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| To enact sections 1319.30, 1319.31, 1319.32, 1319.33, | 1 |
| and 1319.34 of the Revised Code to prohibit debt | 2 |
| collectors and creditors from failing to provide | 3 |
| consumers with certain information regarding the | 4 |
| consumer's debt. | 5 |
| Section 1. That sections 1319.30, 1319.31, 1319.32, 1319.33, | 6 |
| and 1319.34 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 1319.30. As used in sections 1319.30 to 1319.34 of the | 8 |
| Revised Code: | 9 |
| (A) "Consumer" means a person residing in this state who owes | 10 |
| or is alleged to owe a debt, or who has incurred or is alleged to | 11 |
| have incurred liability for the debt in this state, including a | 12 |
| comaker, guarantor, surety, parent, if the consumer is under | 13 |
| eighteen years of age, or the consumer's guardian, executor, or | 14 |
| administrator. | 15 |
| (B) "Creditor" means both of the following: | 16 |
| (1) A person to whom a debt is owed or alleged to be owed, | 17 |
| including an agent, servant, or employee conducting business under | 18 |
| the name of the person in this state; | 19 |
| (2) A person while collecting or attempting to collect any | 20 |
| debt owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another to the | 21 |
| extent such activity is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary | 22 |
| obligation or a bona fide escrow arrangement or to the extent such | 23 |
| activity concerns a debt which was originated by such person, was | 24 |
| not in default at the time it was obtained by such person, or was | 25 |
| obtained by such person as a secured party in a commercial credit | 26 |
| transaction involving the creditor. | 27 |
| (C)(1) "Debt" means both of the following: | 28 |
| (a) An actual or alleged past due obligation, claim, demand, | 29 |
| note, or other similar liability of a consumer to pay money, | 30 |
| arising out of a single account as a result of either of the | 31 |
| following: | 32 |
| (i) A purchase, lease, or loan of goods, services, or real or | 33 |
| personal property for personal, family, or household purposes; | 34 |
| (ii) A loan of money or extension of credit which is obtained | 35 |
| primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. | 36 |
| (b) Any tax, assessment, interest, penalty, fee, or other | 37 |
| collectable amount, owed to a political subdivision of this state. | 38 |
| (2) "Debt" does not mean either of the following: | 39 |
| (a) Money which is owed or alleged to be owed as a result of | 40 |
| a loan secured by a purchase money mortgage on real estate; | 41 |
| (b) Any tax, assessment, interest, penalty, fee, or other | 42 |
| collectable amount owed to the state or the United States. | 43 |
| (D)(1) "Debt collector" means all of the following: | 44 |
| (a) A person who is not a creditor conducting business in | 45 |
| this state, is acting on behalf of a creditor, and engages or aids | 46 |
| directly or indirectly in collecting a debt owed or alleged to be | 47 |
| owed to a creditor or assignee of a creditor; | 48 |
| (b) An officer or employee of a creditor who uses a name | 49 |
| other than the creditor's while collecting a debt for the creditor | 50 |
| that would indicate that a third person is collecting or | 51 |
| attempting to collect the debt; | 52 |
| (c) An attorney, whenever such attorney attempts to collect a | 53 |
| debt, except in connection with the filing or service of pleadings | 54 |
| or discovery or the prosecution of a lawsuit to reduce a debt to | 55 |
| judgment; | 56 |
| (d) A person who sells or offers to sell forms represented to | 57 |
| be a collection system, device, or scheme which is intended or | 58 |
| designed to collect debts; | 59 |
| (e) A person, other than an elected or appointed official of | 60 |
| any political subdivision of this state, who collects or attempts | 61 |
| to collect a tax or assessment owed to any political subdivision | 62 |
| of this state. | 63 |
| (2) "Debt collector" does not mean any of the following: | 64 |
| (a) An officer or employee of a creditor while collecting | 65 |
| debts for the creditor in that creditor's name; | 66 |
| (b) A person while attempting to collect a debt on behalf of | 67 |
| a creditor, both of whom are related by common ownership or | 68 |
| affiliated by corporate control, if the person acting as a debt | 69 |
| collector does so only for creditors to whom the collector is so | 70 |
| related or affiliated and if the principal business of the person | 71 |
| is not the collection of debts; | 72 |
| (c) A person serving or attempting to serve legal process on | 73 |
| another person in connection with the judicial enforcement of a | 74 |
| debt; | 75 |
| (d) A person who is an elected or appointed official of any | 76 |
| political subdivision of this state and who collects or attempts | 77 |
| to collect a tax or assessment owed to the political subdivision | 78 |
| which employs the person, while that person is acting within the | 79 |
| scope of that person's elected or appointed position or | 80 |
| employment. | 81 |
| Sec. 1319.31. (A) No debt collector or creditor shall fail | 82 |
| to provide a consumer with either of the following regarding a | 83 |
| debt or judgment on the debt for which the consumer is subject: | 84 |
| (1) Written verification of the debt or judgment on the debt; | 85 |
| (2) Written notice informing the consumer that the applicable | 86 |
| statute of limitations has expired on the debt or judgment on the | 87 |
| debt or that the debt or judgment is no longer legally | 88 |
| enforceable. | 89 |
| (B) The written verification under division (A)(1) of this | 90 |
| section shall be the information specified in the "Fair Debt | 91 |
| Collection Practices Act," 91 Stat. 879 (1977), 15 U.S.C. 1692g, | 92 |
| as amended. | 93 |
| Sec. 1319.32. A violation of section 1319.31 of the Revised | 94 |
| Code shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in | 95 |
| violation of section 1345.02 of the Revised Code. | 96 |
| Sec. 1319.33. A consumer injured by a violation of section | 97 |
| 1319.31 of the Revised Code shall have a cause of action and be | 98 |
| entitled to the same relief available to a consumer under section | 99 |
| 1345.09 of the Revised Code. | 100 |
| Sec. 1319.34. All powers and remedies available to the | 101 |
| attorney general to enforce sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the | 102 |
| Revised Code are available to the attorney general to enforce | 103 |
| sections 1319.30 to 1319.33 of the Revised Code. | 104 |