You may have seen or heard of something called the Canadian Emergency Debt Relief Program or CEDR somewhere online and are looking for more information about it.
There is no such thing.
During the past two years of the pandemic, it has been vital for many people to survive by receiving the CERB (Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit) provided by the federal government to eligible Canadians. Now that the program has ended many people are looking for other options to help them meet their day-to-day expenses and pay their bills, and they may have seen an ad for CEDR in their social media feeds.
The firm advertising this (note firm, and not the federal government) is advertising a Canadian Emergency Debt Relief program. If you go online to do any research on this fictitious CEDR program, there is no information to be had, because there is no such federal program. First red flag. This is the brainchild of a debt assistance provider to lure in people seeking assistance with their financial issues. If you click on the link in the social media feed, it does not take you to a federal government site as you would think, but to an intake form asking for your personal information. Second red flag.
Not only is this firm trying to lure you in with false information, but they are also doing it in such a deceitful way, implying they are going to assist you if you owe money. Third Red Flag.
The only federal government department that can assist you if you owe money and are having final difficulties, is the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies with the assistance of Licensed Insolvency Trustees, licensed and authorized to assist debtors in finding solutions to their overwhelming debt problem. A Licensed Insolvency Trustee would never make a promise of a fake federal government program to lure you into using their service.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, and robbing Peter to pay Paul, there are options available to you, such as a Consumer Proposal only available through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee and not an unlicensed debt consultant.
A Consumer Proposal allows you to repay your creditors, often at a much-reduced amount, with zero interest and zero fees. It allows you to regain control of your finances without being swindled into borrowing more money. You can never borrow your way out of debt.
If you have questions, please ask us, we are here to help. If it’s during business hours here in Alberta, just ask us a question on our chat tool, there is usually someone who can answer.
Want to talk with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee? Call us or complete a contact form.
Remember, it should never cost you to talk with a trustee or anyone at an office. If someone is asking for a fee to talk, that’s another red flag.
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