Young Quebecers are increasingly represented in bankruptcy proceedings in Quebec. Our Bureau of Investigation and the JE program met several young people who became bankrupt before the age of 25.
TOTAL DEBT: $39,444
- SURNAME : Emmeric Rouverand-Viau
- AGE : 20 years
- CITY : Montreal
- BANKRUPTCY : March 2023
- CAUSE : progressive debt
Emmeric Rouverand-Viau is attracted by the prospect of a better return on his savings and believes he made a big mistake by revealing a wealth of valuable data to a person who turned out to be a fraudster.
The young man says he learned the hard way the consequences of what amounts to identity theft. Through one of his friends he met the man who would cost him dearly.
“He introduced him to me quickly, I gave away a lot of personal information too quickly because I trusted my friend and he told me he trusted him,” he says with regret.
Emmeric says he gave this person permission to use his Desjardins account to circulate funds.
According to him, the aim was to improve his image at the institution by giving the impression that he was generating significant income. “The goal was to show the financial institution that I have sufficient funds and that if I […] placed [de l’argent] I could get a better interest rate later,” he explains.
However, shortly after, he changed his mind and decided to close his account.
Unfortunately the damage was done. The person who had access to his account applied for AccordD financing without his knowledge. She also took advantage of the offer to get a credit card, which she promptly abused.
“At the end of December, my friend called me to tell me that he had been scammed by this person and that I should check my accounts,” he explains.
The day after that call, he himself received a letter from a debt collection agency informing him that the bill was long overdue and that Desjardins had filed a request for a refund.
Brutal shock
Although he was confident the account had been closed without incident, the shock of learning he was in default was brutal, he said.
“I owed the banking institution about $22,000 plus interest,” he sighs.
“I was stressed […] I was deceived by the same person. I panicked and went to my parents to see what I could do,” he said.
Emmeric finds it surprising that someone could get such large amounts of money without further verification. “It’s surprising because I worked a part-time student job with a fixed income for two years. “They had the ability to recognize that I would not have been able to pay everything back,” he criticizes.
Emmeric said he filed a police report to report the situation. Pushed to the wall, he had no choice but to go bankrupt at the age of 20.
“After seven years, the note would be deleted and no trace would remain. That seemed to be the most effective,” he said.
However, without knowledge of the police investigation, he regrets that the person who allegedly cheated on him has suffered little consequences for the time being.
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