| (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, 15 U.S.C. §§6801 - 6827, and its implementing regulations,
or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1681 - 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.
|
