An Act To Prevent Abusive Debt Collection Practices
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1092
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: COOPER, LIBBY, BEAVERS, BRYANT, HOGAN, LAJOIE, LONGSTAFF, RUSSELL, SCHNECK, TUCKER
Amends: 32 MRSA §11013, 32 MRSA §11014, 32 MRSA §11019, 32 MRSA §11054

Legislative Document 
No. 1092 
H.P. 753 
House of Representatives, March 25, 2015 
An Act To Prevent Abusive Debt Collection Practices 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative COOPER of Yarmouth. 
Cosponsored by Senator LIBBY of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: BEAVERS of South Berwick, BRYANT of Windham, HOGAN of Old 
Orchard Beach, LAJOIE of Lewiston, LONGSTAFF of Waterville, RUSSELL of Portland, 
SCHNECK of Bangor, TUCKER of Brunswick. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA§11002, sub-§§1-A to 1-C, 5-A, 7-A, 7-B and 8-C are 
enacted to read: 
1-A.  Cause of action.  "Cause of action" means a lawsuit or arbitration proceeding. 
1-B.  Charge-off.  "Charge-off" means the act of a creditor removing an account 
from its books as an asset and treating it as a loss or expense because payment is unlikely. 
1-C.  Charged-off debt.  "Charged-off debt" means a debt that has been removed 
from a creditor's books as an asset and treated as a loss or expense because payment is 
unlikely. 
5-A.  Debt buyer.  "Debt buyer" means a person or entity that is engaged in the 
business of purchasing charged-off debt or other delinquent debt for collection purposes, 
whether it collects the debt itself or hires a 3rd party, which may include an attorney-at-
law, in order to collect such debt. A "debt buyer" is considered a debt collector for all 
purposes. 
7-A.  Original creditor.  "Original creditor" means the last person or entity that 
extended credit to the consumer for the purchase of goods or services, for the lease of 
goods or as a loan of money. The original creditor's name is the name it uses in dealings 
with a consumer. 
7-B.  Principal.  "Principal" means the unpaid balance of the funds borrowed, credit 
used, the sales price of goods or services obtained or the capital sum of any other debt or 
obligation arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance or services 
that are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family or household 
purposes. "Principal" does not include interest, fees or charges added to the obligation or 
alleged obligation by the original creditor or any subsequent assignees or purchasers of 
the debt. 
8-C.  Resolved debt.  "Resolved debt" means a debt that has been paid, settled or 
discharged in bankruptcy or for which the consumer is no longer liable. 
Sec. 2.  32 MRSA §11013, sub-§§6 to 10 are enacted to read: 
6.  Required information to pursue collection activities.  A debt buyer may not 
collect or attempt to collect a debt unless the debt buyer possesses the following: 
A.  The name of the current creditor or owner of the debt; 
B.  The original creditor's name at the time of the charge-off, if different from the 
current owner of the debt; 
C.  The original creditor's account number for the consumer at the time of the charge-
off; 
D.  The principal amount due at charge-off; 
E.  An itemization of pre-charge-off interest and fees, if any, claimed to be owed; 
F.  An itemization of post-charge-off interest and fees, if any, claimed to be owed and 
whether those were imposed by the original creditor or any subsequent owners of the 
debt; 
G.  The date that the debt was incurred.  In the case of a revolving credit account, the 
date that the debt was incurred is the last extension of credit made for the purchase of 
goods or services, for the lease of goods or as a loan of money; 
H.  The date and amount of the last payment, if applicable; 
I.  The names of all persons or entities that owned the debt after the original creditor, 
if applicable, and the date of each sale or transfer; 
J.  Documentation establishing that the debt buyer is the owner of the specific debt at 
issue; and 
K.  A copy of the contract, application or other documents evidencing the consumer's 
liability for the debt containing the consumer's signature. 
7.  Written requirement for payment agreement.  A debt collector may not enter 
into a debt payment schedule or settlement agreement regarding a debt without providing 
a written copy of the payment schedule or settlement agreement to the consumer.  The 
debt collector shall provide the written copy within 10 business days of entering into a 
schedule or agreement. A consumer need not make a payment on a payment schedule or 
settlement agreement until the written copy has been provided. 
8.  Acting on time-barred debt.  A debt collector may not attempt to collect or 
initiate a cause of action against a consumer when the debt collector knows or reasonably 
should know that collection is barred by the statute of limitations set forth in subsection 
10. 
9.  Transfer of ownership of debt.  A debt buyer may not sell or otherwise transfer 
ownership of: 
A.  A debt without the information and documentation required in this section; 
B.  A resolved debt, an interest in a resolved debt or any financial information 
relating to a resolved debt; or 
C.  A debt that is beyond the statute of limitations period set forth in subsection 10, 
an interest in a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations period set forth in 
subsection 10 or any financial information relating to a debt that is beyond the statute 
of limitations period set forth in subsection 10. 
10.  Limitations for debt buyer cause of action.  A debt buyer may not commence a 
cause of action against a consumer to collect a debt more than 3 years after the cause of 
action accrues. The date of accrual is the later of the date of charge-off and 180 days after 
the last regular payment on the debt. This limitations period applies notwithstanding any 
other applicable statute of limitations, unless such statute of limitations provides for a 
shorter limitations period. 
A.  Notwithstanding any other provision of any other law, when the limitations period 
set forth in this subsection expires, any subsequent payment toward, or written or oral 
affirmation of, such debt does not extend the limitations period. 
B.  When the limitations period set forth in this subsection expires, the right to collect 
the debt is extinguished along with any remedies available to the debt buyer pursuant 
to a cause of action to collect the debt. 
