Does owing an American bank money hurt your Canadian credit rating?

Question

I opened up an American bank account with a name and address. I over drafted the account and withdrew more then I had. I on y gave them my name and address and I could only find out how much I had by calling them and talking to a customer rep. I didn't know I was overdraft and then charged up to 200 dollars for it over the course a few months and didn't find all of this out until I called to find out why my account wasn't working and it was because they had closed it without notifying me and then didn't tell me I had to come into a branch to pay it off. I thought ok it was closed and that was that but then I find out a collection agency is after me. The American bank cont. to be brash and completely unhelpful. so here is my question, is this going to affect my credit rating? Should I pay it even though I feel they are at fault? I only gave them my name and address, but my name is probably the only one in existence.

Answer 1

Im not sure but it would probably not because it's a different country and your record would not reach there system.

Answer 2

Under normal circumstances it wouldn't hurt your credit rating as it's a different reporting system in Canada from the US. If, however, you told the bank that (your address) when you opened the account they may have policies in place to deal with non-residents that default on their debts.

The collection agency may be active in both the US and Canada and may report the debt on your Canadian credit history.

In short, yes, this MAY affect your credit rating here in Canada. You should pay the bank and avoid the headache of collections activity.