(a) A collection agency shall not collect, or attempt to collect, any collection fee or attorney’s fee or commission from any debtor; provided that an attorney’s fee or commission may be collected after filing of a suit against any debtor and the fee or commission shall not be in excess of twenty-five per cent of the unpaid principal balance. All attorney’s fees or commissions collected by a collection agency shall be remitted to the attorney and no portion of the collection shall be retained by the collection agency.

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 443B-9

  • Collection agency: includes :

    (1) Any person using any name other than the person's own in collecting the person's own claims with the intention of conveying, or which tends to convey the impression that a third party has been employed;

    (2) Any person who, in the conduct of the person's business for a fee, regularly repossesses any merchandise or chattels for another; and

    (3) Any person who regularly accepts the assignment of claims or money due on accounts or other forms of indebtedness and brings suits upon the assigned claims or money due on accounts or other forms of indebtedness in the person's own name; provided that any suits shall be initiated and prosecuted by an attorney who shall have been appointed by the assignee. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 443B-1

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Debtor: means any person or the person's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, parent (if the person is a minor), guardian, executor, or administrator obligated or allegedly obligated to pay a debt. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 443B-1
  • Department: means the department of commerce and consumer affairs. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 443B-1
(b) This section shall not prohibit a collection agency from collecting, or attempting to collect, from a debtor, a commission authorized under a contract with the University of Hawaii, a contract with the department of taxation pursuant to sections 231-13 and 231-26, or a contract with the executive office on early learning.