A collection agency has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine as well as nearly $3,000 in back licensing fees in a consent order entered into with the Connecticut Department of Banking after the agency was alleged to have operated in the state for seven years without the proper license.
A copy of the consent order between the state and ProCollect can be accessed by clicking here.
The agency filed an application earlier this year through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry with the state to act as a consumer collection agency in Connecticut. As part of the application process, the state conducted an investigation into the agency’s activities to “determine if it had violated, was violating, or was about to violated” state laws and regulations. As a result of that investigation, the Department alleged that the agency operated without a license in Connecticut between 2014 and 2021, in violation of state law. Such an allegation would normally carry a fine oof up to $100,000 per violation.
Both sides agreed to the lower fine to resolve the matter and preclude the need for a formal administrative proceeding.
Under the terms of the consent order, the agency will pay a fine of $10,000 as well as back licensing fees in the amount of $2,800. The agency also agreed to stop operating in Connecticut without a proper license. The settlement will not impact the agency’s application for a license to begin collecting in the state, “provided that all applicable legal requirements for any such license are satisfied and the terms of this Consent Order are being followed,” according to the consent order.
This is the third enforcement action that the state has taken against a collection agency in the past 60 days. In May, it fined DCI $500,000 for filing for bankruptcy protection and not making the proper notifications, and in June, it fined Seattle Service Bureau
