What Does It Cost to File a Consumer Proposal – and How Can It Help You Manage Your Debt
What does it cost to file a consumer proposal? That is a question that I am frequently asked. There are really two different ways to answer that question.
The short answer is that it will cost you nothing to file a consumer proposal. Which is to say that it will cost you nothing more than your monthly proposal payments.
In effect, the creditors absorb the cost of the proposal.
When you come to Caplan Debt Solutions to file your proposal we do not charge an upfront fee. The only fee that you pay is not really a fee but rather part or all of your proposal payment.
There is actually a fee that Caplan Debt Solutions has to pay to our regulator, the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and that fee is $102.20. If your consumer proposal calls for 60 monthly payments of $150 starting three months after the date of filing your proposal, we will ask you to pay $105 when you file your consumer proposal and then we will debit your account for your first payment in three months in the amount of $45 (that is your payment of $150 less the $105 that you paid for the filing fee). That will be followed by monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly debits (at your discretion) totalling $150. There is nothing to pay beyond your agreed upon, creditor accepted and court approved monthly payments.
The other way to answer the ‘what does it cost to file a consumer proposal’ question is more technical. That answer is what the administrator is entitled to be paid in fees out of the file. We are entitled to be paid $750 when a consumer proposal is filed, $750 when the consumer proposal is approved by the court, $85 for each of the counselling sessions and 20% of the amount that is distributed to the creditors. If you do the math, you can figure out exactly how much an administrator of a consumer proposal will be paid based on the agreed upon monthly proposal payments.
The bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter how much the creditors want you to pay and what the final number is because it never costs you, the debtor, more than the agreed upon payment.
Managing Your Debt with a Consumer Proposal
There is an old saying that there is no free lunch. I think a consumer proposal is about as close as you will ever get to a free lunch. Filing a consumer proposal with Caplan Debt Solutions will usually result in you paying your creditors only a fraction of what you actually owe them – with the creditors absorbing the cost of your filing!
If you’re questioning how you can handle an unmanageable debt load, the answer is even easier: come see Caplan Debt Solutions about a consumer proposal. Let us help you get debt off your mind! Call or email us at Caplan Debt Solutions for a quick answer to all your debt-related questions.