Hawaii · statute · Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 443B · 34 active provisions
As used in this chapter: "Client" means a person who offered or extended credit which created a debt, or to whom a debt is owed, and who engages the professional services of a collection agency. The term does not include any person who receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely for the purpose of fa…
In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the director shall: (1) Grant certificates of registration to collection agencies pursuant to this chapter; (2) Adopt, amend, or repeal rules as the director deems proper to fully effectuate this chapter; (3) Enforce this chapter and the rules relating to co…
(a) No collection agency shall collect or attempt to collect any money or any other forms of indebtedness alleged to be due and owing from any person who resides or does business in this State without first registering under this chapter. (b) Registration shall include: (1) Submission of a complete application for regi…
(a) A collection agency that is not registered as a collection agency in the State may apply for designation as an exempt out-of-state collection agency by complying with the requirements of this section. (b) To be designated as an exempt out-of-state collection agency, a collection agency shall: (1) Not have any emplo…
The director shall prescribe the form of the application for registration. Each application shall be accompanied by the appropriate fees and the bond or bonds required by section 443B-5.
Each certificate of registration shall be in a form prescribed and signed by the director, and shall be issued in the name of the department.
(a) Not less than sixty days before a collection agency terminates its business operations in the State, the registrant shall transmit a statement to the director and to each of the agency's clients indicating: (1) That the registrant intends to terminate business in this State; (2) The effective date of the terminatio…
Within ten days after termination of the business, the registrant shall surrender the certificate of registration to the director.
Every collection agency shall notify the director in writing of any material change at any time during the application process or the period of registration.
Evidence that a collection agency has committed any act which is prohibited by this chapter shall be sufficient to justify the remedies set forth in this chapter, without proof of a general course of conduct.
No registration, including the rights, privileges, and obligations thereof, shall be assigned, sold, leased, encumbered, or otherwise transferred, voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, including by transfer of control of any collection agency, whether by change in ownership or otherwise, except upon wri…
In addition to any other actions authorized by law, the director may fine any agency, revoke or terminate any registration, suspend the right of the registrant to use the registration, or refuse to renew or restore a registration for any cause authorized by law, including but not limited to the following: (1) Dishonest…
(a) Each collection agency shall renew its registration by June 30 of each even-numbered year. (b) When renewing its registration, an agency shall submit to the director the following: (1) An application on a form prescribed by the director; (2) Satisfactory evidence that the collection agency is bonded as required by…
(a) A forfeited registration may be restored by submitting an application provided by the director and by paying a delinquent renewal fee and a restoration fee in the amount specified by rule. (b) Failure to restore a forfeited registration within sixty days of forfeiture shall cause the registration to be terminated.…
Any collection agency whose registration has been terminated but continues to conduct business as a collection agency shall be engaging in an unregistered activity, and any agency so engaged, and any employee or agent of the agency who engages in an unregistered activity, shall be subject to the sanctions provided in t…
(a) When the director has reasonable cause to believe that a registrant created deficiencies or other problems in accounts which hold funds or other forms of payment collected on behalf of a complainant, the director may order an audit of the account or accounts, or an unannounced verification of the account's cash bal…
It is unlawful for any person who is not a registered collection agency to design, compile, or furnish any form knowing that the form could be used to create a belief in a debtor that the person who designed, compiled or furnished the form is a collection agency.
(a) Each collection agency shall file and maintain with the director a bond in the penal sum of $25,000 for the first office in this State and $15,000 for each additional office in this State. (b) All bonds required by this section shall be issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the State, and shall ru…
(a) A collection agency shall have and maintain a regular active business office in the State for the purpose of conducting collection agency business. The business office shall be open to the public during stated reasonable business hours. (b) Every collection agency shall designate a principal collector to assume res…
(a) Every collection agency shall keep and maintain a permanent record or have immediate access to copies of the permanent record of all funds and other forms of indebtedness collected by it, and of all disbursements. Every collection agency shall maintain and keep a record of all clients' funds or have immediate acces…
(a) A collection agency shall not collect, or attempt to collect, any collection fee or attorney's fee or commission from any debtor; provided that an attorney's fee or commission may be collected after filing of a suit against any debtor and the fee or commission shall not be in excess of twenty-five per cent of the u…
Every collection agency shall, within thirty days after the close of each calendar month, report and pay to its clients the net amount due to each client out of all collections made during the preceding calendar month. In the event the gross amount due is paid to a client and the client fails to pay a collection agency…
Each collection agency shall be considered a fiduciary with respect to its clients and shall keep and disburse funds collected on its client's behalf in strict compliance with any agreement made with a client and with all applicable laws.
If a collection agency has failed to account for and pay over the proceeds of any collection made, the client shall have, in addition to all other legal remedies, a right of action in the client's own name on the bond given pursuant to this chapter and the total of all recoveries from the sureties shall not exceed the…
The remedies provided for in this chapter are in addition to and not exclusive of any other remedies provided by law.