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Law On The Central Credit To Individuals (1)

Original Language Title: Loi relative à la Centrale des Crédits aux Particuliers (1)

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belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

10 AOUT 2001. - Central Private Credits Act (1)



ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER Ier. - Preliminary provisions
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. For the purposes of this Act, it shall be understood by:
1° the Bank: the National Bank of Belgium;
2° the Central: the Central Credits to the Individuals referred to in section 3 of this Act;
3° the consumer credit contract: the contract referred to in Article 1er4° of the Act of 12 June 1991 on consumer credit;
4° the mortgage loan contract: the contract referred to in Articles 1er and 2 of the Act of 4 August 1992 relating to mortgage credit or the mortgage or opening contract referred to in section 1er Royal Decree No. 225 of 7 January 1936 regulating mortgages and organizing the control of mortgage companies;
5° the lender: persons authorized under section 74, paragraph 1er, of the Act of 12 June 1991 on consumer credit, persons registered under section 75bis, of the same Act, enterprises subject to Part II of the Act of 4 August 1992 on mortgage credit, as well as enterprises subject to Title II of Royal Decree No. 225 of 7 January 1936 regulating mortgage loans and organizing the control of mortgage companies or establishments referred to in section 65 of the Act;
6° the borrower: the consumer referred to in section 1er, 1°, of the Act of June 12, 1991 on consumer credit, or the borrower referred to in the Act of August 4, 1992 on mortgage credit, or the natural person who constitutes a borrower within the meaning of Royal Decree No. 225 of January 7, 1936 regulating mortgages and organizing the control of the mortgage companies and which acts exclusively for a purpose that can be considered foreign to its commercial, professional or commercial activities.
CHAPTER II. - La Centrale des Crédits aux Particuliers
Art. 3. § 1er. The Bank is responsible for registering in the Central:
1° consumer credit contracts;
2nd mortgage agreements;
3° defaults arising from consumer credit contracts and mortgage agreements, which meet the criteria set by the King.
§ 2. The data recorded in the Central concerned:
1° the identity of the borrower, the lender and, where applicable, the assignee;
2° references to consumer credit or mortgage credit contract;
3° the type of credit;
4° the characteristics of the consumer credit or mortgage credit contract that determine the debiting situation of the contract and its evolution;
5° where applicable, the reason for default of payment communicated by the borrower;
6° where applicable, the payment facilities granted.
The King determines the precise content, the terms and conditions for updating and the time limits for the retention of such data.
§ 3. The Bank develops the administrative and technical instructions to be followed by individuals who are required to communicate or consult with the Centre.
CHAPTER III. - Communication and consultation of data
Art. 4. The lenders and the persons designated by the King shall communicate to the Central the data concerning each credit contract and each default of payment referred to in Article 3, § 1er.
The King determines the deadlines for communicating these data to the Central.
Art. 5. For the purposes of this Act and in order to identify borrowers, lenders use the identification number of the National Register of Physical Persons.
When applying for a consumer credit contract or a mortgage loan contract, the borrower communicates the above-mentioned identification number.
The Bank is authorized to use the National Register of Physical Persons identification number in its relationship with borrowers and persons referred to in Articles 4, paragraph 1er8 § 1er.
Art. 6. § 1er. Any credit contract to be registered in accordance with Article 3, § 1er, 1° or 2°, must mention :
1st clause: "This contract is the subject of a registration in the Central Credits to the Individuals pursuant to Article 3, § 1er, 1° or 2°, of the Act of 10 August 2001 on the Central of Credits to the Individuals. »;
2° the finalities of treatment in the Central;
3° the name of the Central;
4° the existence of a right of access, rectification and deletion of data as well as the retention times of data.
§ 2. During the first registration in accordance with Article 3, § 1er, 3°, the borrower is informed without delay by the Bank.
This information shall indicate:
1° the reference of the contract concerned;
2° the finalities of treatment in the Central;
3° the name and address of the person who communicated the data;
4° the existence of a right of access, rectification and deletion of data as well as the retention times of data.
Art. 7. According to the terms fixed by the King, each borrower has access, without charge, to the data recorded on his or her name and may freely and without charge request the rectification of the erroneous data. In the event of a correction, the Bank is required to disclose this rectification to individuals who have obtained information from the Central Station and that the borrower indicates.
Art. 8. § 1er. According to the rules established by the King, the Bank may only communicate the information to persons referred to in Article 69, § 4, paragraph 1er, 1° to 5° and 7° to 9° of the law of 12 June 1991 on consumer credit and the Office of Insurance Control in the execution of its mission.
Can also receive the information contained in the Central, foreign credit plants provided that their purposes, recorded data and privacy protection are equivalent to those of the Central Station and that they provide, by reciprocity, their data to the Central Station.
§ 2. The information provided by the Bank may only be used as part of the granting or management of credits or means of payment, which may enrich the private heritage of a natural person and whose execution may be pursued on the private heritage of that person.
This information cannot be used for commercial prospecting purposes.
