§ 58-70-15. Definition of collection agency and collection agency business.
§ 58‑70‑15. Definition of collection agency and collection agency business.
(a) "Collectionagency" means a person directly or indirectly engaged in soliciting, frommore than one person delinquent claims of any kind owed or due or asserted tobe owed or due the solicited person and all persons directly or indirectlyengaged in the asserting, enforcing or prosecuting of those claims.
(b) "Collectionagency" includes any of the following:
(1) Any person thatprocures a listing of delinquent debtors from any creditor and that sells thelisting or otherwise receives any fee or benefit from collections made on thelisting.
(2) Any person thatattempts to or does transfer or sell to any person not holding the permitprescribed by this Article any system or series of letters or forms for use inthe collection of delinquent accounts or claims which by direct assertion or byimplication indicate that the claim or account is being asserted or collectedby any person, firm, corporation, or association other than the creditor orowner of the claim or demand.
(3) An in‑housecollection agency, whereby a person, firm, corporation, or association sets upa collection service for his or its own business and the agency has a nameother than that of the business.
(4) A "debt buyer."As used in this subdivision, the term "debt buyer" means a person orentity that is engaged in the business of purchasing delinquent or charged‑offconsumer loans or consumer credit accounts, or other delinquent consumer debtfor collection purposes, whether it collects the debt itself or hires a thirdparty for collection or an attorney‑at‑law for litigation in orderto collect such debt.
(c) "Collectionagency" does not mean:
(1) Regular employees ofa single creditor;
(2) Banks, trustcompanies, or bank‑owned, controlled or related firms, corporations orassociations engaged in accounting, bookkeeping or data processing serviceswhere a primary component of such services is the rendering of statements ofaccounts and bookkeeping services for creditors;
(3) Mortgage bankingcompanies;
(4) Savings and loanassociations;
(5) Building and loanassociations;
(6) Duly licensed realestate brokers and agents when the claims or accounts being handled by thebroker or agent are related to or are in connection with the broker's oragent's regular real estate business;
(7) Express, telephoneand telegraph companies subject to public regulation and supervision;
(8) Attorneys‑at‑lawhandling claims and collections in their own name and not operating acollection agency under the management of a layman;
(9) Any person, firm,corporation or association handling claims, accounts or collections under anorder or orders of any court;
(10) A person, firm,corporation or association which, for valuable consideration purchasesaccounts, claims, or demands of another, which such accounts, claims, ordemands of another are not delinquent at the time of such purchase, and then,in its own name, proceeds to assert or collect the accounts, claims or demands;
(11) Any person attemptingto collect or collecting claims, in that person's name, of a business orbusinesses owned wholly or substantially by that person;
(12) Any nonprofit taxexempt corporation organized for the purpose of providing mediation or otherdispute resolution services; and
(13) The designatedrepresentatives of programs as defined by G.S. 110‑129(5). (1969, c. 906, s. 3; 1973,c. 785; 1979, c. 835; 1989, c. 441, ss. 4, 5, 12; 1991, c. 387, s. 1; 1993, c.553, s. 22; 1999‑419, s. 1; 2001‑269, s. 1.2; 2009‑573, s.4(a).)