dvd "theft" in Quebec

I remember when we used to have a regional police force here, the theft of movies was actually pursued by them.

Now that we have police protection by the Ontario Provincial Police, they want nothing to do with it. They view it as as minimal value crime that is better dealt with in civil court.

Theft is theft in my opinion...today they get away with a DVDs worth $100, tomorrow they move onto something bigger. If the police were to nip it in the bud at the earlier stages and teach people that crime doesn't pay, they would be much farther ahead.

Unfortunately civil court is a joke here in Ontario, it costs $50+ to file a civil claim and then even when you get a judgement in your favour, that doesn't necessarily mean that the person is going to pay you. If they fail to pay you, you can legally have their wages garnished but that is only if you know where they are working. In the rare case, the judge can have them ordered jailed for failing to comply with a court order but I don't see that as being too high on the judges list of priorities.

Basically, I am going to start looking at collection agencies around here. Granted most of the people that haven't returned movies could care less about their credit records but it gives me great satisfaction to hear about the ones who it does affect.

I used to own a game store years ago and I sent quite a few people that owed me a significant amount in late charges to a collection agency. I had some good results with them from a monetary standpoint but one couple really stick out in my mind even after all these years.

They went to apply for a car loan and were denied it based on the fact that they had outstanding money owing at my store. They came in and paid the full balance owing right away. I believe they did end up getting the loan but only after having cleared up that issue.