As used in this article 16, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) Administrator means the administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit
Code, articles 1 to 9 of this title 5, whose office is created in the department of law
in section 5-6-103.
(2) Repealed.
(3) (a) Collection agency means any:
(I) Person who engages in a business the principal purpose of which is the
collection of debts; or
(II) Person who:
(A) Regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts
owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another;
(B) Takes assignment of debts for collection purposes;
(C) Directly or indirectly solicits for collection debts owed or due or asserted
to be owed or due another;
(D) Collects debt for the department of personnel, but only for the purposes
specified in subsection (3)(d) of this section;
(b) Collection agency does not include:
(I) Any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor,
collecting debts for such creditor;
(II) Any person while acting as a collection agency for another person, both
of whom are related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if the
person acting as a collection agency does so only for creditors to whom it is so
related or affiliated and if the principal business of the person is not the collection
of debts;
(III) Any officer or employee of the United States or any state to the extent
that collecting or attempting to collect any debt is in the performance of the
officer's or employee's official duties, except as otherwise provided in subsection
(9) of this section;
(IV) Any person while serving or attempting to serve legal process on any
other person in connection with the judicial enforcement of any debt;
(V) Any debt-management services provider operating in compliance with or
exempt from the Uniform Debt-Management Services Act, part 2 of article 19 of
this title 5;
(VI) Any person collecting or attempting to collect any debt owed or due or
asserted to be owed or due another to the extent that:
(A) The activity is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary obligation or a bona fide
escrow arrangement;
(B) The activity concerns a debt that was extended by the person;
(C) The activity concerns a debt that was not in default at the time it was
obtained by the person; or
(D) The activity concerns a debt obtained by the person as a secured party in
a commercial credit transaction involving the creditor;
(VII) Any person whose principal business is the making of loans or the
servicing of debt not in default and who acts as a loan correspondent, or seller and
servicer for the owner, or holder of a debt which is secured by a deed of trust on
real property whether or not the debt is also secured by an interest in personal
property;
(VIII) A limited gaming or racing licensee acting pursuant to article 33 of title
44.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3)(b)(VI) of this section,
collection agency includes any person who, in the process of collecting his or her
own debts, uses another name which would indicate that a third person is collecting
or attempting to collect such debts.
(d) For the purposes of section 5-16-108 (1)(f), collection agency includes
any person engaged in any business the principal purpose of which is the
enforcement of security interests. For purposes of sections 5-16-104, 5-16-105, 5-16-106, 5-16-107, 5-16-108, and 5-16-109 only, collection agency includes a debt
collector for the department of personnel.
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(b) of this section, collection agency
includes any person who engages in any of the following activities; except that the
person shall be exempt from provisions of this article 16 that concern licensing and
licensees:
(I) Is an attorney-at-law and regularly engages in the collection or attempted
collection of debts in this state;
(II) Is a person located outside this state whose collection activities are
limited to collecting debts not incurred in this state from consumers located in this
state and whose collection activities are conducted by means of interstate
communications, including telephone, mail, or facsimile transmission, and who is
located in another state that regulates and licenses collection agencies but does
not require Colorado collection agencies to obtain a license to collect debts in their
state if the agencies' collection activities are limited in the same manner.
(4) Communication means conveying information regarding a debt in
written or oral form, directly or indirectly, to any person through any medium.
(5) Consumer means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to
pay any debt.
(6) (a) Consumer reporting agency means any person that, for monetary
fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part
in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third
parties.
(b) Consumer reporting agency shall not include any business entity that
provides check verification or check guarantee services only.
(c) Consumer reporting agency shall include any persons defined in 15
U.S.C. sec. 1681a (f) or section 5-18-103 (4).
(7) Creditor means any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt
or to which a debt is owed, but creditor does not include any person to the extent
the person receives an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely for the
purpose of facilitating collection of the debt for another.
(8) (a) Debt means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to
pay money arising out of a transaction, whether or not the obligation has been
reduced to judgment.
(a.5) Debt includes the recoverable expense of educating and training a
worker pursuant to section 8-2-113 (3)(a).
(b) Debt does not include a debt for business, investment, commercial, or
agricultural purposes or a debt incurred by a business.
(8.5) Debt buyer means a person who engages in the business of
purchasing delinquent or defaulted debt for collection purposes, whether it collects
the debt itself, hires a third party for collection, or hires an attorney for litigation in
order to collect the debt. Debt buyers are collection agencies for the purposes of
this article 16.
(9) Debt collector means any person employed or engaged by a collection
agency to perform the collection of debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or
due to another, and includes any person employed by the department of personnel,
or any division of that department, when collecting debts due to the state on behalf
of another state agency.
(10) Location information means a consumer's place of abode and his or her
telephone number at such place or his or her place of employment.
(10.5) Medical debt means debt arising from health-care services, as
defined in section 10-16-102 (33), or health-care goods, including products, devices,
durable medical equipment, and prescription drugs. Medical debt does not
include debt charged to a credit card.
(11) Person means a natural person, firm, corporation, limited liability
company, or partnership.
(12) Principal means any individual having a position of responsibility in a
collection agency, including but not limited to any manager, director, officer,
partner, owner, or shareholder owning ten percent or more of the stock.
(13) Solicitor means any person employed or engaged by a collection
agency who solicits or attempts to solicit debts for collection by the person or any
other person.
(14) State means any state, territory, or possession of the United States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any political
subdivision of any of them.