Section R20-4-1520. Representations of Collection Agency Employees’ Identity or Position

A.      A collection agency shall not allow its debt collector, agent, representative, employee, or officer to:

1.        Misrepresent the person’s true position with the collec- tion agency,

2.        Claim to be, or imply that the person is, an attorney unless the person is licensed to practice law, or

3.        Claim to be, or imply that the person is, a public official, peace officer, or any other type of public employee, or

4.        Claim to be, or imply that the person is, any other third party.

B.       In any communication with a debtor, a person working for a collection agency shall indicate that the person is a debt collec- tor.

C.      A collection agency shall keep a record of all fictitious names used by its debt collectors during their employment. The col- lection agency shall record the information required by this subsection before permitting the use of a fictitious name. The collection agency shall file a copy of the record of fictitious names with the Department on July 1 and December 31 of each year. After filing the initial report, a collection agency shall identify all changes to the record on July 1 and December 31 of each year. The collection agency’s record of fictitious names shall include:

1.        The true name of each debt collector that uses a fictitious name,

2.        Each fictitious name used by the debt collector, together with the dates when the name is used, and

3.        The  residential  street  address  and  residential  mailing address of each debt collector that uses a fictitious name.

Historical Note

Adopted effective December 18, 1979 (Supp. 79-6). R20-

4-1520 recodified from R4-4-1520 (Supp. 95-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 12 A.A.R. 1331, effective June 4, 2006 (Supp. 06-2).