Existing law, the Fair Debt Settlement Practices Act, prohibits a debt settlement provider from engaging in false, deceptive, or misleading acts or practices, as specified, when providing debt settlement services. Existing law requires a debt settlement provider to provide a consumer with certain disclosures along with an unsigned copy of the proposed written contract between the debt settlement provider and the consumer and prohibits certain unfair, abusive, or deceptive practices in connection with payment processor activities. Existing law authorizes a consumer to terminate a contract for debt settlement services at any time without a fee or penalty of any sort by notifying the debt settlement provider, at which time the debt settlement provider is required to, among other things, provide, within 3 business days, a detailed accounting of any amounts received or expected to be received by the debt settlement provider from the consumer’s settlement account after the debt settlement provider received effective notice of request for cancellation. Existing law authorizes a consumer to bring a civil action for violation of these provisions.

This bill would expand the protections for consumers described above to include commercial debtors, as defined, and make other, nonsubstantive and related changes.