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91_HB3046
LRB9109389ACtm
1 AN ACT to amend the Collection Agency Act by changing
2 Section 9.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by
6 changing Section 9 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 425/9) (from Ch. 111, par. 2012)
8 Sec. 9. (a) The Department may refuse to issue or renew,
9 or may revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand or take
10 other disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper,
11 including fines not to exceed $1,000 per licensee per
12 complaint, for any one or any combination of the following
13 causes:
14 (1) Violations of this Act or of the rules
15 promulgated hereunder.
16 (2) Conviction of the collection agency or the
17 principals of the agency of any crime under the laws of
18 any U.S. jurisdiction which is a felony, a misdemeanor an
19 essential element of which is dishonesty, or of any crime
20 which directly relates to the practice of the profession.
21 (3) Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of
22 obtaining a license or certificate.
23 (4) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to
24 alcohol, narcotics, stimulants or any other chemical
25 agent or drug which results in the inability to practice
26 with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety by any of the
27 principals of a collection agency.
28 (5) Discipline by another U.S. jurisdiction or
29 foreign nation, if at least one of the grounds for the
30 discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to
31 those set forth in this Act.
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1 (6) A finding by the Department that the licensee,
2 after having his license placed on probationary status,
3 has violated the terms of probation.
4 (7) Practicing or attempting to practice under a
5 name other than the name as shown on his or her license
6 or any other legally authorized name.
7 (8) A finding by the Federal Trade Commission that
8 a licensee violated the Federal Fair Debt and Collection
9 Act or its rules.
10 (9) Failure to file a return, or to pay the tax,
11 penalty or interest shown in a filed return, or to pay
12 any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest, as
13 required by any tax Act administered by the Illinois
14 Department of Revenue until such time as the requirements
15 of any such tax Act are satisfied.
16 (10) Using or threatening to use force or violence
17 to cause physical harm to a debtor, his family or his
18 property.
19 (11) Threatening to instigate an arrest or criminal
20 prosecution where no basis for a criminal complaint
21 lawfully exists.
22 (12) Threatening the seizure, attachment or sale of
23 a debtor's property where such action can only be taken
24 pursuant to court order without disclosing that prior
25 court proceedings are required.
26 (13) Disclosing or threatening to disclose
27 information adversely affecting a debtor's reputation for
28 credit worthiness with knowledge the information is
29 false.
30 (14) Initiating or threatening to initiate
31 communication with a debtor's employer unless there has
32 been a default of the payment of the obligation for at
33 least 30 days and at least 5 days prior written notice,
34 to the last known address of the debtor, of the intention
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1 to communicate with the employer has been given to the
2 employee, except as expressly permitted by law or court
3 order.
4 (15) Communicating with the debtor or any member of
5 the debtor's family at such a time of day or night and
6 with such frequency as to constitute harassment of the
7 debtor or any member of the debtor's family. For
8 purposes of this Section the following conduct shall
9 constitute harassment:
10 (A) Communicating with the debtor or any
11 member of his or her family in connection with the
12 collection of any debt without the prior consent of
13 the debtor given directly to the debt collector, or
14 the express permission of a court of competent
15 jurisdiction, at any unusual time or place or a time
16 or place known or which should be known to be
17 inconvenient to the debtor. In the absence of
18 knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt
19 collector shall assume that the convenient time for
20 communicating with a consumer is after 8 o'clock
21 a.m. and before 9 o'clock p.m. local time at the
22 debtor's location.
23 (B) The threat of publication or publication
24 of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay
25 debts, except to a consumer reporting agency.
26 (C) The threat of advertisement or
27 advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment
28 of the debt.
29 (D) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging
30 any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or
31 continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass
32 any person at the called number.
33 (16) Using profane, obscene or abusive language in
34 communicating with a debtor, his or her family or others.
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1 (17) Disclosing or threatening to disclose
2 information relating to a debtor's indebtedness to any
3 other person except where such other person has a
4 legitimate business need for the information or except
5 where such disclosure is regulated by law.
6 (18) Disclosing or threatening to disclose
7 information concerning the existence of a debt which the
8 debt collector knows to be reasonably disputed by the
9 debtor without disclosing the fact that the debtor
10 disputes the debt.
11 (19) Engaging in any conduct which the Director
12 finds was intended to cause and did cause mental or
13 physical illness to the debtor or his or her family.
14 (20) Attempting or threatening to enforce a right
15 or remedy with knowledge or reason to know that the right
16 or remedy does not exist.
17 (21) Failing to disclose to the debtor or his or
18 her family the corporate, partnership or proprietary
19 name, or other trade or business name, under which the
20 debt collector is engaging in debt collections and which
21 he or she is legally authorized to use.
22 (22) Using any form of communication which
23 simulates legal or judicial process or which gives the
24 appearance of being authorized, issued or approved by a
25 governmental agency or official or by an attorney at law
26 when it is not.
27 (23) Using any badge, uniform, or other indicia of
28 any governmental agency or official except as authorized
29 by law.
30 (24) Conducting business under any name or in any
31 manner which suggests or implies that a debt collector is
32 bonded if such collector is or is a branch of or is
33 affiliated with any governmental agency or court if such
34 collector is not.
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1 (25) Failing to disclose, at the time of making any
2 demand for payment, the name of the person to whom the
3 claim is owed and at the request of the debtor, the
4 address where payment is to be made and the address of
5 the person to whom the claim is owed.
6 (26) Misrepresenting the amount of the claim or
7 debt alleged to be owed.
8 (27) Representing that an existing debt may be
9 increased by the addition of attorney's fees,
10 investigation fees or any other fees or charges when such
11 fees or charges may not legally be added to the existing
12 debt.
13 (28) Representing that the debt collector is an
14 attorney at law or an agent for an attorney if he is not.
15 (29) Collecting or attempting to collect any
16 interest or other charge or fee in excess of the actual
17 debt or claim unless such interest or other charge or fee
18 is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the
19 debt or claim unless expressly authorized by law or
20 unless in a commercial transaction such interest or other
21 charge or fee is expressly authorized in a subsequent
22 agreement. If a contingency or hourly fee arrangement (i)
23 is established under an agreement between a collection
24 agency and a creditor to collect a debt and (ii) is paid
25 by a debtor pursuant to a contract between the debtor and
26 the creditor, then that fee arrangement does not violate
27 this Section unless the fee is unreasonable. The
28 Department shall determine what constitutes a reasonable
29 collection fee.
30 (30) Communicating or threatening to communicate
31 with a debtor when the debt collector is informed in
32 writing by an attorney that the attorney represents the
33 debtor concerning the claim, unless authorized by the
34 attorney. If the attorney fails to respond within a
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1 reasonable period of time, the collector may communicate
2 with the debtor. The collector may communicate with the
3 debtor when the attorney gives his consent.
4 (31) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or
5 unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
6 defraud, or harm the public.
7 (b) The Department shall deny any license or renewal
8 authorized by this Act to any person who has defaulted on an
9 educational loan guaranteed by the Illinois State Scholarship
10 Commission; however, the Department may issue a license or
11 renewal if the person in default has established a
12 satisfactory repayment record as determined by the Illinois
13 State Scholarship Commission.
14 No debt collector while collecting or attempting to
15 collect a debt shall engage in any of the Acts specified in
16 this Section, each of which shall be unlawful practice.
17 (Source: P.A. 89-387, eff. 1-1-96.)