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.



LRB103 28451 BMS 54831 b


 
 
A BILL FOR
 


HB2491LRB103 28451 BMS 54831 b



1 AN ACT concerning regulation.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by 
5changing Section 9 as follows:



6 (205 ILCS 740/9) (was 225 ILCS 425/9)



7 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)

8 Sec. 9. Disciplinary actions. 
9 (a) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may

10revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand or take other 
11disciplinary or non-disciplinary
action as the Department may 
12deem proper, including fines not to exceed $10,000 per 
13violation, for any one or any combination of the
following 
14causes:

15  (1) Material misstatement in furnishing information to 
16 the Department. 
17  (2) Violations of this Act or of the rules promulgated 
18 hereunder.

19  (3) Conviction by plea of guilty or nolo contendere, 
20 finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or by 
21 sentencing of any crime, including, but not limited to, 
22 convictions, preceding sentences of supervision, 
23 conditional discharge, or first offender probation of the 
 
 
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1 collection agency or any of the officers or owners of more 
2 than 10% interest of the agency
of any crime under the laws 
3 of any U.S. jurisdiction that (i) is a felony, (ii) is a 
4 misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty, 
5 or (iii) is directly related to the practice of a 
6 collection agency.

7  (4) Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for, or 
8 procuring, a license under this Act or in connection with 
9 applying for renewal of a license
under this Act.
10  (5) Aiding or assisting another person in violating 
11 any provision of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.
12  (6) Failing, within 60 days, to provide information in 
13 response to a written request made by the Department. 

14  (7) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol, 
15 narcotics,
stimulants or any other chemical agent or drug 
16 which results in the
inability to practice with reasonable 
17 judgment, skill, or safety by any of
the officers or 
18 owners of 10% or more interest of a collection agency.

19  (8) Discipline by another state, the District of 
20 Columbia, a territory of the United States, or a foreign 
21 nation, if at
least one of the grounds for the discipline 
22 is the same or substantially
equivalent to those set forth 
23 in this Act.

24  (9) A finding by the Department that the licensee, 
25 after having his or her
license placed on probationary 
26 status, has violated the terms of probation.
 
 
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1  (10) Willfully making or filing false records or 
2 reports in his or her practice, including, but not limited 
3 to, false records filed with State agencies or 
4 departments. 

5  (11) Practicing or attempting to practice under a 
6 false or, except as provided by law, an assumed name.

7  (12) An adjudicated finding by the Federal Trade 
8 Commission or other federal or State agency that a 
9 licensee violated
the federal Fair Debt Collection 
10 Practices Act or its rules.

11  (13) Failure to file a return, or to pay the tax, 
12 penalty or interest
shown in a filed return, or to pay any 
13 final assessment of tax, penalty or
interest, as required 
14 by any tax Act administered by the Illinois
Department of 
15 Revenue until such time as the requirements of any such 
16 tax
Act are satisfied.

17  (14) Using or threatening to use force or violence to 
18 cause physical
harm to a debtor, his or her family or his 
19 or her property.

20  (15) Threatening to instigate an arrest or criminal 
21 prosecution where no
basis for a criminal complaint 
22 lawfully exists.

23  (16) Threatening the seizure, attachment or sale of a 
24 debtor's property
where such action can only be taken 
25 pursuant to court order without
disclosing that prior 
26 court proceedings are required.

 
 
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1  (17) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information 
2 adversely
affecting a debtor's reputation for credit 
3 worthiness with knowledge the
information is false.

4  (18) Threatening to initiate communication with a 
5 debtor's
employer unless there has been a default of the 
6 payment of the obligation
for at least 30 days and the 
7 licensee has given at least 5 days prior written notice of 
8 the intention to communicate with the
employer to the 
9 employee to the last known address of the debtor.

10 
 (19) Communicating with the debtor or any member of 
11 the debtor's family
at such a time of day or night and with 
12 such frequency as to constitute
harassment of the debtor 
13 or any member of the debtor's family. For
purposes of this 
14 Section the following conduct shall constitute harassment:

15   (A) Communicating with the debtor or any member of 
16 his or her family
in connection with the collection of 
17 any debt without the prior consent of the
debtor given 
18 directly to the debt collector, or the express 
19 permission of a
court of competent jurisdiction, at 
20 any unusual time or place or a time or
place known or 
21 which should be known to be inconvenient to the 
22 debtor. In
the absence of knowledge of circumstances 
23 to the contrary, a debt collector
shall assume that 
24 the convenient time for communicating with a consumer 
25 is
after 8 o'clock a.m. and before 9 o'clock p.m. in 
26 the debtor's local time.

