§3534.1. Collection agent; registration; assignment of debt to collector

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.

Acts 2006, No. 534, §1, eff. June 22, 2006.