45 C.F.R. § 1177.13 Contracting With Private Collection Contractors and With Entities that Locate and Recover Unclaimed Assets

• Library: Code of Federal Regulations
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through December 31, 2023
• Citation: 45 C.F.R. § 1177.13
• Year: 2023

(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section, NEH may contract with private collection contractors, as defined in 31 U.S.C. 31Definitions and application3701(f), to recover delinquent debts, provided that:

(1) NEH retains the authority to resolve disputes, compromise debts, suspend or terminate collection activity, and refer debts for litigation;

(2) The private collection contractor is not allowed to offer the debtor, as an incentive for payment, the opportunity to pay the debt less the private collection contractor's fee unless NEH has granted such authority prior to the offer;

(3) The contract provides that the private collection contractor is subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, to the extent specified in 5 U.S.C 5Records maintained on individuals552a(m), and to applicable Federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to debt collection practices including but not limited to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 15 U.S.C 15Congressional findings and declaration of purpose1692; and

(4) The private collection contractor is required to account for all amounts collected.

(b) NEH will use government-wide debt collection contracts to obtain debt collection services provided by private contractors. However, NEH may refer debts to private collection contractors pursuant to a contract with the private collection contractor only if such debts are not subject to the requirement to transfer debts to Treasury for collection. See 31 U.S.C. 31Collection and compromise3711(g); 31 CFR 31Transfer of debts to Treasury for collection285.12(e).

(c) NEH may fund private collection contractor contracts in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 31Contracts for collection services3718(d), or as otherwise permitted by law.

(d) NEH may enter into contracts for locating and recovering United States assets, such as unclaimed assets. NEH will establish procedures that are acceptable to the Secretary before entering into...