I bought a debt can I claim it in small claims?
In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side
Short answer
No. In Quebec, the Small Claims Division does not hear applications brought by a person, a business or an association that has acquired someone else’s claim.
In detail
The rule targets assigned claims. The Gouvernement du Québec includes it in the list of applications that are not admissible: claims “filed by a person, a business or an association that bought someone else’s debt”.
The purpose is to reserve this simplified court for people asserting their own claim, and not for buyers of debt portfolios. An agency that has acquired your debt therefore cannot sue you in this forum.
That does not prevent the original creditor from claiming the debt themselves in small claims, nor the buyer from going to the court of general jurisdiction that has authority over the matter.
What to document
If you are being sued by an agency: the chain of the debt · the original creditor, the date of the assignment, the notices you received. If you are the original creditor: proof that the claim is still yours and has not been assigned.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
And to put it in order: our free tools · number your exhibits, set your facts in date order, request a copy of your file. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Official sources
Related questions
- Can I sue a city or the government in small claims?
- Can I split my claim to stay under $15,000?
- Can I claim interest on top of the amount?
- I'm being sued in the Court of Quebec can it be transferred to small claims?
- How do I get a copy of the small claims judgment?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.