I am about to move to Canada very soon. I have a debt of $1000 with an apartment complex. I do have a Bank Account in U.S which I don't plan to close. My question is that can an American collections agency come after me in Canada for a debt, or can they access my bank account (with Bank of America)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just a side note, this is not my debt. It is my ex-girlfriend who screwed me over.

Have you, or are you going to obtain Canadian citizenship? Or you are sponsored and have a job to come to when you move to Canada ? You can't just move to Canada without having prospects. As for your debt, you say it isn't yours; you must have signed something to make it yours in favour of your g/f. If you are still an american citizen, then yes, they can still come atfer you, but I have a feeling you are not going to leave any forwarding address. They can't access your bank account unless they have a judgment against you.

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Originally Posted by tickle

Have you, or are you going to obtain Canadian citizenship? Or you are sponsored and have a job to come to when you move to Canada ? You can't just move to Canada without having prospects. As for your debt, you say it isnt yours; you must have signed something to make it yours in favour of your g/f. If you are still an american citizen, then yes, they can still come atfer you, but I have a feeling you are not going to leave any forwarding address. They can't access your bank account unless they have a judgment against you.

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I am not a U.S. Citizen. I have obtained Canadian Immigration under "Skilled workers and professionals" category. Does that affect your answer?

As far as me signing a document, you are absolutely right. My ex girlfriend who is an American Citizen, had very bad credit. I agreed to cosign for her, but was told that'll not be enough. I was told I'll have to have my name on the lease. In the end, both our names were on the lease. When we broke up, she moved out without letting the Management know and now they are contacting me. I did a stupid thing for someone whom I thought I was in love with. I was hoping I wouldn't have to pay for it any more.

So in the end, can they come after me in Canada?

I found this info for you, took about 10 seconds.

http://www.mcmillan.ca/Upload/Public...s_Fall2005.pdf

It would appear that they may or may not be able to enforce a judgment rendered in the US against an individual living in Canada, depending on the specifics of the judgment.

For a $1000 debt, I would seriously doubt that they would pursue you across the border.

Your salvation living and working in Canada may be you don't have to provide your SSN # on any documents. It is actually illegal to ask for that information here now.

You could be correct, adogmatic, my reply to your post could have been criticism, but then again that is a matter of opiniion. As it turned out, you had not fully explained your position of moving to Canada. As a Canadian old enough to know why some Americans moved to Canada, either illegally or legally and some just recently as conscientious objectors in your war avoiding the draft, I questioned your motives and assumed it was more then just a bad debt.

If you read your post again you will understand my indecision.

Now I know you are not a US citizen but obviously a professional proving that a Canadian cannot fill the post you are taking, otherwise you would not be entering under that status. You are obviously from another country. You could have explained this, as best you could, when posting originally, and my answer would have been quite different, understanding all the circumstances.