59.1-335.5 - Prohibited practices.
§ 59.1-335.5. Prohibited practices.
A credit services business, and its salespersons, agents and representatives,and independent contractors who sell or attempt to sell the services of acredit services business, shall not do any of the following:
1. Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration prior to fulland complete performance of the services that the credit services businesshas agreed to perform for or on behalf of the consumer, unless the consumerhas agreed to pay for such services during the term of a written subscriptionagreement that provides for the consumer to make periodic payments during theagreement's term in consideration for the credit services business's ongoingperformance of services for or on behalf of the consumer, provided that suchsubscription agreement may be cancelled at any time by the consumer;
2. Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration solely forreferral of the consumer to a retail seller or to any other credit grantorwho will or may extend to the consumer, if the credit that is or will beextended to the consumer is upon substantially the same terms as thoseavailable to the general public;
3. Make, or counsel or advise any consumer to make, any statement that isuntrue or misleading and which is known, or which by the exercise ofreasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading, to a consumerreporting agency or to any person who has extended credit to a consumer or towhom a consumer is applying for an extension of credit, with respect to aconsumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity; or
4. Make or use any untrue or misleading representations in the offer or saleof the services of a credit services business or engage, directly orindirectly, in any act, practice, or course of business which operates orwould operate as a fraud or deception upon any person in connection with theoffer or sale of the services of a credit services business.
(1989, cc. 651, 655; 2010, c. 421.)