Bill Text: IL HB2491 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Collection Agency Act. In provisions concerning disciplinary actions by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, provides that nothing shall prevent a debtor from choosing to make a payment that includes a transaction fee paid by the debtor if the transaction complies with specified conditions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB2491 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2491-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2491 Introduced , by Rep. Robert "Bob" Rita SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
205 ILCS 740/9 was 225 ILCS 425/9
Amends the Collection Agency Act. In provisions concerning disciplinary actions by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, provides that nothing shall prevent a debtor from choosing to make a payment that includes a transaction fee paid by the debtor if the transaction complies with specified conditions.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by
changing Section 9 as follows:
(205 ILCS 740/9) (was 225 ILCS 425/9)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
Sec. 9. Disciplinary actions.
(a) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may
revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand or take other
disciplinary or non-disciplinary action as the Department may
deem proper, including fines not to exceed $10,000 per
violation, for any one or any combination of the following
causes:
(1) Material misstatement in furnishing information to
the Department.
(2) Violations of this Act or of the rules promulgated
hereunder.
(3) Conviction by plea of guilty or nolo contendere,
finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or by
sentencing of any crime, including, but not limited to,
convictions, preceding sentences of supervision,
conditional discharge, or first offender probation of the

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collection agency or any of the officers or owners of more
than 10% interest of the agency of any crime under the laws
of any U.S. jurisdiction that (i) is a felony, (ii) is a
misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty,
or (iii) is directly related to the practice of a
collection agency.
(4) Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for, or
procuring, a license under this Act or in connection with
applying for renewal of a license under this Act.
(5) Aiding or assisting another person in violating
any provision of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.
(6) Failing, within 60 days, to provide information in
response to a written request made by the Department.
(7) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol,
narcotics, stimulants or any other chemical agent or drug
which results in the inability to practice with reasonable
judgment, skill, or safety by any of the officers or
owners of 10% or more interest of a collection agency.
(8) Discipline by another state, the District of
Columbia, a territory of the United States, or a foreign
nation, if at least one of the grounds for the discipline
is the same or substantially equivalent to those set forth
in this Act.
(9) A finding by the Department that the licensee,
after having his or her license placed on probationary
status, has violated the terms of probation.

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(10) Willfully making or filing false records or
reports in his or her practice, including, but not limited
to, false records filed with State agencies or
departments.
(11) Practicing or attempting to practice under a
false or, except as provided by law, an assumed name.
(12) An adjudicated finding by the Federal Trade
Commission or other federal or State agency that a
licensee violated the federal Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act or its rules.
(13) Failure to file a return, or to pay the tax,
penalty or interest shown in a filed return, or to pay any
final assessment of tax, penalty or interest, as required
by any tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of
Revenue until such time as the requirements of any such
tax Act are satisfied.
(14) Using or threatening to use force or violence to
cause physical harm to a debtor, his or her family or his
or her property.
(15) Threatening to instigate an arrest or criminal
prosecution where no basis for a criminal complaint
lawfully exists.
(16) Threatening the seizure, attachment or sale of a
debtor's property where such action can only be taken
pursuant to court order without disclosing that prior
court proceedings are required.

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(17) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information
adversely affecting a debtor's reputation for credit
worthiness with knowledge the information is false.
(18) Threatening to initiate communication with a
debtor's employer unless there has been a default of the
payment of the obligation for at least 30 days and the
licensee has given at least 5 days prior written notice of
the intention to communicate with the employer to the
employee to the last known address of the debtor.
(19) Communicating with the debtor or any member of
the debtor's family at such a time of day or night and with
such frequency as to constitute harassment of the debtor
or any member of the debtor's family. For purposes of this
Section the following conduct shall constitute harassment:
(A) Communicating with the debtor or any member of
his or her family in connection with the collection of
any debt without the prior consent of the debtor given
directly to the debt collector, or the express
permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, at
any unusual time or place or a time or place known or
which should be known to be inconvenient to the
debtor. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances
to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that
the convenient time for communicating with a consumer
is after 8 o'clock a.m. and before 9 o'clock p.m. in
the debtor's local time.

