Summary of HB No. 128 

Debt Settlement Services – Student Education Loan Debt Relief – Disclosures and Prohibitions

is a recently proposed amendment to a certain section of the Financial Institutions Sections of the Annotated Code of Maryland. H.B. 128 seeks to make certain disclosure requirements relating to student education loan debt and requirements for debt settlement services for student loans to Maryland consumers. 

The Disclosure Requirements: 

According to this proposed law, an advertisement for debt settlement services shall include a disclosure, to the extent that any aspect of the debt settlement services relies on or results in the consumer’s failure to make timely payments to the consumer’s creditors or debt collectors. 

If adopted in the current form, the disclosure requirements would need to include that the private company is not affiliated with a government agency, and is not a lender, guarantor, or servicer of federal loans. The disclosure would also need to include that the individual can apply for consolidation and other repayment plans without paid assistance through the U.S. Department of Education.