Texas Finance Code 392.303 – Unfair or Unconscionable Means
(a) In debt collection, a debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means that employ the following practices:
(1) seeking or obtaining a written statement or acknowledgment in any form that specifies that a consumer’s obligation is one incurred for necessaries of life if the obligation was not incurred for those necessaries;
(2) collecting or attempting to collect interest or a charge, fee, or expense incidental to the obligation unless the interest or incidental charge, fee, or expense is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the obligation or legally chargeable to the consumer; or
(3) collecting or attempting to collect an obligation under a check, draft, debit payment, or credit card payment, if:
(A) the check or draft was dishonored or the debit payment or credit card payment was refused because the check or draft was not drawn or the payment was not made by a person authorized to use the applicable account;
(B) the debt collector has received written notice from a person authorized to use the account that the check, draft, or payment was unauthorized; and
(C) the person authorized to use the account has filed a report concerning the unauthorized check, draft, or payment with a law enforcement agency, as defined by Article 59.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, and has provided the debt collector with a copy of the report.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a creditor may charge a reasonable reinstatement fee as consideration for renewal of a real property loan or contract of sale, after default, if the additional fee is included in a written contract executed at the time of renewal.
Terms Used In Texas Finance Code 392.303
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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.
- 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: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Subsection (a)(3) does not prohibit a debt collector from collecting or attempting to collect an obligation under a check, draft, debit payment, or credit card payment if the debt collector has credible evidence, including a document, video recording, or witness statement, that the report filed with a law enforcement agency, as required by Subsection (a)(3)(C), is fraudulent and that the check, draft, or payment was authorized.