Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 32 > Chapter 109-A > Subchapter 1 - General Provisions

• Administrator: means the Superintendent of Consumer Credit Protection. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Charge-off: means the act of a creditor removing an account from its books as an asset and treating it as a loss or expense because payment is unlikely. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Collection action: means a lawsuit or arbitration proceeding initiated to collect a debt from a consumer. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Communication: means the conveyance or receipt of information regarding or facilitating the collection of a debt, directly or indirectly, to or from any person through any medium. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Conducting business in this State: means the collection or attempted collection of a debt due another by a debt collector located in this State; the solicitation of creditors in this State as clients and the collection or attempted collection of their debts by a debt collector, wherever located; or the collection or attempted collection of a debt from a consumer in this State by a debt collector, wherever located. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Consumer: means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Creditor: means any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed, but that term does not include any person to the extent that he receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely for the purpose of facilitating collection of that debt for another. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Debt: includes any obligation or alleged obligation for payment of child support owed to, or owed by, a resident of this State and any obligation or alleged obligation relating to a check returned because of insufficient funds if a consumer is subject to an enforcement program operated by a private entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Debt buyer: means a person that is regularly engaged in the business of purchasing charged-off consumer debt for collection purposes, whether the person collects the debt or hires a 3rd party, which may include an attorney-at-law, in order to collect the debt. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Debt collector: includes persons who furnish collection systems carrying a name that simulates the name of a debt collector and who supply forms or form letters to be used by the creditor even though the forms direct the debtor to make payments directly to the creditor. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Location information: means a consumer's place of abode and his telephone number at that place or his place of employment. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any natural person, corporation, trust, partnership, incorporated or unincorporated association and any other legal entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Real estate: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Residential real estate property preservation provider: means a person who regularly provides residential real estate property preservation services. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Residential real estate property preservation services: means those services undertaken at the direction of a person holding or enforcing a mortgage on residential real estate that is in default or in which the property is presumed abandoned in entering or arranging for entry into a building to perform the services of winterizing the residence, changing the door locks or removing unsecured items from the residence. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Resolved debt: means a debt that has been paid, settled or discharged in bankruptcy. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72