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §11014, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 702, §2, is 
amended to read: 
B.  The name of the current owner or creditor to whom the debt is owed; 
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA §11014, sub-§1, ¶¶B-1 to B-4 are enacted to read: 
B-1.  The name of the original creditor, if different from the current owner of the 
debt; 
B-2.  An itemization of the debt, including: 
(1)  The principal amount at charge-off; 
(2)  An itemization of the pre-charge-off interest and fees, if any, claimed to be 
owed; 
(3)  An itemization of the post-charge-off interest and fees, if any, claimed to be 
owed; 
(4)  The name of the creditor or debt collector that levied each interest or fee; and 
(5)  The date and amount of the last payment, if applicable; 
B-3.  The names of all persons or entities that owned the debt after the original 
creditor, if applicable, and the date of each sale or transfer; 
B-4.  The types of income that are exempt from being taken to satisfy a judgment 
under state and federal law; 
Sec. 5.  32 MRSA §11019 is enacted to read: 
§11019.  Cause of action by debt buyer to collect debt 
1.  Debt buyer cause of action; required allegations.  In a cause of action initiated 
by a debt buyer against a consumer to collect a debt, the debt buyer shall allege all of the 
following information: 
A.  A short and plain statement of the type of debt; 
B.  The information described in section 11013, subsection 6; 
C.  The basis for any interest and fees described in section 11013, subsection 6; 
D.  The basis for the request for attorney's fees, if applicable; 
E.  That the debt buyer is the current owner of the debt and a chronological listing of 
the names of all prior owners of the debt and the date of each transfer of ownership, 
beginning with the original creditor; and 
F.  That the cause of action is filed within the applicable statute of limitations period. 
2.  Debt collection complaint; attachments.  In a cause of action initiated by a debt 
buyer against a consumer to collect a debt, the debt buyer shall attach all of the following 
materials to the complaint: 
A.  Documentation to establish the information required in section 11013, subsection 
6; 
B.  A copy of the contract, application or other writing evidencing the consumer's 
agreement to the debt, which must contain the consumer's signature. If the debt arises 
from a credit card and no such signed document evidencing the debt ever existed, the 
debt buyer shall provide copies of the most recent monthly statement recording a 
purchase transaction, service billed, last payment or balance transfer and monthly 
statements from the 11 months immediately preceding the most recent statement; and 
C.  A copy of the bill of sale or other writing establishing that the debt buyer is the 
owner of the debt. If ownership of the debt has transferred more than once, a copy of 
each bill of sale or other writing establishing transfer of ownership of the debt must 
be attached. Each bill of sale or other writing evidencing transfer of ownership must 
contain the original creditor's account number of the debt purchased and must clearly 
show the consumer's name associated with that account number. 
3.  Consumer appearance.  If the consumer appears for trial on the scheduled trial 
date and the debt buyer either fails to appear or is not prepared to proceed to trial and the 
court does not find a good cause for continuance, the court shall enter judgment for the 
consumer dismissing the action with prejudice. Notwithstanding any other law, the court 
may award the consumer's costs of preparing for trial, including, but not limited to, lost 
wages, transportation expenses and attorney's fees. 
4.  Requirements for judgment.  In a cause of action initiated by a debt buyer 
against a consumer to collect a debt, prior to entry of a judgment or order against a 
consumer, the debt buyer shall file: 
A.  An authenticated copy of the contract, application or other writing that satisfies 
the requirements of Title 16 evidencing the consumer's agreement to the debt, which 
must contain the consumer's signature. If the debt arises from a credit card and no 
such signed document evidencing the debt ever existed, the debt buyer shall file 
authenticated copies of the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase 
transaction, service billed, last payment or balance transfer and the monthly 
statements from the 11 months immediately preceding the most recent statement; 
B.  An authenticated copy of the terms and conditions that apply to the consumer's 
account and establishes the basis for the interest and fees alleged; 
C.  Authenticated business records that satisfy the requirements of Title 16 to 
establish the information and documentation required under subsection 1; and 
D.  Notwithstanding any other law, if attorney's fees are sought under contract, an 
authenticated copy of the contract evidencing entitlement to attorney's fees. 
5.  Dismissal of cause of action. In a cause of action initiated by a debt buyer against 
a consumer to collect a debt, if a debt buyer seeks a judgment or order against the 
consumer and has not complied with the requirements of this section, the court may not 
enter a judgment for the debt buyer and shall dismiss the action with prejudice. 
6.  Post-judgment interest.  Notwithstanding any other law, if the debt buyer is the 
prevailing party in an action against a consumer to collect a debt, any interest on the 
judgment must be: 
A.  The rate agreed upon in the original contract sued upon, which may not exceed an 
annual rate of 6% even though a higher rate of interest may properly have been 
charged according to the contract prior to judgment; or 
B.  An annual rate of 6% if there was no contract by the parties. 
Sec. 6.  32 MRSA §11054, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6.  Effect of violation.  If a debt buyer violates this Act, neither the debt buyer nor 
any other person or entity who may legally seek to collect the debt may be allowed to 
collect the amount of the original claim or debt or any interest, service charge, attorney's 
fees, collection costs, delinquency charge or any other fees or charges legally chargeable 
to the consumer on such debt. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide protection 
to debtors with regard to collection actions by debt buyers.  A debt buyer may not collect 
on a debt without providing specified information that includes the name of the original 
creditor and all intervening creditors, as well as the sources of added fees and interest.  
The information must be included in the complaint to initiate the cause of action to 
collect the debt. 
This bill establishes a 3-year statute of limitations that replaces all other limitations 
unless the existing limitations is a shorter period. 
This bill provides that a debt may not be collected if a debt buyer violates the Act.