Contacted by Christensen Law Firm About a Debt in Ontario?
Receiving a letter or call from a law firm about a debt is unsettling — but it is a process with rules, and those rules give an Ontario homeowner room to respond. Here is who Christensen Law Firm is, what contact from them typically signals, and the steps that protect your home.
Who Christensen Law Firm is
According to the firm’s own public materials, Christensen Law Firm is a boutique law firm in Cambridge, Ontario that concentrates on unsecured debt collection and judgment enforcement for creditors, largely on a contingency-fee basis. Its clients are described as credit granters — both large and small — seeking to recover money they are owed.
The important point for you is simply this: it is a law firm, not a collection agency. That means it can issue a court claim and, if it wins, enforce a judgment. It is not doing anything improper by pursuing a debt — that is its lawful role — but it does mean the matter deserves a prompt, informed response.
What contact from them usually means
When a creditor engages a firm like this, your file has typically moved past internal collections. Contact may begin with a demand letter — which is not a lawsuit and carries no court deadline — and can escalate to a Statement of Claim or Plaintiff’s Claim if the debt is not resolved. The single most useful thing you can do first is work out which of those you are actually holding.
How a debt reaches a homeowner’s equity
A firm that enforces judgments is working toward the later stages of the process below. Every earlier stage is a chance to stop it:
- Demand — letters and calls; no deadline yet.
- Lawsuit — you are served with a claim; the 20-day clock begins.
- Judgment — the court orders payment, often by default if you did not respond.
- Enforcement — garnishment, or a writ of seizure and sale registered as a lien on your home.
Your options
- Dispute the amount or the ownership of the debt. A creditor must prove it owns your account and that the balance is correct.
- Raise the limitation period. If the debt is more than two years old without acknowledgment or payment, it may be too late to sue on it.
- Negotiate. Many claims settle for less than demanded — and settlement is far easier before a judgment exists.
- Get advice early. Once a writ is registered on your title, options narrow and costs climb.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Christensen Law Firm?
- Christensen Law Firm is a boutique law firm based in Cambridge, Ontario that, according to its own website, focuses on unsecured debt collection and judgment enforcement on behalf of creditors, working largely on a contingency basis. Because it is a law firm, it can commence a lawsuit and enforce a judgment — powers a collection agency does not have.
- Does a letter from Christensen Law Firm mean I have been sued?
- Not necessarily. A demand or collection letter is not a lawsuit. You have been sued only if you are served with a court-issued Statement of Claim or Plaintiff’s Claim bearing a court file number. If you have one of those, your deadline to respond is generally 20 days.
- Can Christensen Law Firm take my house?
- No firm can take your home directly. A creditor must sue, obtain a judgment, and register a writ of seizure and sale against your property. That writ becomes a lien, and only after further steps can a home be sold. Responding before judgment is how homeowners keep that from starting.
- What should I do if they contact me?
- Confirm whether you have a letter or an actual court claim, avoid admitting the debt in writing, ask the creditor to prove it owns and has correctly calculated the debt, and get legal advice before any judgment is entered.
Sources
Firm practice description: Christensen Law Firm (public website) · Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure · Execution Act · Limitations Act, 2002. This page is general information for Ontario, not legal advice, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the firm named.