•§ 101(12A): “Debt relief agency” means any person who provides any “bankruptcy
assistance” [defined in § 101(4A)] to an “assisted
person” [defined in § 101(3)] in return for
the payment
of money or other valuable consideration, or who is a bankruptcy
petition preparer under § 110.
–See § 101(12A) for a list of
those not considered to be a “debt relief agency” (e.g., tax-exempt,
nonprofit organizations are not considered debt relief agencies).
•§ 526 imposes restrictions on debt relief agencies.
–§ 526(a) contains a list of prohibitions with respect to
certain conduct.
–Under § 526(c), a
written contract that is not in compliance with the requirements
contained in § 526 shall be void and may not be enforced in any Federal or
State court.
•§ 527 describes the kind of disclosures that debt relief agencies
must provide to assisted persons.
–The assisted
person must be provided with the written notice required under § 342(b)
and, to the extent not covered in the § 342(b) written notice, a
separate written notice containing the debtor’s responsibilities that are listed
in § 527(a)(2).
–The assisted
person must be provided with the statement that is quoted in § 527(b) (this multi-paragraph statement must be furnished to
the assisted person in a separate document).