As used in sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Consumer debtor” means any natural person residing in this state who owes a debt to a creditor
“Creditor” means
any person to whom a debt is owed by a consumer debtor and such debt results from a transaction occurring in the ordinary course of such person’s business, or
(3) “Debt” means an obligation or alleged obligation arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, goods or services which largest canadian mail order pharmacy are the subject of the transaction are for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment
No creditor shall use any abusive, harassing, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading representation, device or practice to collect or attempt to collect any debt.
(a) The commissioner may adopt such regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 [FN1] as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, including, but not limited to, specifying those acts which are deemed to be in violation of section 36a-646.
(b) The commissioner may receive and investigate complaints and may receive assurances of voluntary compliance with the provisions of sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, or forward such complaints to the appropriate prosecuting officials at the commissioner’s discretion. No action taken by the commissioner against a creditor in accordance with section 36a-50 relieves the creditor from civil liability.
(c) Whenever the commissioner has reason to believe that any person has violated, is violating or is about to violate any provision of sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, or any regulation adopted under this section, the commissioner may take action against such person in accordance with section 36a-50.
(d) Nothing contained in sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, shall be construed as a limitation upon the power or authority of the state, the attorney general or the commissioner to seek administrative, legal or equitable relief as provided by other statutes or at common law.
defined in section 36a-645, who uses any abusive, harassing, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading representation, device or practice to collect or attempt to collect a debt in violation of section 36a-646 or the regulations adopted pursuant to section 36a-647 shall be liable to a person who is harmed by such conduct in an amount equal to the sum of:
(1) Any actual damages sustained by such person,
(2) if such person is an individual, such additional damages as the court may award, not to exceed one thousand dollars,
) in the case of any successful action to enforce liability under the provisions of this subsection, the costs of the action and, in the discretion of the court, reasonable attorney’s fee.
(a) of this section, the trier of fact shall consider, among other relevant factors, the frequency and persistence of noncompliance by the creditor, the nature of such noncompliance and the extent to which such noncompliance was intentional.
(b) In determining the amount of liability in an action brought pursuant to subsection
(c) A creditor may not be held liable in an action brought under this section if the creditor shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted by the creditor to avoid any such error.
(d) An action to enforce liability under this section may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction not later than one year after the date on which the violation occurs.
As used in sections 36a-800 to 36a-810, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Consumer collection agency” means any person engaged in the business of collecting or receiving for payment for others of any account, bill or other indebtedness from a consumer debtor or engaged in the business of collecting or receiving for payment property tax from a property tax debtor on behalf of a municipality, including any person who, by any device, subterfuge or pretense, makes a pretended purchase or takes a pretended assignment of accounts from any other person or municipality of such indebtedness for the purpose of evading the provisions of sections 36a-800 to 36a-810, inclusive. It includes persons who furnish collection systems carrying a name which simulates the name of a consumer collection agency and who supply forms or form letters to be used by the creditor, musc pharmacy even though such forms direct the consumer debtor or property tax debtor to make payments directly to the creditor rather than to such fictitious agency. “Consumer collection agency” further includes any person who, in attempting to collect or in collecting such person’s own accounts or claims from a consumer debtor, uses a fictitious name or any name other than such person’s own name which would indicate to the consumer debtor that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such account or claim. “Consumer collection agency” does not include
(A) an individual employed on the staff of a lowest price viagra 100mg licensed consumer collection agency, or by a creditor who is exempt from licensing, when attempting to collect on behalf of such consumer collection agency,
(B) persons not primarily engaged in the collection of debts from consumer debtors who receive funds in escrow for subsequent distribution to others, including, but not limited to, real estate brokers and lenders holding funds of borrowers for payment of taxes or insurance,
(C) any public officer or a person acting under the order of any court,
(D) any member of the bar of this state, and
(E) a person who services loans or accounts for the owners thereof when the arrangement includes, in addition to requesting payment from delinquent consumer debtors, the providing of other services such as receipt of payment, accounting, record-keeping, data processing services and remitting, for loans or accounts which are current as well as those which are delinquent. Any person not included in the definition contained in this subdivision is, for purposes of sections 36a-645 to 36a-647, inclusive, a “creditor”, as defined in section 36a-645;
(2) “Consumer debtor” means any natural person, not an organization, who has incurred indebtedness or owes a debt for personal, family or household purposes, including current or past due child support, or who has incurred indebtedness or owes a debt to a municipality due to a levy by such municipality of a personal property tax;
(3) “Creditor” means a person, including a municipality, that retains, hires, or engages the services of a consumer collection agency;
(4) “Municipality” means any town, city or borough, consolidated town and city, consolidated town and borough, district as defined in section 7-324 or municipal special services district established under chapter 105a; [FN1]
(5) “Organization” means a corporation, partnership, association, trust or any other legal entity or an individual operating under a trade name or a name having appended to it a commercial, occupational or professional designation;
(6) “Property tax” has the meaning given to the term in section 7-560;
(7) “Property tax debtor” means any natural person or organization who has incurred indebtedness or owes a debt to a municipality due to a levy by such municipality of a property tax.
