Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 32 > Chapter 109-A > Subchapter 2 - Debt Collection Activities

• Administrator: means the Superintendent of Consumer Credit Protection. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• 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
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consumer: means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• in writing: include printing and other modes of making legible words. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legal age: means the age of 18 and over. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• 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
• Month: means a calendar month. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Municipality: includes cities, towns and plantations, except that "municipality" does not include plantations in Title 10, chapter 110, subchapter IV; or Title 30?A, Part 2. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• 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
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• 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
• Resolved debt: means a debt that has been paid, settled or discharged in bankruptcy. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 Sec. 11002
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Revolving credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or open-end credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72