Bill Text: IL HB5016 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Collection Agency Act. Defines "charge-off date", "collection agency" or "agency", "debt buyer", and "principal balance" or "charge-off balance". Provides that if a debt buyer commences litigation against a debtor, then the debt buyer shall attach to the complaint an affidavit. Provides that a debt buyer shall be subject to all of the terms, conditions, and requirements of the Act, except that a debt buyer shall not be required to (i) file and maintain in force a surety bond; (ii) maintain a trust account; (iii) procure written authorization to refer the account to an attorney for suit; or (iv) adhere to the assignment for collection criteria. Provides that the Attorney General may enforce against debt buyers specified provisions under the Act as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2012-08-24 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-1070 [HB5016 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HB5016-Amended.html
Bill Title: Amends the Collection Agency Act. Defines "charge-off date", "collection agency" or "agency", "debt buyer", and "principal balance" or "charge-off balance". Provides that if a debt buyer commences litigation against a debtor, then the debt buyer shall attach to the complaint an affidavit. Provides that a debt buyer shall be subject to all of the terms, conditions, and requirements of the Act, except that a debt buyer shall not be required to (i) file and maintain in force a surety bond; (ii) maintain a trust account; (iii) procure written authorization to refer the account to an attorney for suit; or (iv) adhere to the assignment for collection criteria. Provides that the Attorney General may enforce against debt buyers specified provisions under the Act as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2012-08-24 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-1070 [HB5016 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HB5016-Amended.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5016
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5016 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 2 and by adding Section 8.5 and 8.6 as | ||||||
6 | follows:
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7 | (225 ILCS 425/2) (from Ch. 111, par. 2002)
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8 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
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9 | Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act:
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10 | "Charge-off date" means the date on which a receivable is | ||||||
11 | treated as a loss or expense. | ||||||
12 | "Consumer credit transaction" means a transaction between | ||||||
13 | a natural person and another person in which property, service, | ||||||
14 | or money is acquired on credit by that natural person from such | ||||||
15 | other person primarily for personal, family, or household | ||||||
16 | purposes. |
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1 | "Consumer debt" or "consumer credit" means money, | ||||||
2 | property, or their equivalent, due or owing or alleged to be | ||||||
3 | due or owing from a natural person by reason of a consumer | ||||||
4 | credit transaction. | ||||||
5 | "Creditor" means a person who extends consumer credit to a | ||||||
6 | debtor. | ||||||
7 | "Debt" means money, property, or their equivalent which is | ||||||
8 | due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural | ||||||
9 | person to another person. | ||||||
10 | "Debt buyer" means any person engaging in, or holding | ||||||
11 | itself out as engaging in, the business of purchasing accounts | ||||||
12 | for value and acquiring all rights in and ownership of a debt. | ||||||
13 | "Debt collection" means any act or practice in connection | ||||||
14 | with the collection of consumer debts. | ||||||
15 | "Debt collector", "collection agency", or "agency" means | ||||||
16 | any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, | ||||||
17 | on behalf of himself or herself or others, engages in debt | ||||||
18 | collection. | ||||||
19 | "Debtor" means a natural person from whom a debt collector | ||||||
20 | seeks to collect a consumer debt that is due and owing or | ||||||
21 | alleged to be due and owing from such person. | ||||||
22 | "Department" means Division of Professional Regulation | ||||||
23 | within the Department of Financial and Professional | ||||||
24 | Regulation. | ||||||
25 | "Director" means the Director of the Division of | ||||||
26 | Professional Regulation within the Department of Financial and |
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1 | Professional Regulation. | ||||||
2 | "Person" means a natural person, partnership, corporation, | ||||||
3 | limited liability company, trust, estate, cooperative, | ||||||
4 | association, or other similar entity.
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5 | "Principal balance" or "charge-off balance" means an | ||||||
6 | account principal and other legally collectible costs, | ||||||
7 | expenses, and interest that are accrued prior to the charge-off | ||||||
8 | date, less any payments or settlement. | ||||||
9 | (Source: P.A. 95-437, eff. 1-1-08.)
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10 | (225 ILCS 425/8.5 new) | ||||||
11 | Sec. 8.5. Debt buyers. A debt buyer shall be subject to all | ||||||
12 | of the terms, conditions, and requirements of this Act, except | ||||||
13 | for subsection (b) of Section 8.6 of this Act.
