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Can I collect credit card information from participants in Maine? What are the requirements?

Collecting Credit Card Information in Maine

Based on the provided documents, there are specific requirements for collection actions to collect credit card debts in Maine.

According to MERS Section 11020 [1.1], any collection action against a consumer to collect a credit card debt initiated by a debt collector must satisfy the following requirements:

  1. The debt collector must attach a one-page form notice to the front of the complaint as developed by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. The form notice must be written in language that is plain and readily understandable by the general public and, at a minimum, must contain a statement that failure to answer the complaint may result in entry of judgment in the amount demanded by the debt collector and a sample answer and an explanation that the consumer may fill out the form and return it to the court as the answer to the complaint.
  2. A court may not enter judgment unless it specifically finds that all the requirements of this section and all other applicable requirements of this chapter are met, including, but not limited to, whether the plaintiff has produced evidence that is admissible pursuant to the Maine Rules of Evidence on all required elements of its claim.

Therefore, if you are a debt collector, you may collect credit card information from participants in Maine, but you must follow the requirements outlined in MERS Section 11020 [1.1] when initiating a collection action.

It is important to note that this section does not apply to any collection action brought by a supervised financial organization as defined in Title 9‐A, section 1‐301, subsection 38‐A [1.1].

Student Loan Debts

The same requirements outlined in MERS Section 11020 [1.1] also apply to collection actions to collect student loan debts initiated by a debt collector.

Electronically Printed Credit Card and Debit Card Receipts

If you accept credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business, you may not print more than the last 5 digits of the credit card or debit card account number or the expiration date of the credit card or debit card on a receipt provided to a cardholder at the point of sale of the transaction, except as provided in MERS Section 1149 [3.1].

Prohibited Practice

If you are a travel agent and furnish travel services to a consumer and the consumer uses a credit card to obtain credit in the transaction, the provider of travel services for which the travel agent is an agent may not as the result of the use of the credit card impose a surcharge on or reduce commissions paid to the travel agent, as outlined in MERS Section 1142 [5.1].

Repealed Sections

Sections related to credit card restrictions, disclosure of lists of the names, addresses and account numbers of credit card holders, liability of holder of credit card, issuance of credit cards, and recurring charges to credit or charge cards have been repealed [2.1][2.2][4.1][2.3][2.4][6.1].

Therefore, based on the provided documents, you may collect credit card information from participants in Maine if you are a debt collector, but you must follow the requirements outlined in MERS Section 11020 [1.1] when initiating a collection action.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Maine