Debt Settlement Service Providers in Maryland

Under this bill debt settlement service providers will be regulated to where registration is required along with a surety bond if the provider has any consumer deposit funds in an account to be used for the payment of debt settlement fees and/or for making payments to debt collections/creditors. The new bonding requirement will have to be in the minimum amount of $10,000 for the first three months of the registration period, after which it will have to be in the amount no less than the average of the balance held in the provider’s dedicated consumer accounts during the previous three months. This bond will not be allowed to be any less than $10,000 or larger than $1 million. This bond must be issued by a surety agency licensed in that particular state and it must be in compliance with the appropriate state and federal laws/regulations.