal Referral Inc. Canlegal is headquartered in Concord, Ontario, with a second office in Montreal, Quebec. The company has been in business since 1995.
Source: Canlegal – About
Why is Canada Legal Referral calling me?
If Canada Legal Referral is calling, a creditor has sent your unpaid account to them for collection.
The call could also be about an old debt you've forgotten, an account referred to Canlegal by mistake, or a scam using their name.
Canada Legal Referral also operates as a commercial credit reporting agency. Not every contact from them is about personal debt collection.
Don't confirm any personal details or agree to pay until you have written proof of the debt.
Who does Canada Legal Referral collect for?
Canada Legal Referral collects debts for businesses of all sizes across Canada. Canlegal focuses on commercial debt collection and business-to-business accounts.
The company also provides commercial credit reporting through the Canlegal Risk Score, which pulls data from government registries, financial institutions, court records, and the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
If you don't recognize the creditor name on a collection letter or call, pull your credit report from Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada. It shows which creditor placed the account in collections.
Companies that use Canada Legal Referral for debt collection
Submitted by consumers. We try to verify these reports but cannot always confirm them.
Know another company Canada Legal Referral collects for?
Is Canada Legal Referral legitimate?
Canada Legal Referral Inc. is a legitimate collection agency which has operated since 1995.
If someone claims to be from Canada Legal Referral, verify the debt in writing before paying anything.
Source: BBB – Canada Legal Referral
Will Canada Legal Referral affect my credit score?
A collection account from Canada Legal Referral will severely damage your credit score once it's reported to Equifax or TransUnion.
It stays on your credit report for 6 years from the date of your first missed payment, known as the date of first delinquency. Paying it won't remove the mark from your credit file but updates the status to paid, which looks better to future lenders.
Source: Equifax Canada – How long does information stay on my credit report
What to do if Canada Legal Referral calls you (step by step)
What if the debt is old?
Every province has a time limit on how long a collection agency like Canada Legal Referral can sue you for an unpaid debt.
Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
Quebec
Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon
Once the limitation period expires, Canada Legal Referral can still sue you, but you can raise the expired limitation period as a complete defence. The defence isn't automatic. You have to file a defence in court and plead the expired limitation period. If you don't, the court will grant default judgment as if the limitation didn't apply.
Making a payment or acknowledging the debt in writing restarts the limitation period, but only if it hasn't already expired.
These limitation periods apply to most consumer debts like credit cards, lines of credit, and personal loans. Different rules may apply to government debts, court judgments, or secured debts like mortgages.
For more information, read our guide about debt statute of limitations.
How to stop calls from Canada Legal Referral
Sometimes, you can stop collection calls from a collection agency by sending a cease and desist letter. Once Canada Legal Referral receive it, they have to stop calling. The debt doesn't go away, and they can still take legal action. You can use our cease and desist letter templates.
Provincial law doesn't give you this right in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island or the Yukon.
Regardless of province, if the debt's on a loan, line of credit, or credit card, send the letter by registered mail under federal law. Federal law is the only law in Canada that also stops an original creditor's in-house collectors, not just a collection agency. You can send it to your original creditor and its collection agent, a collection agency or a law firm.
If Canada Legal Referral is making collection calls to you from its Ontario location, then you can send a cease and desist letter available under Ontario's law.
Restrictions on calls to your workplace
Many provinces and territories place restrictions on collection agencies when they attempt to call you at your workplace.
How to file a complaint about Canada Legal Referral
In Canada, debt collection is regulated province by province, not federally. The rules ban harassment, calling outside set hours, discussing your debt with your family or employer, and threatening legal action they have no intention of taking.
Source: Government of Canada (FCAC) – Debt collection: know your rights
If you think Canada Legal Referral is breaking any debt collection or privacy laws, contact the consumer protection authority in your province.
Before making a written complaint, document the dates and times of contact, the phone number used, what was said, and copies of any emails, letters or texts.
Some consumer protection agencies regulating the conduct of collection agencies will not process your complaint unless you first send a written complaint to the collection agency summarizing the conduct in question and making a request for remedial action.
For contact details and links to your provincial office, visit the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Consumer Affairs Offices directory.