 
 
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1   (B) The threat of publication or publication of a 
2 list of consumers who
allegedly refuse to pay debts, 
3 except to a consumer reporting agency.

4   (C) The threat of advertisement or advertisement 
5 for sale of any debt to
coerce payment of the debt.

6   (D) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any 
7 person in telephone
conversation repeatedly or 
8 continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or
harass 
9 any person at the called number.

10  (20) Using profane, obscene or abusive language in 
11 communicating with a
debtor, his or her family or others.

12  (21) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information 
13 relating to a
debtor's debt to any other person except 
14 where such other person has
a legitimate business need for 
15 the information or except where such
disclosure is 
16 permitted by law.

17  (22) Disclosing or threatening to disclose information 
18 concerning the
existence of a debt which the collection 
19 agency knows to be
disputed by the debtor without 
20 disclosing the fact that the debtor
disputes the debt.

21  (23) Engaging in any conduct that is intended to
cause 
22 and did cause mental or physical illness to the debtor or 
23 his
or her
family.

24  (24) Attempting or threatening to enforce a right or 
25 remedy with
knowledge or reason to know that the right or 
26 remedy does not exist.

 
 
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1  (25) Failing to disclose to the debtor or his or her 
2 family the legally authorized
corporate, partnership or 
3 proprietary name, or other trade or business name,
under

4 which the collection agency is engaging in debt 
5 collections.

6  (26) Using any form of communication which simulates 
7 legal or judicial
process or which gives the appearance of 
8 being authorized, issued, or
approved by a governmental 
9 agency or official or by an attorney at law
when it is not.

10  (27) Using any badge, uniform, or other indicia of any 
11 governmental
agency or official except as authorized by 
12 law.

13  (28) Conducting business under any name or in any 
14 manner which suggests
or implies that the collection 
15 agency is a
branch of or is affiliated in any way with a 
16 governmental agency or court if such
collection agency is 
17 not.

18  (29) Failing to disclose, at the time of making any 
19 demand for payment,
the name of the person to whom the debt 
20 is owed and at the request of the
debtor, the address where 
21 payment is to be made and the address of the
person to whom 
22 the debt is owed.

23  (30) Misrepresenting the amount of the debt alleged to 
24 be owed.

25  (31) Representing that an existing debt may be 
26 increased by the addition
of attorney's fees, 
 
 
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1 investigation fees or any other fees or charges when
such 
2 fees or charges may not legally be added to the existing 
3 debt.

4  (32) Representing that the collection agency is an 
5 attorney at law or an
agent for an attorney if he or she is 
6 not.

7  (33) Collecting or attempting to collect any interest 
8 or other charge or
fee in excess of the actual debt unless 
9 such interest or other
charge or fee is expressly 
10 authorized by the agreement creating the debt unless 
11 expressly authorized by law or unless in a commercial

12 transaction such interest or other charge or fee is 
13 expressly authorized in
a subsequent agreement. Nothing in 
14 this paragraph (33) shall prevent a debtor from choosing 
15 to make a payment that includes a transaction fee paid by 
16 the debtor if (i) the transaction fee does not exceed 3% of 
17 the amount of the payment or $4.95 for the transaction, 
18 whichever is less, (ii) an option to make the payment at no 
19 cost to the debtor is disclosed and offered to the debtor, 
20 (iii) the transaction fee is paid on a credit card or debit 
21 card transaction and the fee is processed by an entity 
22 that is independent and not affiliated with the collection 
23 agency, and (iv) the transaction fee paid by the debtor is 
24 remitted to the entity that processes the debtor's payment 
25 and not to the collection agency. If a contingency or 
26 hourly fee arrangement (i) is
established under an 
 
 
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1 agreement between a collection agency and a creditor to

2 collect a debt and (ii) is paid by a debtor pursuant to a 
3 contract between the
debtor and the creditor, then that 
4 fee arrangement does not violate this
Section unless the 
5 fee is unreasonable. The Department shall determine what

6 constitutes a reasonable collection fee. 

7  (34) Communicating or threatening to communicate with 
8 a debtor when the
collection agency is informed in writing 
9 by an attorney that the attorney
represents the debtor 
10 concerning the debt. If the attorney fails to respond 
11 within a reasonable period of
time, the collector may 
12 communicate with the debtor. The collector may
communicate 
13 with the debtor when the attorney gives his or her 
14 consent.

15  (35) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or 
16 unprofessional conduct of a
character likely to deceive, 
17 defraud, or harm the public.

18 (b) No collection agency while collecting or attempting to 
19collect a debt shall
engage in any of the Acts specified in 
20this Section, each of which shall
be unlawful practice.

21(Source: P.A. 102-975, eff. 1-1-23.)