§ 3. Those who have obtained information from the Central Station must take the necessary steps to ensure the confidentiality of this information.
Art. 9. In order to obtain information on the financial situation and creditworthiness of the borrower, lenders consult the Central before the conclusion of a consumer credit contract or the delivery of a mortgage loan offer. The King sets out the terms of this consultation.
Art. 10. In order to complete the information obtained during the consultation referred to in Article 9, the Bank is empowered to interrogate on behalf of lenders the file of notices of seizure, delegation, assignment and collective settlement of debts referred to in Article 1389bis/1 of the Judicial Code. The King determines the data that can be accessed.
Art. 11. In order to complete the information obtained during the consultation referred to in Article 9, the King may authorize the Bank, subject to the conditions it determines, to question on behalf of the lenders of other files centralizing unpaid consumer debts. In this case, the King determines the data that can be accessed.
CHAPTER IV. - Miscellaneous provisions
Art. 12. The Bank is empowered to request individuals to whom the information of the Central Station may be provided, the reimbursement of the costs it exposes for the collection, registration, management, control and dissemination of data from the Central Station.
Art. 13. § 1er. It is established with the Bank a Support Committee comprising representatives of lenders, borrowers, the Bank, the Privacy Commission and the Minister who has the Economic Affairs in his office. The King determines the manner in which these representatives are appointed and how the committee operates.
§ 2. The Accompaniment Committee is responsible for issuing opinions on:
1° any draft order to be made pursuant to this Act, except for the order referred to in § 1er;
2° the organization of the Central and the impact of operating procedures on its costs;
3° the proposed annual budget of the Central Region;
4° the draft report referred to in Article 14.
§ 3. The accompanying committee is also responsible for:
1° to approve the annual accounts of the Central and to affect the potential operating surplus;
2° to establish the structure and terms of the allocation of costs referred to in Article 12;
3° to approve the administrative and technical instructions referred to in Article 3, § 3;
4° to approve information exchange agreements with foreign credit plants under the conditions referred to in Article 8, § 1erParagraph 2.
§ 4. The Accompaniment Committee may request the Bank's College of Revisors to certify the Central's accounts.
Art. 14. At least once a year, the Bank submits a report on the operation of the Central to the Minister who has the Economic Affairs in his office.
The report includes:
1° an overview of the number and nature of the recorded data;
2° an overview of the number of Central consultations;
3° a detailed account of the costs resulting from the operation of the Central Station, indicating any practical or technical problems;
4° an analysis of the evolution of payment defaults.
This report is published in the Belgian Monitor.
CHAPTER V. - Penalties, research and recognition of offences
Art. 15. § 1er. A fine of 250 to 50,000 Belgian francs is punishable:
(1) those who do not comply with the obligations referred to in Article 4 and the orders made pursuant to that Article;
(2) those who do not comply with the requirements of Article 8, § 2;
3° those who do not comply with the obligations referred to in Article 9 and the orders made pursuant to that Article;
4° those who do not comply with the obligation referred to in Article 6, § 1er;
5° those who voluntarily prevent or hinder the execution of the mission of the persons referred to in Article 17, who are responsible for the investigation and investigation of offences under this Act.
§ 2. The provisions of Book 1er the Criminal Code, including Chapter VII and Article 85, shall apply to offences referred to in § 1er.
Art. 16. Without prejudice to the sanctions of common law, the judge may, on his or her own motion, raise the borrower of all or part of the late interest and reduce his or her obligations to the cash of the property or service, or the amount borrowed when the lender has not complied with the obligations referred to in Article 9.
Art. 17. § 1er. Without prejudice to the duties of judicial police officers, officials commissioned by the Minister with the Economic Affairs in his or her powers are competent to search for and determine the offences referred to in section 15. The minutes issued by these officers are held to prove the contrary. A copy is sent to the offender, by registered letter to the position with acknowledgement of receipt, within 30 days of the date of the findings.
§ 2. In the performance of their duties, the agents referred to in § 1er may:
1° enter, during the usual hours of opening or working, in the premises and rooms whose access is necessary for the fulfilment of their mission;
2to make all useful findings, to be produced, on first requisition and without displacement, the documents, documents or books required for their research and findings and to take a copy thereof;
3° seize, against receipt, the documents, documents or books that are necessary to prove an offence or to search for co-authors or accomplices of offenders; the seizure is waived in full right without confirmation by the Public Prosecution Service within 10 business days;
4° if they have reason to believe that an offence exists, enter the inhabited premises, with the prior authorization of the judge of the police court. Visits to manned premises must be conducted between eight and eighteen hours and be made jointly by at least two officers.
§ 3. In the performance of their duties, the agents referred to in § 1er may require assistance from the federal police.
§ 4. The commissioned officers exercise their powers under this section under the supervision of the Attorney General, without prejudice to their subordination to their superiors in the administration.
They must take the necessary measures to ensure the confidentiality of the personal data they have received, as well as the use of such data for the purposes only required for the exercise of their monitoring mission.
