Marvin Mandel, Governor                       1747

CHAPTER 682
(Senate Bill 706)

AN ACT to add new Section 167 to Article 83 of the Annotated
Code of Maryland (1969 Replacement Volume and 1971 Supple-
ment), title "Sales and Notices," to follow immediately after Sec-
tion 166 thereof, and to be under the new subtitle "Consumer Debt
Collection," to prohibit certain actions by creditors in attempting
to collect an alleged debt arising from a consumer transaction, and
providing penalties REMEDIES for violation of this subtitle.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That new Section 167 be and it is hereby added to Article 83 of the
Annotated Code of Maryland (1969 Replacement Volume and 1971
Supplement), title "Sales and Notices," to follow immediately after
Section 166 thereof, and to be under the new subtitle "Consumer
Debt Collection," and to read as follows:

Consumer Debt Collection
167.

(a) In attempting to collect an alleged debt arising from a con-
sumer transaction, a person shall not

(1)  use or threaten force or violence;

(2)  threaten criminal prosecution? , UNLESS THE TRANSAC-
TION INVOLVED THE VIOLATION OF A CRIMINAL STATUTE;

(3)  disclose or threaten to disclose information affecting the
debtor's reputation for credit worthiness with knowledge or reason-
to know that the information is false;

(4) communicate or threaten to communicate with the debtor's
employer (4) CONTACT A PERSON'S EMPLOYER WITH RE-
SPECT TO A DELINQUENT INDEBTEDNESS prior to obtaining
final judgment against the debtor, except as permitted by statute;

(5) disclose or threaten to disclose to a person other than the
debtor or his spouse OR PARENT, IF THE DEBTOR IS A MINOR
information affecting the debtor's reputation, whether or not for
credit worthiness, with knowledge or reason to know that the other
person does not have a legitimate business need for the informa-
tion, but this subsection does not prohibit the disclosure to another
person of information permitted to be disclosed to him by statute;

(6) disclose or threaten to disclose information concerning the
existence of a debt known to be disputed by the debtor without dis-
closing that fact;

(7) (6) communicate with the debtor or a person related to him
with such frequency or at such unusual hours or in such a manner
as can reasonably be expected to abuse or harass the debtor;

(8) engage in other conduct which can reasonably be expected to
abuse or harass the debtor or a person related to him;

(9) (7) use profane, obscene or GROSSLY abusive language in
communicating with the debtor or a person related to him;