13-21-102. Credit services organizations -- Prohibitions.

592 words·~3 min read·/ut/title-13/chapter-21/13-21-102

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective 5/6/2026

(1)A credit services organization, the credit services organization's salespersons, agents, and representatives, and independent contractors who sell or attempt to sell the services of a credit services organization may not do any of the following:

(a)conduct any business regulated by this chapter without first:

(i)securing a certificate of registration from the division; and

(ii)unless exempted under Section 13-21-104 , maintaining the following in a manner the division approves and in an amount of $100,000:

(A)a surety bond issued by a surety authorized to transact surety business in the state; or

(B)a certificate of deposit in a financial institution authorized under the laws of this state;

(b)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 the buyer;

(c)dispute or challenge, or assist a person in disputing or challenging an entry in a credit report prepared by a consumer reporting agency without a factual basis for believing and obtaining a written statement for each entry from the person stating that that person believes that the entry contains a material error or omission, outdated information, inaccurate information, or unverifiable information;

(d)charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration solely for referral of the buyer to a retail seller who will or may extend credit to the buyer, if the credit that is or will be extended to the buyer is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public;

(e)make, or counsel or advise any buyer to make, any 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 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, with respect to a buyer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity;

(f)make or use any untrue or misleading representations in the offer or sale of the services of a credit services organization or engage, directly or indirectly, in any act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as fraud or deception upon any person in connection with the offer or sale of the services of a credit services organization;

(g)represent that the division or the state endorses or approves the credit services organization;

(h)omit from a filing with the division a material statement of fact required by this chapter or rule that the division makes in accordance with this chapter;

(i)include in a filing with the division a material statement of fact that the credit service organization or credit service organization's principal knew or should have known to be false, deceptive, inaccurate, or misleading; or

(j)cause or attempt to cause a buyer to waive a right established by this chapter.

(a)The division may claim a credit service organization's surety bond or certificate of deposit for the benefit of a buyer who incurs damages as the result of the credit service organization's failure to comply with this chapter.

(b)After a buyer described in Subsection

(2)recovers actual damages, the division may recover from the surety bond or certificate of deposit any administrative fines, civil penalties, investigative costs, attorney fees, and other costs of collecting and distributing funds in accordance with this chapter.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 95 , 2026 General Session