Posted by John Behle on January 25, 2002 at 19:41:01:
In Reply to: Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) posted by Bill on January 19, 2002 at 19:36:29:
You'll have many or most people that answer this question give you a different answer, but the answer is yes, you can.
You can pull someone's credit report for a "legitimate business purpose" and buying an existing note qualifies in that way. You do NOT need their permission. It is already there implied in the note and upheld by the law. That is for buyers. It is a little less certain for "brokers", but usually note needed anyway. Most buyers and institutions will want to check credit themselves.
So, if you are a buyer - no problem. If you are only brokering the note, you may not need to check credit, but shouldn't have a problem if you do.
A little "caveat emptor" (buyer beware) here. A franchisee of mine had a new funding sources do a "commissiondectomy" (end run) on him, by contacting the seller of the note through the fact that they showed up on the credit report. That is another good reason among many to deal with well established and well known buyers if you broker notes.