EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs need to protect their business. Very serious people want to get creditors and bill collectors to stop calling. You have probably already tried different ways to achieve this. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT that what you have tried to do has not worked. That is because you have only been taught old ways that do not work anymore. As a bankruptcy trustee in Toronto, we use new methods, not the old ones that don’t work. Let me explain.
Credit card debtIf you are overwhelmed with credit card debt, you have been taught to just make the minimum payments and nobody will bother you. However, that old way doesn’t work for two reasons. First, by only making the minimum monthly payment, you will never pay down any of the debt. You can do it until you are 100 years old, but your debt will still not go down. Ultimately, those credit card companies will not be happy with just receiving the minimum and they will get their bill collectors after you, or worse, they will get their lawyer to sue you. Once they get a judgment against you, they can garnishee your wages and your bank accounts. You will not be able to put food on the table or pay your rent or mortgage. You will lose your car and your home. That is what that old way will get for you. Not very good.
Canada Revenue AgencyMaybe you owe Canada Revenue Agency back taxes. You have tried your best to make payments as you can against it. That is the old way. What happens is one day you then get a phone call from a CRA collector who says what you have done so far is not good enough and they want information from you. If you are a business, they want your accounts receivable listing and all your bank account information. If you are an individual, they want your bank account information. They already know how you earn money.
What do they do with that information? They garnishee your wages and your bank account. They can shut down your business without even having to go to Court. They can garnishee your wages and shut down your bank account without going to Court also. That is what the old way you have been taught will get you.
Your BankerPerhaps your business banker is chasing you for overdue asset coverage reports and other financial information. Perhaps your financial statements are long overdue and your bank isn’t willing to wait anymore. You know that once you file the reports it will not be good news because your business needs a debt restructuring. So, what the old way taught you is to either keep stalling or worse, provide information to your banker that is probably not very accurate, but you think will satisfy them. Unfortunately, stalling only makes the bank madder and nervous. Providing inaccurate information is even worse. So what the old way of doing things will get is for the bank to shut down your business. Your family relies on your business to live. So, that result is not a very good one.
It's not your faultYou are not alone. Everyone does the old ways I have just described. It is the only thing anyone has ever been taught. It is not their fault and it certainly is not your fault.