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| B.C. Reg. 295/2004 O.C. 657/2004 |
Deposited June 30, 2004 effective July 4, 2004 |
| This archived regulation consolidation is current to April 1, 2005 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here. |
Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act
[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 518/2004, January 1, 2005]
1 In this regulation:
"Act", except in section 3 (h), means the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act;
"licence" means a licence, as defined in section 1 of the Act, to act or hold out as a bailiff, collection agent or debt pooler.
2 (1) Part 7 [Debt Collection] of the Act does not apply to a sheriff, except a sheriff executing a warrant under the Repairers Lien Act.
(2) Sections 115 [disclosure to debtor] and 121 (1) and (2) [legal proceedings] of the Act do not apply to a creditor collecting or attempting to collect a debt owed to the creditor.
(3) Section 116 [communication with debtor] of the Act does not apply to a collector exercising a self-help remedy authorized under an enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada.
(4) Section 116 (4) (c) of the Act does not apply in respect of a debt due to the government.
3 The following persons or classes of persons are exempt from the requirement to have a licence:
(a) lawyers in the regular practice of their profession;
(b) persons acting as officers of or under the process or authority of any court;
(c) trust companies and trustees acting under the terms of any will, marriage settlement or deed of trust;
(d) chartered banks;
(e) credit unions, in respect of services provided by the credit union to its members;
(f) insurance agents licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, in respect of the collection of insurance premiums;
(g) brokerages licensed under the Real Estate Services Act, their related licensees within the meaning of that Act and their employees, in respect of collections incidental to the business of the applicable brokerage;
(h) persons collecting debts in the course of their employment with the government;
(i) sheriffs;
(j) discounters, as defined in section 2 of the Tax Rebate Discounting Act (Canada), exercising rights to refunds of tax acquired from taxpayers;
(k) trustees licensed or appointed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada);
(l) corporations, in respect of the collection of debts for other corporations that are their affiliate, as defined in section 1 of the Business Corporations Act.
[am. B.C. Reg. 518/2004, Sch. s. 3.]
4 Sections 5, 8 to 10 and 11 (1) to (4) do not apply to an applicant or licensee who is employed by another licensee.
5 An applicant for a licence must submit to the director
(a) a copy of every form that the applicant uses or intends to use to evidence any agreement or arrangement between the applicant and a person for whom the applicant acts, and
(b) a copy of every document or other form of written communication that the applicant uses or intends to use in collecting, negotiating or demanding payment of a debt.
6 (1) Subject to any applicable fees set by the administrative authority, a person must submit the following licence application fee with the person's application for a licence:
(a) subject to paragraph (b), if the application is for a licence for a principal location, a fee of $325;
(b) if the application is for a renewal of a licence for a principal location and the gross annual collections of the applicant total
(i) less than $250 000, a fee of $300,
(ii) $250 000 or more but less than $500 000, a fee of $500,
(iii) $500 000 or more but less than $1 000 000, a fee of $1 000, or
(iv) $1 000 000 or more, a fee of $1 500;
(c) if the application is for a licence for a location other than the principal location, a fee of $300;
(d) subject to paragraph (e), if the applicant is employed by a licensee, a fee of $125;
(e) if the application is for a renewal of a licence and the applicant is employed by a licensee, a fee of $100.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), if an applicant carries on business at only one location in British Columbia, that location is the applicant's principal location.
7 The director may issue a licence for a term not exceeding 3 years.
8 (1) A bailiff, collection agent and debt pooler must have a licence for each location from which the bailiff, collection agent or debt pooler conducts business in British Columbia.
(2) A licensee must immediately notify the director of any change of address for the location from which the licensee conducts business in British Columbia.
9 (1) A licensee must do all of the following:
(a) maintain a trust account in a savings institution in British Columbia;
(b) deposit all money collected from a debtor, or received on behalf of a creditor, in the trust account;
(c) maintain, in a form and manner satisfactory to the director, proper records of account;
(d) maintain the licensee's records and trust account at the place specified in the application for the licence, unless notice of a new location has been delivered to and approved by the director.
(2) A licensee must not disburse money from a trust account except for the following purposes:
(a) to pay the licensee's fees and disbursements charged under an agreement or arrangement referred to in section 5 (a);
(b) to correct an error caused by money deposited in the trust account by mistake;
(c) to make a payment under section 126 (2) of the Act.
10 (1) A licensee must submit a financial statement to the director
(a) for the licensee's previous calendar year or other period approved by the director, within 90 days of the end of the calendar year or other period, and
(b) when requested by the director and for the period requested by the director.
(2) The financial statement must contain the information required by the director.
(3) The director may require the financial statement to be an audited statement.
(4) A person who holds more than one licence may submit one financial statement that contains the information in respect of all licences held by the person.
11 (1) In this section, "employee" means an employee who is a licensee.
(2) A licensee must immediately report to the director all of the following:
(a) any change of address for the licensee's trust account or of any employee;
(b) the name and address of every new employee hired by the licensee;
(c) the name of any employee who ceases to be employed by the licensee and the reason the employment ceased;
(d) if the licensee is a corporation,
(i) a change in the senior officers, as defined in the Business Corporations Act, of the licensee, or
(ii) a material change in the beneficial ownership of the shares of the licensee.
(3) If an employee ceases to be employed by the licensee, the licensee must immediately give the employee's licence to the director.
(4) A licensee must do all of the following:
(a) display the licensee's licence in a conspicuous location in the place of business;
(b) not use any agreement, document or communication referred to in section 5 unless it has first been approved by the director;
(c) if the licensee holds a bailiff licence, maintain proper records of property repossessed, seized or distrained on, or disposed of, by the licensee.
(5) If the licensee holds a bailiff licence, the licensee must not move the repossessed, seized or distrained property more than 100 km while the debtor may redeem the property or reinstate the security agreement unless
(a) the debtor has consented in writing to the removal of the property, or
(b) the director authorizes in writing the removal of the property.
12 (1) A licensee must provide security to the director that is of the type and in the form acceptable to the director
(a) when the licensee applies for an initial licence, and
(b) if the licensee has held a licence for at least one year, in the amount required under subsection (2) within 90 days of the end of the calendar year or other period approved under section 10.
(2) The amount of the security referred to in subsection (1) must be the greater of
(a) $10 000, and
(b) the lesser of
(i) 10% of the gross amount collected by the licensee for the preceding calendar year or other period approved under section 10, less the commissions applicable to the amount collected, rounded up to the nearest $1 000, and
(ii) $1 000 000.
(3) The director must return the security to the person who provided the security 2 years after the person's licence is cancelled if there are no outstanding claims against the security.
(4) The director may realize on the security to indemnify the person bringing an action on the security against
(a) any failure or default of the licensee in accounting for or in the payment over of money collected by the licensee or the licensee's employees, and
(b) all costs of any action brought against the licensee to obtain an account for moneys collected by the licensee.
(5) A person may not make a claim or bring an action against security more than 2 years after the failure or default.
(6) A person who holds more than one licence may provide security to the director in a form and in an amount that covers all licences held by the person.
13 (1) A bond in accordance with the Bonding Act provided to the Director of Debt Collection as required under section 3 (1) of the Debt Collection Act is deemed to be security provided in accordance with section 12 of this regulation.
(2) Without limiting any other necessary changes to a bond referred to in subsection (1), a reference to the Director of Debt Collection of British Columbia in the bond is deemed to be a reference to the director.
[Provisions of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 2, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: sections 143, 144, 194, 199 and 211]
Copyright (c) 2005: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada