(1) It is a violation of this chapter for a licensee, its officers, directors, employees, or independent contractors, or any other person subject to this chapter to:

(a) Directly or indirectly employ any scheme, device, or artifice to defraud or mislead any borrower, to defraud or mislead any lender, or to defraud or mislead any person;

(b) Directly or indirectly engage in any unfair or deceptive practice toward any person;

(c) Directly or indirectly obtain property by fraud or misrepresentation;

(d) Solicit or enter into a contract with a borrower that provides in substance that the consumer loan company may earn a fee or commission through the consumer loan company's best efforts to obtain a loan even though no loan is actually obtained for the borrower;

(e) Solicit, advertise, or enter into a contract for specific interest rates, points, or other financing terms unless the terms are actually available at the time of soliciting, advertising, or contracting;

(f) Fail to make disclosures to loan applicants as required by RCW 31.04.102 and any other applicable state or federal law;

(g) Make, in any manner, any false or deceptive statement or representation with regard to the rates, points, or other financing terms or conditions for a residential mortgage loan or engage in bait and switch advertising;

(h) Negligently make any false statement or knowingly and willfully make any omission of material fact in connection with any reports filed with the department by a licensee or in connection with any investigation conducted by the department;

(i) Make any payment, directly or indirectly, to any appraiser of a property, for the purposes of influencing the independent judgment of the appraiser with respect to the value of the property;

(j) Accept from any borrower at or near the time a loan is made and in advance of any default an execution of, or induce any borrower to execute, any instrument of conveyance, not including a mortgage or deed of trust, to the lender of any ownership interest in the borrower's primary dwelling that is the security for the borrower's loan;

(k) Obtain at the time of closing a release of future damages for usury or other damages or penalties provided by law or a waiver of the provisions of this chapter;

(l) Advertise any rate of interest without conspicuously disclosing the annual percentage rate implied by that rate of interest;

(m) Violate any applicable state or federal law relating to the activities governed by this chapter;

(n) Make or originate loans from any unlicensed location. It is not a violation for a licensed mortgage loan originator to originate loans from an unlicensed location if that location is the licensed mortgage loan originator's residence and the licensed mortgage loan originator and licensed sponsoring company comply with RCW 31.04.075; or

(o) Engage in any device, subterfuge, or pretense to evade the requirements of this chapter including, but not limited to, making, offering, or assisting a borrower to obtain a loan with a greater rate of interest, consideration, or charge than is permitted by this chapter.

(2) It is a violation of this chapter for a student education loan servicer to:

(a) Conduct licensable activity from any unlicensed location;

(b) Misrepresent or omit any material information in connection with the servicing of a student education loan including, but not limited to, misrepresenting the amount, nature, conditions, or terms of any fee or payment due or claimed to be due on a student education loan, the terms and conditions of the loan agreement, the availability of loan discharge or forgiveness options, the availability and terms of and process for enrolling in income-driven repayment, or the borrower's obligations under the loan;

(c) Provide inaccurate information to a credit bureau, thereby harming a student education loan borrower's creditworthiness, including failing to report both the favorable and unfavorable payment history of the student education loan;

(d) Fail to report to a consumer credit bureau at least annually if the student education loan servicer regularly reports information to a credit bureau;

(e) Refuse to communicate with an authorized representative of the student education loan borrower who provides a written authorization signed by the student education loan borrower. However, the student education loan servicer may adopt procedures reasonably related to verifying that the representative is in fact authorized to act on behalf of the student education loan borrower;

(f) Refuse to communicate with the student education loan borrower or an authorized representative of the student education loan borrower;

(g) Apply payments made by a borrower to the outstanding balance of a student education loan, or allocate a payment across a group of student education loans, in a manner that does not conform with the borrower's stated intent. However, this subsection (2)(g) does not require application of a student education loan in a manner contrary to the express terms of the promissory note;

(h) Fail to respond within 15 calendar days to communications from the student loan advocate, or within such shorter, reasonable time as the student loan advocate may request in his or her communication; or

(i) Fail to provide a response within 15 calendar days to a consumer complaint submitted to the servicer by the student loan advocate. If necessary, a licensee may request additional time up to a maximum of 45 calendar days, provided that such request is accompanied by an explanation why such additional time is reasonable and necessary.

(3) The director's obligations or duties under chapter 62, Laws of 2018 are subject to section 21, chapter 62, Laws of 2018.

Short title—Application—2024 c 249: See notes following RCW 31.04.025.