Section 1789.13.

A credit services organization and its salespersons, agents, representatives, and independent contractors who sell or attempt to sell the services of a credit services organization shall not do any of the following:

(a) Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration prior to full and complete performance of the services the credit services organization has agreed to perform for or on behalf of the buyer.

(b) Fail to perform the agreed services within six months following the date the buyer signs the contract for those services.

(c) Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for referral of the buyer to a retail seller or other credit grantor who will or may extend credit to the buyer, if either of the following apply:

(1) The credit that is or will be extended to the buyer (A) is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public or (B) is upon substantially the same terms that would have been extended to the buyer without the assistance of the credit services organization.

(2) The money or consideration is paid by the credit grantor or is derived from the buyer's payments to the credit grantor for costs, fees, finance charges, or principal.

(d) Make, or counsel or advise a buyer to make, a statement that is untrue or misleading and that is known, or that by the exercise of reasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading, to a consumer credit reporting agency or to a person who has extended credit to a buyer or to whom a buyer is applying for an extension of credit, such as statements concerning a buyer's identification, home address, creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity.

(e) Remove, or assist or advise the buyer to remove, adverse information from the buyer's credit record which is accurate and not obsolete.

(f) Create, or assist or advise the buyer to create, a new credit record by using a different name, address, social security number, or employee identification number.

(g) Make or use untrue or misleading representations in the offer or sale of the services of a credit services organization, including either of the following:

(1) Guaranteeing or otherwise stating that the organization is able to delete an adverse credit history, unless the representation clearly discloses, in a manner equally as conspicuous as the guarantee, that this can be done only if the credit history is inaccurate or obsolete and is not claimed to be accurate by the creditor who submitted the information.

(2) Guaranteeing or otherwise stating that the organization is able to obtain an extension of credit, regardless of the buyer's previous credit problems or credit history, unless the representation clearly discloses, in a manner equally as conspicuous as the guarantee, the eligibility requirements for obtaining an extension of credit.

(h) Engage, directly or indirectly, in an act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deception upon a person in connection with the offer or sale of the services of a credit services organization.

(i) Advertise or cause to be advertised, in any manner, the services of the credit services organization, without being registered with the Department of Justice.

(j) Fail to maintain an agent for service of process in this state.

(k) Transfer or assign its certificate of registration.

(l) Submit a buyer's dispute to a consumer credit reporting agency without the buyer's knowledge.

(m) Use a consumer credit reporting agency's telephone system or toll-free telephone number to represent the caller as the buyer in submitting a dispute of a buyer or requesting disclosure without prior authorization of the buyer.

(n) Directly or indirectly extend credit to a buyer.

(o) Refer a buyer to a credit grantor that is related to the credit services organization by a common ownership, management, or control, including a common owner, director, or officer.

(p) Refer a buyer to a credit grantor for which the credit services organization provides, or arranges for a third party to provide, services related to the extension of credit such as underwriting, billing, payment processing, or debt collection.

(q) Provide a credit grantor with an assurance that a portion of an extension of credit to a buyer referred by the credit services organization will be repaid, including providing a guaranty, letter of credit, or agreement to acquire a part of the credit grantor's financial interest in the extension of credit.

(r) Use a scheme, device, or contrivance to evade the prohibitions contained in this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 179, Sec. 30. Effective January 1, 2009.)