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Volume 58, No. 23

231/2015

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

December 15, 2015

B.C. Reg. 231/2015 , deposited December 9, 2015, under the JUSTICE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2015 [section 34] and the BUSINESS PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT [sections 194, 199 and 201]. Order in Council 757/2015, approved and ordered December 9, 2015.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that, effective April 1, 2016,

(

a) sections 1 to 13 of the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2015 , S.B.C. 2015, c. 6, are brought into force, and

(

b) the Debt Collection Industry Regulation, B.C. Reg. 295/2004, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— S. ANTON, Attorney General and Minister of Justice ; T. STONE, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule

1 The title of the Debt Collection Industry Regulation, B.C. Reg. 295/2004, is repealed and the following substituted:

DEBT COLLECTION AND REPAYMENT REGULATION .

Section 1 is amended

(

a) in the definition of “Act” by striking out “ , except in

section 3 (h), ”,

(

b) by repealing the definition of “debt pooler” , and

(

c) by adding the following definition:

“debt repayment agent” has the same meaning as in

section 125 [definitions] of the Act; .

3 Sections 1.1 (

c) and 8 (1) are amended by striking out “ debt pooler ” wherever it appears and substituting “ debt repayment agent ”.

Section 2 (2) is amended by striking out “ Sections 115 [disclosure to debtor] and 121 (1) and (2) [legal proceedings] of the Act do ” and substituting “

Section 115 [disclosure to debtor] of the Act does ”.

Section 5 (

b) is amended by striking out “ collecting, negotiating or demanding ” and substituting “ collecting, negotiating, demanding or arranging ”.

Section 6 is repealed.

Section 9 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1) (

b) and substituting the following:

(

b) if receiving money from a debtor for distribution to the debtor’s creditors or on behalf of a creditor from a source other than a debtor, deposit the money, within 5 days of its receipt, in the trust account; ,

(

b) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) A licensee must not deposit money into the trust account referred to in subsection (1) (

a) other than money referred to in subsection (1) (b). , and

(

c) in subsection (2) (

c) by striking out “

section 126 (2) ” and substituting “

section 126 (2) or (3) ”.

Section 12 (2) (b) (

i) is repealed and the following substituted:

(i) 10% of the gross amount received or collected by the licensee for the preceding calendar year or other period approved under

section 10, less the fees or commissions applicable to the amount received or collected, rounded up to the nearest $1 000, and .

9 The following sections are added:

Debt repayment contract

14 In addition to the contents of a debt repayment contract required by sections 19 and 23 of the Act, a contract between a debt repayment agent and a debtor must include the following:

(

a) the name, address and telephone number of the debtor;

(

b) the email address, if any, of the debt repayment agent;

(

c) an itemized statement of the fees that are to be paid by the debtor and the dates on which each fee must be paid;

(

d) the names of the debtor’s creditors to whom payments will be made under the contract;

(

e) the total amount owed to each of the debtor’s creditors referred to in paragraph (d);

(

f) the method that the debt repayment agent proposes to use in arranging or negotiating settlement of the debtor’s debt, whether by a proposed

schedule of payments or a proposed one-time payment;

(

g) the dates by which the debt repayment agent will forward the proposal to each of the debtor’s creditors;

(

h) when payments to each of the debtor’s creditors are to be made, the amount of each payment and the total number of payments;

(

i) the requirement that when the debt repayment agent makes a payment to a creditor of the debtor or the debtor’s debt has been fully paid or settled, the debt repayment agent must account in writing to the debtor with the following information:

(

i) the amount paid;

(ii) the name of the creditor to whom the amount was paid;

(

j) the following statement:

“Debt repayment agents operating in British Columbia are required to be licensed under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and are regulated under that Act. The services of a debt repayment agent are not provided on behalf of, or in affiliation with, the Province of British Columbia or the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority, commonly known and doing business as Consumer Protection BC.

Using the service of a debt repayment agent will not necessarily improve your credit rating, deter the efforts of a creditor to collect a debt or prevent legal action to recover the debt, including garnishment of your wages. For more information on the regulation of debt repayment agents, please contact Consumer Protection BC.”

Maximum fees and disbursements

15 A debt repayment agent must not charge a debtor fees or disbursements in excess of the following amounts:

(

a) if, under a debt repayment proposal accepted by a creditor of the debtor, the debtor is to pay the creditor, 10% of the gross amount to be paid;

(

b) if, under a debt repayment proposal accepted by a creditor of the debtor, the debt repayment agent is to distribute money received from the debtor to the creditor as a one-time payment or in accordance with a

schedule of payments over a term lasting less than 90 days, 10% of the gross amount to be received;

(

c) if, under a debt repayment proposal accepted by a creditor of the debtor, the debt repayment agent is to distribute money received from the debtor to the creditor in accordance with a

schedule of payments over a term lasting 90 days or more,

(i) 15% of the gross amount to be received, and

(ii) a one-time charge of no more than the average monthly distribution to be made to the creditor.

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