Texas Administrative Code › Title 7 - BANKING AND SECURITIES › Part 5 - OFFICE OF CONSUMER CREDIT COMMISSIONER › Chapter 84 - MOTOR VEHICLE INSTALLMENT SALES › Subchapter E - HOLDER'S RIGHTS, DUTIES, AND LIMITATIONS › Section 84.504 - Collection Contacts

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) A licensee
				  or the licensee's agent has the right to contact any person in order to secure
				  information concerning a retail buyer, unless any person other than the retail
				  buyer, the retail buyer's spouse, a member of the retail buyer's household, a
				  co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation, objects to any
				  contact by a licensee or the licensee's agent. Any objection must specify the
				  retail buyer and the account in question to the licensee or the licensee's
				  agent involved in the collection. Upon receipt of the objection, the licensee
				  or agent must cease and desist from any further deliberate communication with
				  the person objecting relative to the specific retail buyer and account in
				  question.
(b) A licensee or the
				  licensee's agent must not solicit the payment of all or any part of any debt
				  subject to Texas Finance Code, Chapter 348 from any person other than the
				  retail buyer, a co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation,
				  retail buyer's designee, trustee, insurance company or service contract
				  provider paying a claim or a refund involving the debtor or motor vehicle, any
				  party having a lawful right or claim to the motor vehicle, any person who may
				  be or is legally obligated to pay all or a portion of the debt, or a guardian,
				  executor, administrator, attorney, agent, or representative of any of the
				  foregoing.
(c) Without the prior
				  written consent of the retail buyer given directly to the licensee or the
				  express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a licensee may not
				  communicate with a retail buyer in connection with the collection of amounts
				  due under a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract at any unusual
				  time. In the absence of any knowledge to the contrary, a licensee can assume
				  that the convenient time for communicating with a retail buyer is after 8:00
				  a.m. and before 9:00 p.m., local time at the retail buyer's location.
(d) A licensee may not knowingly communicate
				  with a retail buyer in connection with the collection of amounts due under a
				  motor vehicle retail installment sales contract at the retail buyer's place of
				  employment if the licensee has received written notification from the retail
				  buyer or the retail buyer's employer to cease communications with the retail
				  buyer while at the place of employment regarding the specific retail buyer and
				  account in question. The licensee may require the retail buyer or retail
				  buyer's employer to place the objection in writing. The objection, if required,
				  should specify the name or names of retail buyers subject to the objection. The
				  prohibition on contact under this subsection may be overridden by court
				  order.
(e) Without the prior
				  written consent of the retail buyer given directly to the licensee or the
				  express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, in connection with the
				  collection of amounts due under a motor vehicle retail installment sales
				  contract, a licensee may not communicate nonpublic personal information
				  pertaining to a debt or obligation unless the person receiving the information
				  is the retail buyer, the retail buyer's attorney, the retail buyer's designee,
				  a co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation, a consumer
				  reporting agency, another creditor, the attorney of the creditor, a guardian,
				  executor, or administrator, or any party that may lawfully receive the
				  information under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act,
				  RSA
				  6801 -
				  RSA
				  6827, and its implementing regulations, or
				  the Fair Credit Reporting Act,
				  RSA
				  1681 -
				  RSA
				  1681x, and its implementing regulations, or
				  other law or regulation. Unless notified pursuant to subsection (a) of this
				  section, this prohibition does not apply to a licensee seeking information
				  about the location of the retail buyer.
(f) Subsections (a) - (e) of this section do
				  not apply to a communication or contact directly relating to a pending court or
				  arbitration proceeding. Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (e) of this section do
				  not apply to providing a notice required by law or contract.
(g) In attempting to collect money due on a
				  contract or to take possession of any property securing a motor vehicle retail
				  installment sales contract, a licensee or the licensee's agent must not use any
				  simulated legal process, simulated legal document, or legal form designed to
				  suggest that legal proceedings have been commenced or completed when in fact
				  they have not.
(h) In attempting to
				  collect money due on a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, to take
				  possession of any property securing a motor vehicle retail installment sales
				  contract, or to secure information concerning a motor vehicle retail
				  installment sales contract, a licensee or the licensee's agent must not
				  impersonate or attempt to impersonate any law enforcement officer or other
				  agent of federal, state, or local governments. A licensee or a licensee's agent
				  must not use any fictitious name unless the name used is an established or
				  recognized trade name of the licensee or the licensee's agent. The preceding
				  sentence does not apply to individual employees or representatives of the
				  licensee, so long as the licensee maintains a system to determine the identity
				  of the person contacting the obligor.