My mother just got ANOTHER call from these people.  I was livid and called the law firm and gave them s***.  I have also called CRTC - DO NOT CALL LIST (her number was registered) and reported them 1-+1 866-580-3625,then called PHONEBUSTERS - THEY DEAL WITH FRAUDULENT PHONE CALLS 1-+1 888-495-8501 and will be calling THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA 1-+1 800-668-7380 shortly to report them. PLEASE - anyone who gets calls from these morons report them to ALL 3 instituions. Unfortunately, they have probably ripped off countless people and it needs to stop.

Me again, and again another call.  This is a long response so I hope I can get it all in here.  This time when I got the same call I checked a little further.  This law firm is operated by Deanna Lynn Natale.  She is licensed to practice law.  Search for her at the Law Society of Upper Canada:

http://www1.lsuc.on.ca/LawyerParalegalDirectory/loadSearchPage.do

Contacting the Law Society (416) 947-3315) confirmed that Deanna Lynn Natale is a licensed attorney who is only allowed to practice law in Ontario (so people outside of Ontario need not read further).  However, I asked if there were any complaints about this Deanna Lynn Natale, and after a rather loud "sigh", the person confirmed that there were complaints, but what the complaints were about was confidential.  The Law Society will open a complaint for you, and keep it confidential if you wish to proceed (which I suggest you do - it's free and you won't have to do very much).  Technically speaking, by phoning you this Deanna Lynn Natale law firm is not breaking the law.  Although ethically, the Law Society may have problems what they are doing.  So file a complaint!

Getting you to give out your personal information is not illegal either.  What they are allegedly using it for is illegal, but very hard to prove.  Mostly because many people embarrassed that they owe money to the point where a lawyer or collection agent has called and they want to clear it up quickly, or are so disorganized that they aren't entirely sure that they owe money and pay the $100 or $150 without asking questions.  So it is up to you to make sure you're not being scammed.

So I called the Natale law firm, quoted the reference number, and they asked me my name.  I did not give them my name, instead I said, "Well you called me twice in the last month and apparently sent documents to my home so you should know that."  (I never got any documents by the way - which would be hand delivered by a low-level paralegal or private investigator if it were real "important" legal documents). I then asked what collection agency they represent and if they could send me the invoices.  The woman was unable to respond and after several more of my questions she promptly hung up on me.  I called back several times and did not say anything during any call.  On each occasion, 4 different people answered the phone.  2 men, 2 women.  So it's apparent to me that this Deanna Lynn Natale has several (4 at least) people fielding calls like this.  Google her name and number and you'll see that she's been accused of allegedly sending out false collection letters and getting people to pay up on debts that don't exist. Is this a scam?  How paranoid should you be?  99%

1) Do not give your name EVER!  If they were collecting for a real debt you owe they would already know your name and everything about you.  As someone who has owed money, and been owed money, and been to court several times (as the good guy) I can tell you it's very, very easy to track people down.  A reputable lawyer representing a reputable company would not call you on a matter like this - ever.  If you were being sued they would hand deliver Statement of Claim (it is required by law that the Plaintiff prove you are aware of the lawsuit before a judge or mediator would ever hear the case).  Other important legal documents would also be hand delivered.  Lawyer's letters would be sent to you via registered letter or a courier - something you have to sign for.  You are not legally obliged to respond to a collection agency.  They are ruthless though, so you're encouraged to respond to a legit collection agent to avoid a negative credit report.  But there are several ways to see if the collection is real (read on).

2) Ask them to send a copy of the contract of the debt you took on.  If it's real, you'll get it and it will bear your signature (don't give them an address or fax number or any identifying information and use call block --*67-- when you do call them back).  Real collection agencies / lawyers WILL do everything they can to prove you owe the money without hesitation.

3) If the collection call is false (and you'll know right away) then ask these losers to remove your telephone number from their database.  Here's the trick, don't give them your number.  :)  The reference number that you were given contains an entire LIST of phone numbers, yours included.  So you'll be doing a lot of people a solid by doing that.  You can remind them that THEY called YOU and gave YOU a reference number so they should already know that information.  They will probably hang up on you.  That's what they did to me.

Good luck, and stay private!

Have been getting calls from (905) 413-8624 at all hours of the day 7 days a week. They give me an 866 number to call back on with ref # wishing to talk to me about the legal papers that have been sent to my address....I know Canada post can sometimes be slow (in busy times) but man I have been waiting for these papers for 7 months now. I am p----d most about the hours they call is there nothing that can be done...thats all thanks for listening.

I have been getting these calls...they tend to make a person a little paranoid...but kudos to you Jack for all of your research.  I live in Nova Scotia, and read all of your response.  I work at a law firm and everybody should know that law offices do not try to reach their clients with a really lame automated service, asking you to call them back.  Same is true about how Jack spoke of receiving important legal documents, a Statement of Claim is served on people by law firms usually through a process server.  These idiots need to get a life and stop trying to scam people.  I almost got sucked in by another scam (one to lower your credit card interest) and felt like a complete idiot...so now I'm really ticked off at all of the annoying calls, I want to get an airhorn to blast in the phone, if it was a real person calling me, I'd be all set!

Natale law office works typically for a debt acquisition/collection agency

They attempt to intimidate people into paying statute barred and/or alleged debts.
if they had recourse you would have been served.

Send a registered letter to Natale Law office telling them not to call as per the collections act.
log all calls after they receive the letter and file a complaint with consumer protection services against them.

it wouldn't hurt to let them know you also intent to bill THEM for each unsolicited call.

it wouldn't hurt to note you will hold them responsible for harassment if this is not conveyed to future acquisition companies.

if the file with your information is sold, they will typically start harassing you all over again

Being a law firm (and i use the term loosely) they are well aware that this is harassment.
I received a draft statement of claim from them regarding an alleged debt and was informed by the court that this is a prohibited practice. They are either to file a claim or not, sending out draft claims is an attempt at intimidation.

I called them back on their 866 # from a payphone, so nothing can be tracked or charged back to me.When they answered, I just said I was calling in response to their message, then hung up.I called again a minute later, and started a conversation then just left the phone hanging.Call again, speaking in some made up language.Call again, and I asked the guy how annoying is it to get nuisance phone calls?Repeat until you get bored. It's great fun and it costs them money every time you call.