(1) Furnish legal advice or perform legal services or represent that it is competent to do so, or institute judicial proceedings on behalf of others;
(2) communicate with consumer debtors or property tax debtors in the name of an attorney or upon the stationery of an attorney, or prepare any forms or instruments which only attorneys are authorized to prepare
(3) purchase or receive assignments of claims for the purpose of collection or institute suit thereon in any court;
(4) assume authority on behalf of a creditor to employ or terminate the services of an attorney unless such creditor has authorized such agency in writing to act as such creditor’s agent in the selection of an attorney to collect the creditor’s accounts;
(5) demand or obtain in any manner a share of the proper compensation for services performed by an attorney in collecting a claim, whether or not such agency has previously attempted collection thereof;
(6) solicit claims for collection under an ambiguous or deceptive contract;
(7) refuse to return any claim or claims upon written request of the creditor, claimant or forwarder, which claims are not in the process of collection after the tender of such amounts, if any, as may be due and owing to the agency;
(8) advertise or threaten to advertise for sale any claim as a means of forcing payment thereof, unless such agency is acting as the assignee for the benefit of creditors;
(9) refuse or fail to account for and remit to its clients all money collected which is not in dispute within sixty days from the last day of the month in which said money is collected;
(10) refuse or intentionally fail to return to the creditor all valuable papers deposited with a claim when such claim is returned;
(11) refuse or fail to furnish at intervals of not less than ninety days, upon the written request of the creditor, claimant or forwarder, a written report upon claims received from such creditor, claimant or forwarder;
(12) commingle money collected for a creditor, claimant or forwarder with its own funds or use any part of a creditor’s, claimant’s or forwarder’s money in canadian pharmacy practice research group the conduct of its business;
(13) add any charge or fee to the amount of any claim which it receives for collection or knowingly accept for collection any claim to which any charge or fee has already been added to the amount of the claim unless the consumer debtor is legally liable therefore, in which case, the collection charge or fee may not be in excess of fifteen per cent of the amount actually collected on the debt;
(14) use or attempt to use or make reference to the term “bonded by the state of Connecticut”, “bonded” or “bonded collection agency” or any combination of such terms or words, except that the word “bonded” may be used on the stationery of any such agency in type not larger than twelve-point; or
(15) engage in any activities prohibited by sections 36a-800 to 36a-810, inclusive.
(b) No consumer collection agency shall impose a charge or fee for any child support payments collected through the efforts of a governmental agency. If the imposition of a charge or fee is permitted under section 36a-801b, no consumer collection agency shall impose a charge or fee for the collection of any child support overdue at the time of the contract in excess of twenty-five per cent of overdue support actually collected.
(c) (1) No consumer collection agency shall receive any property tax on behalf of a creditor that is a municipality, unless the consumer collection agency has procured from an insurer authorized to transact business in this state an insurance policy providing coverage against loss of money, securities or other property, including loss arising from any fraudulent or dishonest act of any employee, officer or director of the consumer collection agency, with limits of at least two million dollars. It shall be the obligation of the municipality to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subdivision.
(2) A municipality that enters into an agreement with a consumer collection agency to collect and receive for payment property tax on behalf of the municipality may also require such consumer collection agency to file a bond with the municipality in an amount not exceeding the total amount of the property tax to be collected on behalf of the municipality. Such bond, the form of which shall be approved by the municipality, shall be written by a surety authorized to write bonds in this state and shall contain a provision requiring the surety to provide the municipality with written notice of cancellation of such bond. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail to the municipality at least thirty days prior to the date of cancellation. The bond shall be conditioned that such consumer collection agency shall well, truly and faithfully account for all funds collected and received by the consumer collection agency for the municipality pursuant to such agreement. If the municipality is damaged by the wrongful conversion of any property tax debtor funds received by the consumer collection agency, the municipality may proceed on such bond against the principal or surety on the bond, or both, to recover damages. The proceeds of the bond, even if commingled with the other assets of the consumer collection agency, shall be deemed by operation of law to be held in trust for the benefit of the municipality in the event of bankruptcy of the consumer collection agency and shall be immune from attachment by creditors and judgment creditors.
Connecticut Fair Debt Collection Practices Act § 36a-806. Prohibited practices within and without state. Examination of affairs
(a) No consumer collection agency shall engage in this state in any practice which is prohibited in section 36a-805 or determined pursuant to sections 36a-807 and 36a-808 to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice, nor shall any consumer collection agency engage outside of this state in any act or practice prohibited in said section 36a-805. The commissioner shall have power to examine the affairs of every consumer collection agency in this state in order to determine whether it has been or is engaged in any act or practice prohibited by sections 36a-805 to 36a-808, inclusive.
(b) No creditor shall retain, hire, or engage the services or continue to retain or engage the services of any person who engages in the business of a consumer collection agency and who is not licensed to act as such by the commissioner, if such creditor has actual canadian pharmacy over counter drugs knowledge that such person is not licensed by the commissioner to act as a consumer collection agency.
