A Surrey, B.C.-based online lender, Toledo Credit, has been fined $34,000 in administrative penalties by Consumer Protection BC (CPBC) after a regulatory decision found the company harassed and misled borrowers while attempting to collect debts.
The penalty followed six separate complaints submitted to the regulator in May. According to the decision, Toledo sent debtors text messages and emails containing threats such as “your file will be presented to RCMP, CRA and provincial crime units,” and “payment is the ONLY abort code. Financial annihilation imminent.” Other messages used phrases including “financial exile” and “reputational destruction,” and one email warned a debtor that evading repayment “may constitute a criminal fraud… punishable by up to two years in prison.”
In one case detailed in the decision, a complainant identified by the initials “KH” was told in a November 2025 message that their employer would be contacted if payment was not made that day, and was later threatened with wage garnishment. CPBC adjudicator Shahid Noorani found that, taken together, the communications exerted undue and unreasonable pressure on KH and amounted to harassment, writing that “a reasonable debtor receiving these communications would understand them as threatening and coercive.”
Company’s Response and Regulatory Findings
Toledo told the regulator it “did not instruct or authorize personnel to harass borrowers, communicate in an abusive or coercive manner or use communication frequency as pressure,” though it acknowledged some communications lacked precision and may have been perceived as “overly assertive.”
CPBC noted that because Toledo collects debts owed directly to itself, it is not required to hold a collection agency licence, but it must still comply with B.C. collection laws. The decision found that Toledo’s communications were “calculated to create fear of criminal, financial, professional, and reputational consequences which extended far beyond ordinary debt collection practices.”
In addition to the $34,000 administrative penalty, Toledo must reimburse CPBC $3,000 for inspection costs and is required to change its collection practices. Toledo Credit has until Oct. 26 to request a reconsideration of the decision. CPBC also noted that Toledo has received an “F” rating and two alerts from the Better Business Bureau.
“Collectors can ask people to repay a debt, but they can’t harass them or use false or misleading information to pressure them into paying,” said Louise Hartland, director of public relations for CPBC, in a statement. “This decision sends a clear message to anyone in B.C. collecting a debt: collection communications must be accurate, lawful, and responsible. Businesses need to consider the content, tone, frequency and overall effect of their messages.”
CPBC said debt collectors are permitted to contact people about debts owed, but advised that those who feel harassed should keep copies of texts, emails, voicemails and account records. It added that people can request collectors contact them only in writing, and can use CPBC’s online tools to dispute a debt or stop collection calls.
Impact on Borrowers
The case did not surprise B.C. insolvency trustee Blair Mantin, who told CBC News he regularly encounters similar tactics. “Reading some of the text messages, yes they’re inflammatory. They’re beyond the pale, but they’re the things that I see every day,” he said, adding that the most aggressive collectors tend to come from one-off lenders such as payday or online loan operations, since those companies have no expectation of repeat business.
Mantin said harassment from collectors can worsen borrowers’ circumstances, noting that one in six of the clients he works with are often suicidal about their debt, and that he believes aggressive collection practices contribute to that dynamic. He said it is important for borrowers to understand their rights, including the right to end a phone call and to request communication be conducted in writing, and noted that remedies like wage garnishment require a lengthy legal process. Without that knowledge, he said, people can panic and turn to borrowing from family or shifting debt between credit cards, deepening financial strain.
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