H. B. 4308
(By Delegate Louisos)
[Introduced February 3, 2010; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §46A-2-122 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §46A-5-
103 of said code, all relating to fraudulent, deceptive or
misleading representations by debt collectors; adding public
agencies to the definition of "debt collector"; and increasing
the criminal penalty for fraudulent, deceptive or misleading
representations by debt collectors.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §46A-2-122 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §46A-5-103 of said code
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION.
§46A-2-122. Definitions.
For the purposes of this section and sections one hundred
twenty-three, one hundred twenty-four, one hundred twenty-five, one hundred twenty-six, one hundred twenty-seven, one hundred
twenty-eight, one hundred twenty-nine, and one hundred
twenty-nine-a of this article, the following terms
shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Consumer" means any natural person obligated or allegedly
obligated to pay any debt.
(b) "Claim" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a
consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the
money, property, insurance or service which is the subject of the
transaction is primarily for personal, family or household
purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to
judgment.
(c) "Debt collection" means any action, conduct or practice of
soliciting claims for collection or in the collection of claims
owed or due or alleged to be owed or due by a consumer.
(d) "Debt collector" means any person or organization engaging
directly or indirectly in debt collection. The term includes any
person or organization who sells or offers to sell forms which are,
or are represented to be, a collection system, device or scheme,
and are intended or calculated to be used to collect claims.
The
term includes private debt collection agencies, public agencies
engaged in debt collection and the employees of any public or
private debt collection agency.
ARTICLE 5. CIVIL LIABILITY AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
§46A-5-103. Willful violations.
(1) A regulated consumer lender who willfully makes charges in
excess of those permitted by the provisions of article four of this
chapter, pertaining to regulated consumer lenders, shall be is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not
more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both
fined and imprisoned.
(2) A person who willfully engages in the business of making
regulated consumer loans without a license in violation of the
provisions of article four of this chapter applying to authority to
make regulated consumer loans shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(3) A person who willfully engages in the business of making
consumer credit sales or consumer loans, or of taking assignments
of rights against consumers arising therefrom and undertakes direct
collection of payments or enforcement of these rights, without
complying with the provisions of section one hundred fifteen,
article seven of this chapter, concerning notification, shall be is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not
more than $100.
(4) Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of
sections one hundred twenty-three through one hundred twenty-eight
twenty-six, inclusive, or section one-hundred twenty eight, article
two of this chapter, by committing any of the specifically
described and enumerated acts contained therein, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than $1,000, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than
one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(5) Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of
section one hundred twenty-seven, article two of this chapter, by
committing any of the specifically described and enumerated acts
contained therein, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned for not less
than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and
imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the criminal
penalties for a debt collector who intentionally misrepresents
information to a debtor.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added
.
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