This is the true story of a man who lost his business and fell deep into debt. We asked him to tell his story. These are his words which we’ve left unedited. This is a 7-part series and we will be following his progress.
You can read month one here and month two here.
Month Three: Lawsuits, Debt Collectors, and Visit to the Doctor
I was about five weeks into my financial meltdown when I finally went for medical help. I was lucky to find the services of an older family doctor, a man who had seen his share of life’s miseries. He listened to me quietly as I described my situation. I was existing on 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I wasn’t eating. I was emotionally fragile and physically a wreck. He weighed me at 149 pounds. That was down from my usual weight of 160.
He spent about 40 minutes with me, allowing me to talk everything out, unloading my fears and anxiety. It was a cathartic session. He was a tremendous person to come across at that stage in my life. He gave me something for the anxiety and a few sleeping tablets to use when I was alone and my daughter was with her mom. And he prescribed a diet for me and an exercise plan, which really amounted to me going for a few runs a week.
Rest, food, exercise.
After I left the doctor, I went home and found a man waiting for me outside my apartment. He asked for me by name, and when I identified myself, he handed me an envelope. I was being served. My bank was suing me in BC Supreme Court to recover their line of credit.
I retreated to the shell of an office I continued to use as I negotiated my way out of the lease. There was nothing in the office now but a single chair and desk. It depressed me immensely to be sitting alone in the ruins of my company on a daily basis; a place that just a few months ago had so energized me. The phone rang all day. Creditors, one after another after another. I had long since called everyone I owed money to and asked for time to try and resolve my debt issues, but it was several months down the track now and people were getting impatient for their money. I understood that completely.
There were times when I couldn’t answer the phone, and many days when I let the phone just ring and ring.
The postman brought the mail. Another lawsuit. Half a dozen collection agency notices. Late arriving invoices. I added them to the black list.
I did as my friend suggested and called the 4 Pillars debt consultant. I talked to a guy named Benjy Houser who arranged a meeting with me for a face-to-face discussion. He suggested he come to my office, with one of the 4 Pillars partners, who specialized in corporate debt restructuring.
I had no idea what to expect and wondered if this was a legitimate business. The first bankruptcy trustee I had met – the one who charged me $267 that I didn’t have – had advised me to be wary of debt consultants. I was very naive and didn’t realize he was protecting his own interests.
Nothing good had happened to me for months until the pair from 4 Pillars came into my life. One of the first things they said to me upon reviewing my financials was that I should not go bankrupt and I wasn’t going to lose my condo.
They told me about an option called a Consumer Proposal, which protects me under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and would allow me to make a cents on the dollar offer to my creditors, reducing my debt by as much as 80%.
This was astonishing news for me. It wasn’t just the massive potential reduction of my debt, but also the immediate sense that I had advocates here, experts who got my pain, and would work for me and not my creditors.
I listened carefully to everything they had to say, then went and did my homework on Consumer Proposals, reading everything I could find online.
I have no hesitation in recollecting that the evening after I met these two 4 Pillars guys, I was able to fall asleep at a decent hour for the first time in at least 2 months. The tremendous stress of the past few months was finally being given some respite.
I knew there would be plenty of anxiety still as I navigated the churning waters I had steered myself into. I would not be able to pay everyone, and few would get the full value owed to them. I had failed spectacularly in a very public company. But I was finally moving forward with a plan. And it was that sense of having a course of action, one that wasn’t leading me to my ruin, which finally turned the tide for me.
This is a true story recorded from an actual person who used 4 Pillars.
The story is 100% his words, unedited. We hope that you follow his progress and know that there are others out there making their way through debt. You can also read 60+ other stories about how other Canadians found 4 Pillars here.
