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Louisiana Consumer Credit Law
Title IX Civil Code Ancillaries
Code Title XII -- Of Loan
Chapter 2. Louisiana Consumer Credit Law
Part IV. Limitations on Agreements and Practices
A. Any consumer credit transaction agreement may provide for the payment by the consumer of attorney's fees not in excess of twenty-five per cent of the unpaid debt after default and referral to an attorney for collection.
B. An extender of credit may not contract with a consumer for the reimbursement of fees paid to a collection agency employed to collect the consumer's indebtedness.
A. For purposes of this Section, "collection agency" and "debt collector" are synonymous and interchangeable terms and mean any person, other than a licensed Louisiana attorney, who uses any instrumentality of intrastate or interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another, and relative to Louisiana clients, notwithstanding the fact that such person has no employees, offices, equipment, or other physical facilities in this state, or any person who regularly attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due another, and who is located in the state regardless of whether the person has Louisiana clients.
B. Any collection agency or debt collector doing business in this state shall register with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to provide for the registration required by this Section.
C. In any suit brought by a collection agency or debt collector to collect a debt acquired from a client or customer via assignment, an agreement in writing by the such collector to expend time, effort, money, or other resources in pursuit of such debt, and to pay the credit grantor a net percentage of the amount collected on the debt shall be deemed a valid and enforceable assignment pursuant to this Section, and all other applicable laws of Louisiana.
D. When such collector attempts the collection of a debt owed a credit grantor, the representation of the credit grantor by such collector shall in all instances be deemed as an assignment and authorization for the purpose of allowing such collector to bring legal action to collect the debt. When such legal action is brought through an attorney licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of Louisiana it shall not be a violation of any state law, rule, or regulation including but not limited to R.S. 37:212.
E. In any suit brought by a collection agency or debt collection to collect the debt of a client or customer, the formal assignment of the debt to such collector shall be presumed valid if a copy of the assignment is filed in court with the petition. If the defendant fails to object to the validity of the assignment prior to the filing of an answer, then the assignment shall be conclusively presumed valid.
F. Subsections C and D of this Section shall apply in all instances whether or not the debt is assigned for valuable consideration; whether or not the services performed by the attorney were for the collector alone; whether or not the collector hired the attorney; and whether or not the collector's fees are contingent upon the amount collected by the attorney.
An extender of credit shall not divide a consumer credit transaction into multiple agreements for the purpose of obtaining a higher credit service charge, loan finance charge, or any other additional fee or charge permitted by this Chapter.
With respect to a consumer credit transaction, the extender of credit may not give or offer to give a rebate or discount or otherwise pay or offer to pay value to the consumer as an inducement for a sale in consideration of his giving to the extender of credit the names of prospective purchasers or otherwise aiding the extender of credit in making a sale to another person, if the earning of the rebate, discount or other value is contingent upon the occurrence of an event subsequent to the time the consumer agrees to buy. If a consumer is induced by a violation of this Section to enter into a consumer credit transaction, the agreement is unenforceable by the extender of credit and the consumer, at his option, may rescind the agreement or retain the goods delivered and the benefit of any services performed, without any obligation to pay for them.
LA Louisana Official State Statutes
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