ever occurs later, the Commissioner shall release the security to the registrant and shall not audit any claims filed against the security thereafter by consumers. 2. If one or more claims have been filed against the security within 6 months after the registrant ceases to operate or his registration expires, whichever occurs later, the proceeds must not be released to the registrant or distributed to any consumer earlier than 1 year after the registrant ceases to operate or his registration expires, whichever occurs later. 3. For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner shall determine the date on which a registrant ceases to operate. (Added to NRS by 1997, 3193)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 598.2809) Credit Service Organizations NRS 598.741 Definitions. As used in NRS 598.741 to 598.787, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Buyer” means a natural person who is solicited to purchase or who purchases the services of an organization which provides credit services. 2. “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs. 3. “Division” means the Consumer Affairs Division of the Department of Business and Industry. 4. “Extension of credit” means the right to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment, offered or granted primarily for personal, family or household purposes. 5. “Organization”: (a) Means a person who, with respect to the extension of credit by others, sells, provides or performs, or represents that he can or will sell, provide or perform, any of the following services, in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration: (1) Improving a buyer’s credit record, history or rating. (2) Obtaining an extension of credit for a buyer. (3) Providing counseling or assistance to a person in establishing or effecting a plan for the payment of his indebtedness, unless that counseling or assistance is provided by and is within the scope of the authorized practice of a debt adjuster licensed pursuant to chapter 676 of NRS. (4) Providing advice or assistance to a buyer with regard to subparagraph (1) or (2). (b) Does not include: (1) A person organized, chartered or holding a license or authorization certificate to make loans or extensions of credit pursuant to the laws of this state or the United States who is subject to regulation and supervision by an officer or agency of this state or the United States. (2) A bank, credit union or savings and loan institution whose deposits or accounts are eligible for insurance by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund or a private insurer approved pursuant to NRS 678.755. (3) A person licensed as a real estate broker by this state where the person is acting within the course and scope of that license, unless the person is rendering those services in the course and scope of employment by or other affiliation with an organization. (4) A person licensed to practice law in this state where the person renders services within the course and scope of his practice as an attorney at law, unless the person is rendering those services in the course and scope of employment by or other affiliation with an organization. (5) A broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission where the broker-dealer is acting within the course and scope of such regulation. (6) A person licensed as a debt adjuster pursuant to chapter 676 of NRS. (7) A reporting agency. 6. “Reporting agency” means a person who, for fees, dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the business of assembling or evaluating information regarding the credit of or other information regarding consumers to furnish consumer reports to third parties, regardless of the means or facility of commerce used to prepare or furnish the consumer reports. The term does not include: (a) A person solely for the reason that he conveys a decision regarding whether to guarantee a check in response to a request by a third party; (b) A person who obtains or creates a consumer report and provides the report or information contained in it to a subsidiary or affiliate; or (c) A person licensed pursuant to chapter 463 of NRS. (Added to NRS by 1987, 1517; A 1989, 935; 1993, 1798, 2272, 2801; 1995, 692; 1999, 1518, 2544)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 598.281) NRS 598.746 Prohibited acts: Receiving money before complete performance; receiving money for referral to provider of credit; misleading statements; other fraudulent or deceptive acts. An organization and its agents, employees and representatives who sell or attempt to sell the services of the organization, shall not: 1. Charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration before full and complete performance of the services the organization has agreed to perform for or on behalf of the buyer. 2. 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 which is or will be extended to the buyer is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public. 3. Make, 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, with respect to a buyer’s creditworthiness, credit standing or credit capacity. 4. Make or use any untrue or misleading representations in the offer or sale of the services of an organization. For the purposes of this subsection, a “misleading representation” includes a guarantee that: (a) The organization is able to remove information that is adverse to the buyer’s ability to obtain credit from the buyer’s credit record, history or rating. (b) The organization is able to obtain an extension of credit for the buyer regardless of the buyer’s existing credit record, history or rating. 5. 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 an organization. 6. Remove, or assist or advise the buyer to remove from the buyer’s credit record, history or rating, information that is adverse to the buyer’s ability to obtain credit if the information is accurate and not obsolete. 7. Create, or assist or advise the buyer to create a new credit record, history or rating by using a different name, address, social security number, employee identification number or other misleading information. 8. Attempt to transfer or assign the organization’s certificate of registration. 9. Submit a buyer’s dispute to a consumer credit reporting agency without the buyer’s knowledge. 10. Call, or authorize any other person who is not the buyer to call a consumer credit reporting agency and portray himself as the buyer. (Added to NRS by 1987, 1518; A 1993, 2274)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 598.282) NRS 598.752 Organization to register and deposit security before advertising services or conducting business in this State; separate security not required from salesperson, agent or representative of organization; regulations. 1. Before advertising its services or conducting business in this State, an organization must register pursuant to NRS 598.721 and deposit security in the amount of $100,000 with the Division pursuant to NRS 598.726. The security must be conditioned on compliance by the

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