                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 59.1-335.2)

In this chapter the following words have the following meanings:
		&#8220;Attorney General&#8221; means the Office of the Attorney General of
Virginia.
		&#8220;Commissioner&#8221; means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer
Services, or a member of his staff to whom he may delegate his duties under this
chapter.
		&#8220;Consumer&#8221; means any individual who is solicited to purchase or
who purchases the services of a credit services business.
		&#8220;Consumer report&#8221; means any written, oral, or other communication
of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer&#8217;s
creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general
reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which (i) is furnished
or (ii) is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the
purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer&#8217;s eligibility
for:

1. Credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household
purposes; or

2. Employment purposes; or

3. Other purposes which shall be limited to the following circumstances:
			a. In response to the order of a court having jurisdiction to issue the
order.
			b. In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom the
report relates.
			c. To a person which the agency has reason to believe:

   i. Intends to use the information in connection with a credit transaction
   involving the consumer on whom the information is to be furnished and
   involving the extension of credit to or review or collection of an account of,
   the consumer; or

      ii. Intends to use the information for employment purposes; or

      iii. Intends to use the information in connection with the underwriting of
      insurance involving the consumer; or

      iv. Intends to use the information in connection with a determination of the
      consumer&#8217;s eligibility for a license or other benefit granted by a
      governmental instrumentality required by law to consider an
      applicant&#8217;s financial responsibility or status; or

   v. Otherwise has a legitimate business need for the information in connection
   with a business transaction involving the consumer.
   				The term &#8220;consumer report&#8221; does not include:

1. Any report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences
between the consumer and the person making the report;

2. Any authorization or approval of a specific extension of credit directly or
indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or similar device; or

3. Any report in which a person who has been requested by a third party to make
a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly to a consumer conveys his
decision with respect to the request, if the third party advises the consumer of
the name and address of the person to whom the request was made and the person
makes the disclosures to the consumer as to the exact nature of the request and
the effect of the report on its decision to extend credit.
			&#8220;Consumer reporting agency&#8221; means any person that, for monetary
fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or
in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information
or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports
to third parties and that uses any means or facility of commerce for the purpose
of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. &#8220;Consumer reporting
agency&#8221; does not include a private investigator registered under the
provisions of Article 4 (&#xA7; 9.1-138 et seq.) of Chapter 1 of Title 9.1.
			&#8220;Credit services business&#8221; means any person that, with respect to
the extension of credit by others, sells, provides, or performs, or represents
that such person 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 consumer&#8217;s credit record, history, or rating;

2. Obtaining an extension of credit for a consumer; or

3. Providing advice or assistance to a consumer with regard to either
subdivision 1 or 2.
			&#8220;Credit services business&#8221; does not include:

   i. Any person authorized to make, arrange, or negotiate loans or extensions of
   credit under the laws of the Commonwealth or the United States;

      ii. Any bank, trust company, savings bank, or savings institution whose
      deposits or accounts are eligible for insurance by the Federal Deposit
      Insurance Corporation or other federal insurance agency, or any credit union
      organized and chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth or the United
      States;

      iii. Any nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under &#xA7; 501(c) (3)
      of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. &#xA7; 501(c) (3));

      iv. Any person licensed as a real estate broker by the Commonwealth where
      the person is acting within the course and scope of that license;

   v. Any person licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth where the person
   renders services within the course and scope of that person&#8217;s practice
   as a lawyer;

      vi. Any 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 that regulation;

      vii. Any consumer reporting agency as defined in the Federal Fair Credit
      Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1681 et seq.); or

      viii. Any person selling personal, family, or household goods to a consumer
      who, in connection with the seller&#8217;s sale of its goods to the
      consumer, assists the consumer in obtaining a loan or extension of credit or
      extends credit to the consumer.
      					&#8220;Extension of credit&#8221; 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.
      					&#8220;File&#8221; when used in connection with information on any
      consumer, means all of the information on that consumer recorded and
      retained by a consumer reporting agency regardless of how the information is
      stored.
      					&#8220;Investigative consumer report&#8221; means a consumer report or
      portion of it in which information on a consumer&#8217;s character, general
      reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through
      personal interviews with neighbors, friends, or associates of the consumer
      reported on or with others with whom he is acquainted or who may have
      knowledge concerning any items of information. However, the information does
      not include specific factual information on a consumer&#8217;s credit record
      obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer or from a consumer
      reporting agency when the information was obtained directly from a creditor
      of the consumer or from the consumer.
      					&#8220;Person&#8221; includes an individual, corporation, government or
      governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust,
      partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common
      interest, and any other legal or commercial entity.

HISTORY: 1989, cc. 651, 655; 1990, c. 3; 2003, c. 359; 2023, c. 110.