4.2.4. Consumer information will remain confidential and will be used only for the purposes of collection of outstanding amounts due to the City of Windsor.

4.3. USE OF COLLECTION AGENCY

• 4.3.1. Section 304 of the Municipal Act authorizes the use of a registered collection agency for the recovery of a debt, including taxes, payable to the Municipality. The collection agency may also recover its reasonable costs of collecting the debt but those costs shall not exceed an amount approved by the municipality.

• 4.3.2. The collection agency must be registered with the Government of Ontario and in good standing.

• 4.3.3. A collection agency may be assigned an account for collection once all internal avenues have been exhausted.

• 4.3.4. The agency will be monitored on a regular basis by the Corporate Collections Analyst to measure results.

• 4.3.5. Accounts referred to a collection agency will be given consideration for purposes of the allowance for doubtful account and assist in the determination of write-off recommendations.

• 4.3.6. An account will be identified as non-collectable when a collection agency returns the account as uncollectable, untraceable or advises that no assets remain to pursue further collection efforts (as noted in Section 4.5.2).

4.4. RETURNED CHEQUES / ITEMS

• 4.4.1. Cheques/items received by the City and returned by the bank as non-negotiable or have been refused for reasons such as: non-sufficient funds (NSF), closed account, stop payments, funds frozen, stale-dated, etc., may be subject to an administrative fee per cheque/item as prescribed in the City’s User Fee Schedule.

• 4.4.2. The collection process may include the following:

  • Notify customer of the returned cheque/item as well as the administrative fee by phone or e-mail (where applicable)

  • Direct communication with customer. All conversations should be documented.

  • Issuance of demand letter and/or invoice

  • Reminder notices

  • Alternative payment method (i.e. Cash, Debit Card or Credit Card)

4.5. WRITE-OFFS

• 4.5.1. Write-offs may be performed against the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts on an ongoing basis upon authorized approval of those accounts identified as non-collectable. Write-off should occur in the year following the year in which the account was identified and included in the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.

• 4.5.2. An account will be identified as non-collectable if it has been listed with a collection agency.

• 4.5.3. An account will be identified as non-collectable if litigation against a debtor is unsuccessful.

• 4.5.4. An account will be identified as non-collectable if the debtor files for bankruptcy.

• 4.5.5. An account will be identified as non-collectable after receiving advice from our legal department indicating our claim would not be successful.

Page 103 of 1110