| Date: | 07/01/1999 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | Division of Banks |
| Docket Number: | 98-272 |
This opinion was issued in the third quarter of 1999.
- This page, Summary of Selected Opinion 98-272, is offered by
- Division of Banks
Opinion
Opinion Summary of Selected Opinion 98-272
Table of Contents
Servicer reporting credit experience with debtor in servicer's name
The regulation governing debt collections at 209 CMR 18.18(8) states that it would constitute an unfair and deceptive act for a collection agency to report to a consumer reporting agency on its transactions or experiences with a debtor in the collection agency's name. However, a collection agency may, with the express written authorization of a creditor, report to a consumer reporting agency in the creditors name. It is the Division's position that this regulation is not subject to interpretation. The Division's position remains that a servicer, licensed in Massachusetts as a sales finance company pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 255B and as a debt collection agency pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 93, section 24, cannot report its credit experiences with a debtor in the servicer's name. That position does not change even when the servicer has served in that capacity throughout the life of the contract. To do so, would violate the regulation and implicate the provisions of the Commonwealth's omnibus consumer protection act, chapter 93A of the General Laws.