Statutes of Newfoundland 1997 Chapter 6

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Statutes of Newfoundland 1997

CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 6

AN ACT TO AMEND THE COLLECTIONS ACT
(Assented to May 20, 1997)

Analysis

1. S.2 Amdt.
Definitions

2. S.3 Amdt.
Exemption

3. S.13 R&S
Collectors

4. S.14 Amdt.
Application for
registration

5. S.15 R&S
Annual reporting and fees

6. S.17 Amdt.
Changes in registration
information

7. S.18 Rep.
Renewal

8. S.19 Amdt.
Suspension or
cancellation

9. S.20 Amdt.
Provincial place of
business

10. S.24 Amdt.
Unregistered agency

11. S.25 Amdt.
General offence

12. S.26 R&S
Proof of carrying on
business

13. S.31 Amdt.

Regulations

14. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSN1990 cC-22 as amended

1. (1) Paragraph 2(a) of the Collections Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) articled clerk means a student as defined in the Law Society Act;

(a.1) collection agency means a person who

(i) collects debts for others,

(ii) offers or undertakes to collect debts for others,

(iii) solicits accounts for collection,

(iv) collects debts owed to him or her under a name which is different from the name of the creditor,

(v) mails to debtors or offers or undertakes to mail to debtors, on behalf of a creditor, collection letters,

(vi) for consideration, or hope or promise of consideration, enters into an agreement under the terms of which the person agrees to pay to a vendor an amount in respect of goods or services sold or supplied by the vendor to a person other than the collection agency,

(vii) offers or undertakes to act for a debtor in arrangements or negotiations with the debtors creditors,

(viii) receives money periodically from a debtor for distribution to his or her creditors,

(ix) sells or offers for sale a collection system, device or scheme intended to be used to collect debts, or

(x) acts as an independent court agent,

and includes a person who takes an assignment of a debt due at the date of assignment from a specified debtor;

(2) Paragraph 2(b) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after the word "bailiffs" the words "and independent court agents".

(3) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following immediately after paragraph (b):

(b.1) independent court agent means a person who initiates or undertakes legal proceedings in a court, including a person who starts an action, appears in court or enforces a judgment to collect debts on behalf of another person, for consideration given or promised, but does not include

(i) a barrister or solicitor, or

(ii) an articled clerk who is under the direction of a barrister or solicitor;

2. Subsection 3(2) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "the employees" and substituting the words "an articled clerk under the direction".

3. Section 13 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Collectors

13. (1) A person shall not act as a collector unless that person is employed and supervised by a registered collection agency.

(2) The registrar may direct that a person cease to act as a collector where

(a) in the opinion of the registrar, the financial responsibility of the collector or record of past conduct is such that it would be in the public interest to direct that the person cease to act as a collector; or

(b) the collector is or proposes to be in contravention of this Act or the regulations.

(3) A collection agency is responsible for the actions of the collectors which it employs and shall ensure that those collectors comply with the Act and the regulations.

4. Subsection 14(2) of the Act is repealed.
5. Section 15 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Annual reporting and fees

15. (1) A registered collection agency shall submit to the registrar an annual report and fee as required by the minister.

(2) The registrar may suspend or cancel the registration of a registered collection agency which fails to comply with subsection (1).

6. (1) Paragraph 17(1)(b) of the Act is repealed.

(2) Subsection 17(3) of the Act is repealed.
7. Section 18 of the Act is repealed.
8. (1) Paragraph 19(1)(d) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "or to act as a collector".

(2) Subsection 19(2) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "or collector".
9. (1) Subsection 20(2) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "or collector" wherever they appear.

(2) Subsection 20(4) of the Act is repealed.
10. Subsection 24(1) of the Act is amended by striking out the words "or collector" wherever they appear.
11. Section 25 of the Act is amended by striking out the figure "$2,000" and substituting the figure "$5,000" wherever it occurs and by striking out the figure "6" and substituting the figure "12" wherever it occurs.
12. Section 26 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Proof of carrying on business

26. Where, in a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is alleged that the accused carried on business as a collection agency without being registered, evidence of one transaction is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, evidence that the accused carried on the business.

13. Paragraph 31(a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) providing for the registration of collection agencies;

Commencement

14. Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 of this Act shall be considered to have come into force on January 1, 1997.

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer