Washington Revised Code Title 19. Business Regulations--Miscellaneous § 19.230.350. Third-party account administrators--Licensure required--Requirements

(a) A debtor's funds must be held in an account at an insured financial institution;

(b) A debtor owns the funds held in the account and must be paid accrued interest on the account, if any;

(c) A third-party account administrator may not be owned or controlled by, or in any way affiliated with, a debt adjuster;

(d) A third-party account administrator may not give or accept any money or other compensation in exchange for referrals of business involving a debt adjuster;

(e) A debtor may withdraw from the service provided by a third-party account administrator at any time without penalty and must receive all funds in the account, other than funds earned by a debt adjuster in compliance with chapter 18.28 RCW, within seven business days of the debtor's request; and

(f) A contract between a third-party account administrator and a debtor must disclose in precise terms the rate and amount of all charges and fees. In addition, the contract must include a statement that is substantially similar to the following: “Under the Washington Debt Adjusting Act, the total fees you are charged for debt adjusting services may not exceed fifteen percent of the total amount of debt you listed on your contract with the debt adjuster. This includes fees charged by a debt adjuster, a third-party account administrator, and a financial institution.” The disclosures required by this subsection (1)(f) must be on the front page of the contract and must be in at least twelve-point type.

(a) “Debt adjuster” has the same meaning as defined in RCW 18.28.010;

(b) “Third-party account administrator” means an independent entity that holds or administers a dedicated bank account for fees and payments to creditors, debt collectors, debt adjusters, or debt adjusting agencies in connection with the renegotiation, settlement, reduction, or other alteration of the terms of payment or other terms of a debt. “Third-party account administrator” does not include an entity that is otherwise exempt from this chapter under RCW 19.230.020.