§ 401. Short title
This chapter may be cited as the Virgin Islands Uniform Debt-Management Services Act.
§ 402. Definitions
In this chapter: (1) “Affiliate”: (A) with respect to an individual, means: (i) the spouse of the individual; (ii) a sibling of the individual or the spouse of a sibling; (iii) an individual or the spouse of an individual who is a lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the individual or the individual’s spouse; (iv) […]
§ 403. Exempt agreements and persons
(a) This chapter does not apply to an agreement with an individual who the provider has no reason to know resides in the Virgin Islands at the time of the agreement. (b) This chapter does not apply to a provider to the extent that the provider: (1) provides or agrees to provide debt-management, educational, or […]
§ 404. Registration
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), a provider may not provide debt-management services to an individual who the provider reasonably should know resides in the Virgin Islands at the time the provider agrees to provide the services, unless the provider is registered under this chapter. (b) If a provider is registered under this […]
§ 405. Application for registration: form, fee, and accompanying documents
(a) An application for registration as a provider must be in a form prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor. (b) Subject to adjustment of dollar amounts pursuant to section 432(f), an application for registration as a provider must be accompanied by: (1) the fee established by the Lieutenant Governor; (2) the bond required by section 413; […]
§ 406. Application for registration: required information
An application for registration must be signed under penalty of false statement and include: (1) the applicant’s name, principal business address and telephone number, and all other business addresses in the Virgin Islands, electronic-mail addresses, and Internet website addresses; (2) all names under which the applicant conducts business; (3) the address of each location in […]
§ 407. Application for registration: obligation to update information
An applicant or registered provider shall notify the Lieutenant Governor within 10 days after a change in the information specified in section 405(b)(4) or (6) or 406(1), (3), (6), (12), or (13).
§ 408. Application for registration: public information
Except for the information required by section 406(7), (14), and (17) and the addresses required by section 406(4), the Lieutenant Governor shall make the information in an application for registration as a provider available to the public.
§ 409. Certificate of registration: issuance or denial
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (c) and (d), the Lieutenant Governor shall issue a certificate of registration as a provider to a person that complies with sections 405 and 406. (b) If an applicant has otherwise complied with sections 405 and 406, including a timely effort to obtain the information required by section […]
§ 410. Certificate of registration: timing
(a) The Lieutenant Governor shall approve or deny an initial registration as a provider within 120 days after an application is filed. In connection with a request pursuant to section 406(19) for additional information, the Lieutenant Governor may extend the 120-day period for not more than 60 days. Within seven days after denying an application, […]
§ 411. Renewal of registration
(a) A provider must obtain a renewal of its registration annually. (b) An application for renewal of registration as a provider must be in a form prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor, signed under penalty of false statement, and: (1) be filed no fewer than 30 and no more than 60 days before the registration expires; […]
§ 412. Registration in another state
If a provider holds a license or certificate of registration in another state authorizing it to provide debt-management services, the provider may submit a copy of that license or certificate and the application for it instead of an application in the form prescribed by section 405(a), 406, or 411(b). The Lieutenant Governor shall accept the […]
§ 413. Bond required
(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 414, a provider that is required to be registered under this chapter shall file a surety bond with the Lieutenant Governor which must: (1) be in effect during the period of registration and for two years after the provider ceases providing debt-management services to individuals in the Virgin […]
§ 414. Bond required: substitute
(a) Instead of the surety bond required by section 413, a provider may deliver to the Lieutenant Governor, in the amount required by section 413(b), and, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2)(A), payable or available to Virgin Islands and to individuals who reside in the Virgin Islands when they agree to receive debt-management services […]
§ 415. Requirement of good faith
A provider shall act in good faith in all matters under this chapter.
§ 416. Customer service
A provider that is required to be registered under this chapter shall maintain a toll-free communication system, staffed at a level that reasonably permits an individual to speak to a certified counselor, certified debt specialist, or customer-service representative, as appropriate, during ordinary business hours.
§ 417. Prerequisites for providing debt-management services
(a) Before providing debt-management services, a registered provider shall give the individual an itemized list of goods and services and the charges for each. The list must be clear and conspicuous, be in a record the individual may keep whether or not the individual assents to an agreement, and describe the goods and services the […]
§ 418. Communication by electronic or other means
(a) In this section: (1) “Federal act” means the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq.. (2) “Consumer” means an individual who seeks or obtains goods or services that are used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. (b) A provider may satisfy the requirements of section 417, […]
§ 419. Form and contents of agreement
(a) An agreement must: (1) be in a record; (2) be dated and signed by the provider and the individual; (3) include the name of the individual and the address where the individual resides; (4) include the name, business address, and telephone number of the provider; (5) be delivered to the individual immediately upon formation […]
§ 420. Cancellation of agreement; waiver
(a) An individual may cancel an agreement before midnight of the third business day after the individual assents to it, unless the agreement does not comply with subsection (b) or section 419 or 428, in which event the individual may cancel the agreement within 30 days after the individual assents to it. To exercise the […]