Michigan Laws 339.910 – Books, accounts, and records; use; preservation; accessibility; annual report; financial report of trust account; audit; information provided to director exempt from disclosure; exception; compli
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 339.910
- Client: means a person that contracts with, or otherwise enters into an agreement with, an appraisal management company for the performance of real estate appraisal services. See Michigan Laws 339.2661
- Collection agency: means a person that is directly engaged in collecting or attempting to collect a claim owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another, or, subject to subsection (2), repossessing or attempting to repossess a thing of value owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another arising out of an expressed or implied agreement. See Michigan Laws 339.901
- debtor: means an individual who is obligated or allegedly obligated to pay a debt. See Michigan Laws 339.901
- month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- principal: means a person that offers or extends credit creating a debt or a person to which a debt is owed or due or asserted to be owed or due. See Michigan Laws 339.901
- Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
(1) A collection agency shall keep and use books, accounts, or records that the department requires to determine whether the collection agency is complying with this article and the rules promulgated under this article. These books, accounts, and records shall include at least all of the following:
(a) Permanent records that show the chronological sequence in which money is received and disbursed. For money received, the record shall include the date of receipt and deposit, the number of the account to which it is deposited, the name of the debtor, the name of the principal, and the amount. For disbursements, the record shall include the date, the payee, the check number, and the amount, with a corresponding debtor reference.
(b) For an agency licensee, all of the following:
(i) Records or books of accounts that include the account of each client in alphabetical order according to the names of the clients. If the licensee’s books of accounting are kept in numerical order, then the licensee shall maintain an alphabetical cross index of each client corresponding with the number of the account. Each account shall reflect the true condition of each debtor’s account at the end of each calendar month and shall include all of the following:
(A) The name and address of the client.
(B) The name of the debtor or debtors from whom collection was or is being made.
(C) The amount and description of each debit and each credit and date of each debit and credit.
(D) The balance due to or owing from each client.
(ii) A record and history of each claim or account for collection that shall clearly show all of the following:
(A) The name of the debtor.
(B) The principal amount of the obligation.
(C) Any other or additional amounts or items charged or collected with a description of amounts or items charged or collected.
(D) Each payment received or collected and the date of receipt or collection.
(E) The balance owing.
(c) Each receipt issued, signed by and with the name or initials of the individual who issued the receipt and the name of the issuing agency.
(2) A collection agency shall preserve the books, accounts, and records described in subsection (1) and make them or true copies of them accessible to the department for at least 3 years after making the final payment entry on an account recorded in those books, accounts, and records.
(3) Annually before May 16 a collection agency shall file a report with the department that includes any relevant information required by the department concerning the business and operations during the preceding calendar year of each licensed place of business conducted by the collection agency. The report shall be made under oath and in the form prescribed by the department.
(4) The department may require a collection agency to file a sworn financial report of the trust account the collection agency is required to maintain and may designate the information the collection agency must include in the report.
(5) The department may audit a collection agency’s books, accounts, and records when determined necessary by the director.
(6) Information provided to the director under this section is exempted from disclosure except in actions commenced under this article.
(7) A collection agency that is located in this state shall maintain its books and records in this state. A collection agency that is licensed to do business in this state but is located in another state may maintain its books and records either in this state or in the state where it is located. Except as provided in subsection (8), a collection agency that chooses to maintain its books and records in another state shall pay the expenses of a compliance attestation report by the department. The department shall charge expenses in accordance with the standardized travel regulations of the department of technology, management, and budget.
(8) In place of a department audit under subsection (5), the department may permit a collection agency that is located in another state to submit to a compliance attestation report conducted by a certified public accountant who is licensed in the state in which the collection agency is located.