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14 | (225 ILCS 425/8.6 new) | ||||||
15 | Sec. 8.6. Debt buyer activities. | ||||||
16 | (a) The provisions of this Section 8.6 shall apply to debt | ||||||
17 | buyers. If a debt buyer commences litigation against a debtor, | ||||||
18 | then the debt buyer shall attach to the complaint an affidavit | ||||||
19 | in substantially the following form:
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20 | "[CAPTION OF COURT PROCEEDING] | ||||||
21 | AFFIDAVIT OF ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP | ||||||
22 | I,................, being first duly sworn upon my |
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1 | oath, depose and state as follows:
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2 | 1. I am an authorized agent of................., the | ||||||
3 | plaintiff in this case and a debt buyer as defined in | ||||||
4 | Section 2 of the Collection Agency Act ("debt buyer"). | ||||||
5 | 2. I am authorized to execute this affidavit on behalf | ||||||
6 | of the debt buyer, and I am over the age of 18 and | ||||||
7 | competent to testify as to the matters contained herein. | ||||||
8 | 3. In my capacity as an authorized agent of the debt | ||||||
9 | buyer, I have access to the records maintained in the | ||||||
10 | ordinary course of business of the debt buyer, including | ||||||
11 | the records for and relating to the subject account. Those | ||||||
12 | records include records acquired by the debt buyer at the | ||||||
13 | time it purchased the account from the transferor, and | ||||||
14 | records generated by the debt buyer relating to the account | ||||||
15 | since the time it was purchased. I have reviewed or caused | ||||||
16 | to be reviewed those records relating to the account, and I | ||||||
17 | make this affidavit based upon that review and my own | ||||||
18 | personal knowledge of how the records are kept and | ||||||
19 | maintained. The account records generated by the debt buyer | ||||||
20 | are made at or near the time of the event, by or from | ||||||
21 | information transmitted by a person with knowledge of such | ||||||
22 | information. It is the regular practice of the debt buyer | ||||||
23 | to keep such records in the ordinary course of its | ||||||
24 | regularly conducted business activity. | ||||||
25 | 4. The debt buyer owns the account that is the subject |
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1 | of the pending collection action. | ||||||
2 | 5. On the date of the signature of this affidavit, this | ||||||
3 | account was within the applicable statutory period of | ||||||
4 | limitations. | ||||||
5 | 6. The records of the debt buyer reflect that [debtor | ||||||
6 | name(s)], defendant in this case, was issued credit by | ||||||
7 | [creditor name], with an account number of [redacted | ||||||
8 | original account number] and that [credit name], | ||||||
9 | [charge-off date]. The last payment, if any, received on | ||||||
10 | the debtor's account was on [last payment date]. There is a | ||||||
11 | balance due and owing to the debt buyer on this account in | ||||||
12 | the amount of [charge-off balance due] less any post | ||||||
13 | charge-off credits, and the debt buyer has not received | ||||||
14 | payment of that balance due.
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15 | Further affiant sayeth naught. | ||||||
16 | .............................. | ||||||
17 | (Signature of Affiant) | ||||||
18 | Print Name:................... | ||||||
19 | Print Title:.................. | ||||||
20 | Debt Buyer:................... | ||||||
21 | SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO | ||||||
22 | Before me, this.....day of .............,......
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23 | ............................................... | ||||||
24 | Notary Public".
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1 | (b) With respect to its activities as a debt buyer in | ||||||
2 | pursuing the collection of accounts it owns, a debt buyer shall | ||||||
3 | be subject to all of the terms, conditions, and requirements of | ||||||
4 | this Act, except that a debt buyer shall not be required to (i) | ||||||
5 | file and maintain in force a surety bond under Section 8 of | ||||||
6 | this Act; (ii) maintain a trust account under Section 8c of | ||||||
7 | this Act; (iii) procure written authorization to refer the | ||||||
8 | account to an attorney for suit under Section 8a-1 of this Act; | ||||||
9 | or (iv) adhere to the assignment for collection criteria under | ||||||
10 | Section 8b of this Act. | ||||||
11 | (c) The Attorney General may enforce against debt buyers | ||||||
12 | the provisions identified in Section 9.7 of this Act as an | ||||||
13 | unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive | ||||||
14 | Business Practices Act.
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15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | ||||||
16 | 1, 2013.".
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