South Dakota Codified Laws 54-4-77. Debt collection–Prohibitions
No person employed by a licensee to collect or attempt to collect any debt owed or due or asserted to be owed or due may:
(1) Harass, oppress, or abuse a borrower by:
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 54-4-77
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
(a) Using any threat of violence or harm;
(b) Publishing a list of names of borrowers who refuse to pay their debts absent providing such information to credit reporting companies;
(c) Using obscene or profane language; or
(d) Repeatedly using the phone with the intent to annoy borrowers;
(2) Use any false statement when attempting to collect a debt by falsely:
(a) Claiming to be an attorney or government representative;
(b) Claiming that the borrower has committed a crime;
(c) Representing that the licensee operates or any person employed by the licensee works for a credit reporting company;
(d) Representing the amount the borrower owes;
(e) Representing the nature and character of any forms sent to the borrower in order to collect a debt;
(f) Indicating that the borrower will be arrested if the debt isn’t paid;
(g) Using a company name;
(h) Indicating that the licensee will seize, garnish, attach, or sell a borrower’s property or wages unless the licensee is permitted by law to take the action and the licensee intends to do so;
(i) Indicating that legal action will be taken against the borrower, if doing so would be illegal or if the licensee does not intend to take the action;
(3) Give false credit information about the borrower to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
(4) Attempt to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount a borrower owes unless the contract that created the debt or state law allows the charge;
(5) Deposit a post-dated check early;
(6) Take or threaten to take the borrower’s property unless it can be done legally; or
(7) Cause misleading information to be transmitted to users of caller identification technologies or otherwise block or misrepresent the identity of the caller or entity as described in subdivision 37-24-6 (16).
Source: SL 2015, ch 242, § 6; SL 2020, ch 171, § 5.