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: $20,750
- SURNAME : Noémie Paradis
- AGE : 21 years old
- CITY : Terrebonne
- BANKRUPTCY : March 2023
- CAUSE : cheated on by a loved one
Noémie Paradis could never have imagined that a person in her family who was very dear to her and with whom she had signed a rental agreement would not pay the rent as she had agreed.
“She told me: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay, everything will be fine,’” says the 21-year-old young woman.
That’s why she was very surprised when one day a bailiff showed up at her apartment, informed her of a high unpaid rent and told her that she had to evict her.
“I cried a lot back then, but then [il y a] There was a lot of anger that came on board.”
“A certain fear, also because it’s a lot of money [qui était dû]», says the young woman today, who studies CEGEP full-time and works part-time.
How do you pay back more than $20,000 when you have little income yourself? After speaking with a trustee, she concluded that the best course of action was to file for bankruptcy.
“I was advised to file for bankruptcy because there was no way the person who cheated me would give me any money because he was having problems with his own payments…” she explains.
greenness
Looking back, it seems very naive to Noémie Paradis not to have asked more questions and not checked the rent payment again.
“When I think about it after I get out of that situation, I say to myself: Let’s see, that doesn’t make much sense. We take advantage of people’s kindness!” she complains.
If there is something Noémie Paradis learned from this experience, it is that you have to know how to say no sometimes, even to those you love.
“When I think about it, putting my name on a lease should never have happened. I should have said no. But at the same time, I trusted this person blindly. Because it’s someone close to me, I saw it coming less,” she concludes.
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Originally posted 2023-11-11 12:14:21.