(a) Each consumer collection agency shall maintain its consumer debtor and creditor records so as to clearly identify the amounts and dates of all payments collected or received from consumer debtors and all remittances made to creditors. Consumer debtor and creditor records shall be kept so as to be readily available to the Banking Commissioner and retained for a period of not less than two years after the date of final entry thereon. All accounting records shall be maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices. Each consumer collection agency engaged in the business of collecting child support shall maintain originals or copies of the written agreements entered into with the creditors to whom the child support is owed for a period of not less than two years after the date of the last payment made by the consumer debtor to the consumer collection agency.

(b) Each consumer collection agency, except a consumer collection agency engaged solely in the business of debt buying, shall deposit funds collected or received from consumer debtors for payment for others on an account, bill or other indebtedness in one or more trust accounts maintained at a federally insured bank, Connecticut credit union, federal credit union or an out-of-state bank that maintains in this state a branch as defined in section 36a-410, which accounts shall be reconciled monthly. Such funds shall not be commingled with funds of the consumer collection agency or used in the conduct of the consumer collection agency's business. Such account shall not be used for any purpose other than (1) the deposit of funds received from consumer debtors, (2) the payment of such funds to creditors, (3) the refund of any overpayments to be made to consumer debtors, and (4) the payment of earned fees to the consumer collection agency, which shall be withdrawn on a monthly basis. Except for payments authorized by subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, any withdrawal from such account, including, but not limited to, any service charge or other fee imposed against such account by a depository institution, shall be reimbursed by the consumer collection agency to such account not more than thirty days after the withdrawal. Funds received from consumer debtors shall be posted to their respective accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(P.A. 13-253, S. 24; P.A. 16-65, S. 51; P.A. 18-173, S. 83.)

History: P.A. 16-65 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “federally insured” and replacing “accounting practices” with “accounting principles”; P.A. 18-173 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “third party consumer collection agency” with “consumer collection agency, except a consumer collection agency engaged solely in the business of debt buying”.