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(B) The threat of publication or publication of a
list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts,
except to a consumer reporting agency.
(C) The threat of advertisement or advertisement
for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.
(D) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any
person in telephone conversation repeatedly or
continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass
any person at the called number.
(20) Using profane, obscene or abusive language in
communicating with a debtor, his or her family or others.
(21) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information
relating to a debtor's debt to any other person except
where such other person has a legitimate business need for
the information or except where such disclosure is
permitted by law.
(22) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information
concerning the existence of a debt which the collection
agency knows to be disputed by the debtor without
disclosing the fact that the debtor disputes the debt.
(23) Engaging in any conduct that is intended to cause
and did cause mental or physical illness to the debtor or
his or her family.
(24) Attempting or threatening to enforce a right or
remedy with knowledge or reason to know that the right or
remedy does not exist.

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(25) Failing to disclose to the debtor or his or her
family the legally authorized corporate, partnership or
proprietary name, or other trade or business name, under
which the collection agency is engaging in debt
collections.
(26) Using any form of communication which simulates
legal or judicial process or which gives the appearance of
being authorized, issued, or approved by a governmental
agency or official or by an attorney at law when it is not.
(27) Using any badge, uniform, or other indicia of any
governmental agency or official except as authorized by
law.
(28) Conducting business under any name or in any
manner which suggests or implies that the collection
agency is a branch of or is affiliated in any way with a
governmental agency or court if such collection agency is
not.
(29) Failing to disclose, at the time of making any
demand for payment, the name of the person to whom the debt
is owed and at the request of the debtor, the address where
payment is to be made and the address of the person to whom
the debt is owed.
(30) Misrepresenting the amount of the debt alleged to
be owed.
(31) Representing that an existing debt may be
increased by the addition of attorney's fees,

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investigation fees or any other fees or charges when such
fees or charges may not legally be added to the existing
debt.
(32) Representing that the collection agency is an
attorney at law or an agent for an attorney if he or she is
not.
(33) Collecting or attempting to collect any interest
or other charge or fee in excess of the actual debt unless
such interest or other charge or fee is expressly
authorized by the agreement creating the debt unless
expressly authorized by law or unless in a commercial
transaction such interest or other charge or fee is
expressly authorized in a subsequent agreement. Nothing in
this paragraph (33) shall prevent a debtor from choosing
to make a payment that includes a transaction fee paid by
the debtor if (i) the transaction fee does not exceed 3% of
the amount of the payment or $4.95 for the transaction,
whichever is less, (ii) an option to make the payment at no
cost to the debtor is disclosed and offered to the debtor,
(iii) the transaction fee is paid on a credit card or debit
card transaction and the fee is processed by an entity
that is independent and not affiliated with the collection
agency, and (iv) the transaction fee paid by the debtor is
remitted to the entity that processes the debtor's payment
and not to the collection agency. If a contingency or
hourly fee arrangement (i) is established under an

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agreement between a collection agency and a creditor to
collect a debt and (ii) is paid by a debtor pursuant to a
contract between the debtor and the creditor, then that
fee arrangement does not violate this Section unless the
fee is unreasonable. The Department shall determine what
constitutes a reasonable collection fee.
(34) Communicating or threatening to communicate with
a debtor when the collection agency is informed in writing
by an attorney that the attorney represents the debtor
concerning the debt. If the attorney fails to respond
within a reasonable period of time, the collector may
communicate with the debtor. The collector may communicate
with the debtor when the attorney gives his or her
consent.
(35) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or
unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
defraud, or harm the public.
(b) No collection agency while collecting or attempting to
collect a debt shall engage in any of the Acts specified in
this Section, each of which shall be unlawful practice.
(Source: P.A. 102-975, eff. 1-1-23.)