CONSUMER CREDIT FILE RIGHTS

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 which 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 any costs, fees, finance charges, or principal(d) Make, or counsel or advise any buyer to make, any statement which is untrue or misleading and which is known, or which by the exercise of reasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading, to a consumer credit reporting agency or to any 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 any 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 any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deception upon any 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.
(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 any buyer.
(o) Refer any buyer to a credit grantor that is related to the
credit services organization by any common ownership, management, or control, including any common owner, director, or officer.
(p) Refer any buyer to a credit grantor for which the credit
services organization provides, or arranges for a third party to provide, any services related to the extension of credit such as underwriting, billing, payment processing, or debt collection.
(q) Provide a credit grantor with any assurance that any 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 any part of the credit grantor's financial interest in the extension of credit.
(r) Use any scheme, device, or contrivance to evade the
prohibitions contained in this section.
1789.14.  Prior to the execution of a contract or agreement between the buyer and a credit services organization, the credit services organization shall provide the buyer a statement in writing, containing all the information required by Section 1789.15.  The credit services organization shall maintain on file or microfilm for a period of two years an exact copy of the statement, personally signed by the buyer, acknowledging receipt of a copy of the statement.1789.15.  The information statement shall include all of the following:
(a) A complete and detailed description of the services to be performed by the credit services organization for or on behalf of the buyer and the total amount the buyer will have to pay, or become obligated to pay, for the services.
(b) The buyer's right to proceed against the bond under the circumstances and in the manner set forth in Section 1789.18.(c) The surety company which issued the bond.
(d) A complete and accurate statement of the availability of nonprofit credit counseling services.
The information statement shall be printed in at least 10-point boldface type and shall include the following statement or any substantially equivalent alternative that is approved by the Department of Justice:"CONSUMER CREDIT FILE RIGHTS UNDER STATE AND FEDERAL LAW
You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit file from a consumer credit reporting agency.  You may be charged a reasonable fee not exceeding eight dollars ($8).  There is no fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental dwelling because of information in your credit report within the preceding 60 days.  The consumer credit reporting agency must provide someone to help you interpret the information in your credit file.  You have a right to dispute inaccurate information by contacting the consumer credit reporting agency directly.  However, neither you nor any credit repair company or credit services organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from your credit report.  Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer credit reporting agency must remove accurate, negative information from your report only if it is over seven years old.  Bankruptcy information can be reported for 10 years. If you have notified a credit reporting agency in writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in your credit file, the consumer credit reporting agency must then reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate information.  The consumer credit reporting agency may not charge a fee for this service.  Any pertinent information and copies of all documents you have concerning an error should be given to the consumer credit reporting agency.
If reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the consumer credit reporting agency to keep in your file, explaining why you think the record is inaccurate.  The consumer credit reporting agency must include your statement about disputed information in any report it issues about you.  You have a right to cancel the contract for any reason within five working days from the date you signed it.  If for any reason you do cancel the contract during this time, you do not owe any money.  You have a right to sue a credit services organization if it misleads you."