Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 6.2 > Subtitle III > Chapter 20.1 - Debt Settlement Services Providers

• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Agency: means the Department of State Police, the Division of Capitol Police, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Port Authority, the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, or the Department of Motor Vehicles; or the political subdivision or the campus police department of any public institution of higher education of the Commonwealth employing the law-enforcement officer. See Virginia Code 9.1-500
• Approved seed potatoes: means disease-free potatoes and parts thereof that conform to the standards established by the Potato Board. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: means the spouse of a deceased person and such persons as are entitled to take under the will of a deceased person if testate, or as his heirs at law if intestate. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Board: means the Potato Board. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. See Virginia Code 6.2-100
• Consumer: means an individual residing in the Commonwealth who owes money to one or more creditors, for personal, family, or household purposes, including an individual who owes money jointly with one or more other individuals. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Correctional officer: means a duly sworn non-probationary employee of the Department of Corrections whose normal duties relate to maintaining immediate control, supervision, and custody of prisoners confined in any state correctional facility. See Virginia Code 9.1-508
• Creditor: includes persons that extend credit to, or persons that service loans made to, consumers. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Debt collector: means a person defined as a debt collector under Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Debt settlement services: means any action or negotiation initiated or taken on behalf of any consumer with any creditor of the consumer for the purpose of obtaining debt forgiveness of all or a portion of the credit extended by the creditor to the consumer or a reduction of payments, charges, or fees payable by the consumer. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Deceased person: means any individual whose death occurs on or after April 8, 1972, in the line of duty as the direct or proximate result of the performance of his duty, including the presumptions under §§ Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Disabled person: includes any state employee included in the definition of a deceased person who was disabled on or after January 1, 1966. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Duplicate original: means an exact copy with signatures created by the same impression as the original, an exact copy bearing an original signature, or, in the case of an electronic transaction, an electronic version with electronic signatures. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Electronic signature: means an electronic signature as defined in § Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Employee: means any person who would be covered or whose spouse, dependents, or beneficiaries would be covered under the benefits of this chapter if the person became a disabled person or a deceased person. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Employer: means (i) the employer of a person who is a covered employee or (ii) in the case of a volunteer who is a member of any fire company or department or rescue squad described in the definition of "deceased person" the county, city, or town that by ordinance or resolution recognized such fire company or department or rescue squad as an integral part of the official safety program of such locality. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Employer: means any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, including any county, city, town, authority, or special district that employs fire protection employees except any locality with five or fewer paid firefighters that is exempt from overtime rules by Virginia Code 9.1-700
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: means the Line of Duty Death and Health Benefits Trust Fund established pursuant to § Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Handler: means any person who is a processor, dealer, shipper, or exporter who purchases potatoes from a grower, or who acts as the grower's agent, or any person who holds a produce dealer or commission merchant license from the Department. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Law-enforcement officer: means any person, other than a Chief of Police or the Superintendent of the Department of State Police, who, in his official capacity, is (i) authorized by law to make arrests and (ii) a nonprobationary officer of one of the following agencies:

  a. See Virginia Code 9.1-500

• Licensee: means a person licensed under this chapter. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Line of duty: means any action the deceased or disabled person was obligated or authorized to perform by rule, regulation, condition of employment or service, or law. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Manufactured equine feed: means a commercial feed as defined by § Virginia Code 3.2-1712
• Manufacturer: means any person who manufactures equine feed and is licensed to conduct business in the Commonwealth under § Virginia Code 3.2-1712
• Nonparticipating employer: means any employer that is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth that elected to directly fund the cost of benefits provided under this chapter and not participate in the Fund. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Participating employer: means any employer that is a state agency or is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth that did not make an election to become a nonparticipating employer. See Virginia Code 9.1-400
• Potatoes: means all varieties of potatoes except sweet potatoes. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Principal: means any person that, directly or indirectly, owns or controls (i) 10 percent or more of the outstanding stock of a stock corporation or (ii) a 10 percent or greater interest in a person. See Virginia Code 6.2-2026
• Producer: means any person who, in a calendar year, grows a minimum of 40,000 pounds of potatoes in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Seed potatoes: means potatoes and parts thereof intended for the propagation or production of commercial potatoes. See Virginia Code 3.2-1800
• State correctional facility: means any correctional center or correctional field unit used for the incarceration of adult offenders established and operated by the Department of Corrections. See Virginia Code 9.1-508
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• VRS: means the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 9.1-400