§ 5. In the case of application of Article 18, the minutes referred to in § 1er is transmitted to the King's Prosecutor only when it has not been given following the warning.
In the event of the application of section 19, the minutes are transmitted to the King's Prosecutor only when the offender has not accepted the proposed transaction.
Art. 18. When an offence under section 15 is found, the Minister who has the Economic Affairs in his or her responsibilities, or the officer commissioned by the Minister under section 17, may send a warning to the offender to put an end to that act.
The notice shall be notified to the offender within three weeks of the date of the finding of the facts, by registered letter to the position with acknowledgement of receipt or by a copy of the notice of the facts.
The warning mentions:
1° the facts charged and the legal provisions infringed;
2° the period in which it must be terminated;
3° that if it is not followed by the warning, officers commissioned under section 17 may notify the Crown Prosecutor or propose a transactional settlement as provided for in section 19.
Art. 19. Agents commissioned for this purpose by the Minister with the Economic Affairs in his or her powers may, in the light of the minutes that find an offence to the provisions referred to in section 15 and made by the agents referred to in section 17, propose to the offenders the payment of an amount that extinguishes public action.
This sum may not exceed the maximum fine set out in section 15 plus additional decimals. The rates as well as the payment and collection modalities are fixed by the King.
CHAPTER VI. - Modificative and final provisions
Art. 20. In Article 13 of the Consumer Credit Act of 12 June 1991, the words "central data bank determined conferred by Article 71, § 4" are replaced by the words "Central according to the law of 10 August 2001 on the Central Credits to Individuals".
Art. 21. In Article 14, § 3, 10°, of the same Law, the words "National Bank of Belgium, referred to in Article 71" are replaced by the words "Central Credits to Individuals referred to in Article 13".
Art. 22. In section 15 of the Act, the words "section 71" are replaced by the words "section 9 of the Act of August 10, 2001 on the Central of Credits to Individuals".
Art. 23. In Article 69, § 4, paragraph 1er, of the same law, point 8°, inserted by the law of 11 December 1998 transposing Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data, becomes point 9°.
Art. 24. Section 70, § 2, paragraph 2, of the Act, replaced by the Act of 11 December 1998, is replaced by the following paragraph:
"The consumer can freely and free of charge, subject to the conditions determined by the King, rectify the erroneous data. In this case, the person responsible for processing is required to disclose this correction to persons who have obtained information from the person and that the person registered indicates. »
Art. 25. Section 71 of the Act is repealed.
Art. 26. In article 72, § 2, of the same law, the words "and the law of August 10, 2001 on the Central of Credits to the Individuals" are inserted between the words "of this Act" and "create a Monitoring Committee".
Art. 27. In section 92 of the Act, the reference to section 71 is deleted.
Art. 28. Article 101, § 1er12°, of the same law, is repealed.
Art. 29. In section 116 of the Act, the reference to section 71 is deleted.
Art. 30. Section 46 of the Mortgage Credit Act of August 4, 1992 is repealed.
Art. 31. Before proposing the enforcement orders of this Act, except for the order referred to in Article 13, § 1er, the Minister who has the Economic Affairs in his or her powers shall consult with the Consumer Council, the Privacy Commission and the accompanying Committee referred to in section 13 of this Act, and shall determine the time limit within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 32. The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, adapt the provisions of this Law to the obligations arising in Belgium from agreements or in-house treaties, to the extent that these are matters which the Constitution does not reserve to the legislature.
Art. 33. This Act also applies to consumer credit contracts and mortgage agreements entered into before it comes into force.
For credit contracts entered into before the effective date of Article 4, the information referred to in Article 6, § 1er, takes the form of an unnamed opinion published in the Belgian Monitor, from the Minister who has the Economic Affairs in his office.
Persons referred to in Article 4, paragraph 1er, are not required to communicate consumer credit contracts referred to in Article 3, § 1er, 1°, and mortgage credit contracts referred to in Article 3, § 1er, 2°, the remaining duration of which is equal to or less than six months at the time of the entry into force of section 4.
Art. 34. This Act comes into force on the day of its pubication to the Belgian Monitor, with the exception of Articles 4, 5, 12, 16 to 30, which come into force on the date fixed by the King.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Nice on 10 August 2001.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Economy,
Ch. PICQUE
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
____
Note
(1) House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents:
Regular session:
Bill No. 1123/1. - Amendments, nbones 1123/2 to 5. - Report of the Commission on Economics, Scientific Policy, Education, National Scientific and Cultural Institutions, Average Classes and Agriculture, No. 1123/6. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 1123/7. - Amendments, No. 1123/8. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 1123/9.
Annales of the House of Representatives. - Discussion and adoption: May 23, 2001.
Senate:
Documents of the Senate:
Regular session 2000-2001:
Project transmitted by the House of Representatives, No. 2-767/1. - Amendments, No. 2-767/2. - Report, no. 2-767/3. - Amendment, No. 2-767/4. - Decision not to amend, No. 2-767/5.
Annales of the Senate. - Discussion: July 18, 2001. - Adoption: 19 July 2001.