2021 Colorado Code
Title 5 - Consumer Credit Code
Article 20 - Colorado Student Loan Servicers
Part 2 - Private Student Education Lenders
§ 5-20-212. Collection on Debt - Prerequisites - Documentation

1. Unless the private education loan borrower has invoked his or her right to cease communication with the collection agency, a collection agency attempting to collect a private education loan shall provide the following information, in addition to any other information required under applicable federal or state law, to the private education loan borrower in the debt collection communication immediately following the communication confirming the correct identity of the private education loan borrower and at any other time the private education loan borrower so requests:
   1. For private education loans referred to collections on or after June 29, 2021, the name of the owner of the private education loan debt;
   2. The name of the true original lender and every subsequent loan holder, if applicable;
   3. The true original lender's account number used to identify the private education loan debt at the time of default, if the true original lender used an account number to identify the private education loan debt at the time of default. The collection agency may rely on account numbers provided by the lender.
   4. The amount due when the private education loan was referred to collections;
   5. For private education loans referred to collections on or after June 29, 2021, a log of all payments made on the student loan account;
   6. A copy of all pages of the contract, application, or other documents evidencing the private education loan borrower's liability for the private education loan, stating all terms and conditions applicable to the loan; and
   7. A clear and conspicuous statement disclosing that the private education loan borrower has a right to request all nonprivileged information possessed by the lender or collection agency related to the defaulted private education loan debt, including the required information described in subsection (2) of this section, and that failure to provide that information within thirty days after such a request precludes the collection agency from collecting or attempting to collect the debt. (1.5)
      1. is deemed to have verified the identity of the borrower for purposes of this section.
      2. The information listed in subsection (1) of this section may accompany any debt validation notice issued to the debtor pursuant to section 5-16-109 (1).

2. A collection agency shall not collect or attempt to collect a private education loan debt unless the collection agency possesses, and furnishes the following information to the private education loan borrower upon request within thirty days after the request; and, for loans referred to collections before June 29, 2021, the collection agency shall have thirty days to acquire the information from the private education lender:
   1. The name of the owner of the private education loan;
   2. The name of the true original lender and every subsequent loan holder, if applicable;
   3. The true original lender's account number used to identify the private education loan at the time of default, if the true original lender used an account number to identify the loan at the time of default, and the account number assigned to the loan by each subsequent loan holder, if known;
   4. The amount due when the private education loan was referred to collections;
   5. An itemization of interest and fees, if any, claimed to be owed and whether those were imposed by the true original lender or any subsequent owners of the private education loan. The collection agency may rely on information provided by the lender.
   6. The date that the private education loan was incurred;
   7. A billing statement or other account record indicating the date of the last payment made on the private education loan, if applicable;
   8. 1. A log of all collection attempts made by the collection agency in the immediately preceding twelve months, including the date and time of all calls and letters; and (h) (I) A log of all collection attempts made by the collection agency in the immediately preceding twelve months, including the date and time of all calls and letters; and
      2. For private education loans referred to collections on or after June 29, 2021, copies of all settlement letters or, in the alternative, a statement that the collection agency has not attempted to settle or otherwise renegotiate the debt;

   9. A copy of all pages of the contract, application, or other documents evidencing the private education loan borrower's liability for the private education loan, stating all terms and conditions applicable to the loan; and
   10. Documentation establishing that the collection agency is the owner, or acting on behalf of the owner, of the specific, individual private education loan at issue. If the private education loan borrower disputes the ownership or assignment of the loan, the collection agency shall bear the burden of establishing the unbroken chain of ownership, beginning with the true original lender to the first subsequent loan holder and each additional loan holder.

3. Upon a private education loan borrower's default in payment on a private education loan, and before a lender may accelerate the maturity of the loan or commence a legal action against the private education loan borrower, the lender shall provide to the private education loan borrower a notice of intention to accelerate the loan. The lender shall provide the notice at least thirty days, but not more than one hundred days, in advance of the action.
4. 1. A lender or debt buyer that intends to collect or attempt to collect a private education loan debt shall provide written notice of that intention to the private education loan borrower by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the private education loan borrower's last-known address.
   2. The notice required by this subsection (4):
      1. Is effective on the date it is delivered in person or mailed, as applicable; and
      2. Must contain all information required by subsection (2) of this section.

5. An action to enter a judgment against a private education loan borrower must be commenced within six years of the date the private education loan borrower failed to make a payment.
6. A lender or collection agency that, on or after June 29, 2021, commences a legal action against a private education loan borrower shall attach the following documentation and information to the complaint filed in a court of competent jurisdiction:
   1. A copy of the notice of intention provided pursuant to subsection (4) of this section;
   2. The date of the partial or missed payment that led to the referral of the private education loan to collections;
   3. The date of the last payment, if applicable;
   4. A statement as to whether the lender or collection agency is willing to renegotiate the terms of the debt;
   5. A statement as to whether the debt is eligible for any modified or flexible repayment option.

History. Source: L. 2021: Entire part added,(SB 21-057), ch. 378, p. 2526, § 5, effective June 29.