For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)CA Financial Code § 100002(a) “Applicant” means a person, including a natural person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other entity, who applied for a license pursuant to this division.
(b)CA Financial Code § 100002(b) “California debtor accounts” means accounts that are owned by consumers who reside in California at the time that the consumer makes a payment on the account.
(c)CA Financial Code § 100002(c) “Collection agency” means a business entity through which a debt collector or an association of debt collectors engage
in debt collection.
(d)CA Financial Code § 100002(d) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation.
(e)CA Financial Code § 100002(e) “Consumer credit transaction” means a transaction between a natural person and another person in which property, services, or money is acquired on credit by that natural person from the other person primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
(f)CA Financial Code § 100002(f) “Consumer debt” or “consumer credit” means money, property, or their equivalent, due or owing, or alleged to be due or owing, from a natural person by reason of a consumer credit transaction. The term “consumer debt” includes a mortgage debt. The term “consumer debt” includes “charged-off consumer debt” as defined in Section 1788.50 of the Civil Code.
(g)CA Financial Code § 100002(g) “Creditor” means a person who extends consumer credit to a debtor.
(h)CA Financial Code § 100002(h) “Debt” means money, property, or their equivalent that is due or owning or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person to another person.
(i)CA Financial Code § 100002(i) “Debt collection” means any act or practice in connection with the collection of consumer debt.
(j)CA Financial Code § 100002(j) “Debt collector” means any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, on the person’s own behalf or on behalf of others, engages in debt collection. The term includes any person who composes and sells, or offers to compose and sell, forms, letters and other collection media used or intended to be used for debt collection.
The term “debt collector” includes “debt buyer” as defined in Section 1788.50 of the Civil Code.
(k)CA Financial Code § 100002(k) “Debtor” means a natural person from whom a debt collector seeks to collect a consumer debt that is due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from the person.
(l)CA Financial Code § 100002(l) “Department” means the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
(m)CA Financial Code § 100002(m) “Fund” means the Debt Collection Licensing Fund established pursuant to Section 100006.5.
(n)CA Financial Code § 100002(n) “Licensee” means a person licensed, conditionally or unconditionally, pursuant to this chapter.
(o)CA Financial Code § 100002(o) “Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry” means a
system of record, created by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, for nondepository, financial services licensing or registration in participating state agencies, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and Guam.
(p)CA Financial Code § 100002(p) “Person” means a natural person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other similar entity.
