Section 84.504 - Collection Contacts(a) A licensee or the licensee's agent has the right to contact any person in order to secure information concerning a retail buyer, unless any person other than the retail buyer, the retail buyer's spouse, a member of the retail buyer's household, a co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation, objects to any contact by a licensee or the licensee's agent. Any objection must specify the retail buyer and the account in question to the licensee or the licensee's agent involved in the collection. Upon receipt of the objection, the licensee or agent must cease and desist from any further deliberate communication with the person objecting relative to the specific retail buyer and account in question.(b) A licensee or the licensee's agent must not solicit the payment of all or any part of any debt subject to Texas Finance Code, Chapter 348 from any person other than the retail buyer, a co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation, retail buyer's designee, trustee, insurance company or service contract provider paying a claim or a refund involving the debtor or motor vehicle, any party having a lawful right or claim to the motor vehicle, any person who may be or is legally obligated to pay all or a portion of the debt, or a guardian, executor, administrator, attorney, agent, or representative of any of the foregoing.(c) Without the prior written consent of the retail buyer given directly to the licensee or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a licensee may not communicate with a retail buyer in connection with the collection of amounts due under a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract at any unusual time. In the absence of any knowledge to the contrary, a licensee can assume that the convenient time for communicating with a retail buyer is after 8:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m., local time at the retail buyer's location.(d) A licensee may not knowingly communicate with a retail buyer in connection with the collection of amounts due under a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract at the retail buyer's place of employment if the licensee has received written notification from the retail buyer or the retail buyer's employer to cease communications with the retail buyer while at the place of employment regarding the specific retail buyer and account in question. The licensee may require the retail buyer or retail buyer's employer to place the objection in writing. The objection, if required, should specify the name or names of retail buyers subject to the objection. The prohibition on contact under this subsection may be overridden by court order.(e) Without the prior written consent of the retail buyer given directly to the licensee or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, in connection with the collection of amounts due under a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, a licensee may not communicate nonpublic personal information pertaining to a debt or obligation unless the person receiving the information is the retail buyer, the retail buyer's attorney, the retail buyer's designee, a co-buyer, endorser, surety, or guarantor of the obligation, a consumer reporting agency, another creditor, the attorney of the creditor, a guardian, executor, or administrator, or any party that may lawfully receive the information under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, RSA 6801 - RSA 6827, and its implementing regulations, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, RSA 1681 - RSA 1681x, and its implementing regulations, or other law or regulation. Unless notified pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, this prohibition does not apply to a licensee seeking information about the location of the retail buyer.(f) Subsections (a) - (e) of this section do not apply to a communication or contact directly relating to a pending court or arbitration proceeding. Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (e) of this section do not apply to providing a notice required by law or contract.(g) In attempting to collect money due on a contract or to take possession of any property securing a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, a licensee or the licensee's agent must not use any simulated legal process, simulated legal document, or legal form designed to suggest that legal proceedings have been commenced or completed when in fact they have not.(h) In attempting to collect money due on a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, to take possession of any property securing a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, or to secure information concerning a motor vehicle retail installment sales contract, a licensee or the licensee's agent must not impersonate or attempt to impersonate any law enforcement officer or other agent of federal, state, or local governments. A licensee or a licensee's agent must not use any fictitious name unless the name used is an established or recognized trade name of the licensee or the licensee's agent. The preceding sentence does not apply to individual employees or representatives of the licensee, so long as the licensee maintains a system to determine the identity of the person contacting the obligor.7 Tex. Admin. Code § 84.504
The provisions of this §84.504 adopted to be effective July 10, 2008, 33 TexReg 5281; amended to be effective November 8, 2012, 37 TexReg 8780