The Oregon Senate yesterday passed a bill that adds additional requirements for debt buyers or collectors working on behalf of debt buyers when filing lawsuits against individuals.
The bill now moves to Governor Kate Brown’s desk for her signature to become law.
If enacted, when filing a lawsuit against an individual for an unpaid debt, debt buyers would be required to provide:
- The original creditor’s name, written as the original creditor used the name in dealings with the debtor;
- The name, address and telephone number of the person that owns the debt and a statement as to whether the person is a debt buyer;
- The last four digits of the original creditor’s account number for the debt, if the ori- ginal creditor’s account number for the debt had four or more digits;
- A detailed and itemized statement that shows:
- The amount the debtor last paid on the debt, if the debtor made a payment, and the date of the payment;
- The amount and date of the debtor’s last payment on the debt before the debtor de- faulted or before the debt became charged-off debt, if the debtor made a payment;
- The balance due on the debt on the date on which the debt became charged-off debt;
- The amount and rate of interest, any fees and any charges that the original creditor imposed, if the debt buyer or debt collector knows the amount, rate, fee or charge;
- The amount and rate of interest, any fees and any charges that the debt buyer or any previous owner of the debt imposed, if the debt buyer or debt collector knows the amount, rate, fee or charge;
- The attorney fees the debt buyer or debt collector seeks, if the debt buyer or debt collector expects to recover attorney fees; and
- Any other fee, cost or charge the debt buyer seeks to recover; and
- The date on which the debt buyer purchased the debt.
Individuals would also have the right to ask debt buyers for proof the debt is actually owed. If requested, the debt buyer would then have to cease collections and provide the validation within 30 days of the request.
Debt buyers would also be prohibited from filing suits when the statute of limitations has expired on a debt. The bill also defines a debt buyer as “a person that regularly engages in the business of purchasing charged-off debt for the purpose of collecting the charged-off debt or hiring another person to collect or bring legal action to collect the charged-off debt.”
Debt buyers would also be required to obtain a license from the state’s Department of Consumer and Business Services.
If signed, the law would become effective on Jan. 1, 2018.
“Many Oregonians legitimately do owe debt, but if their debt is sold to a debt buyer, who then sues to collect the debt, the consumer should be able to easily identify the source of the original debt,” said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in a statement. “This new law is about transparency, fairness and justice for all in the consumer marketplace.”
A copy of the legislation is available here.
