We have contractual obligations with associate firms and data providers, as well as fiduciary obligations with the United States Government with regard to gathering, storing, and divulging certain types of information. For more information, see the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; Privacy Act.
In addition, we have an obligation to you to conduct our business in an ethical, appropriate manner.
Credentials
In order for us to serve you, we must verify your credentials as an established business, or as a law firm. We respectfully require that you furnish the following data on letterhead when submitting your request for our brochure:
If you represent a business, company or corporation, please provide a copy of your State credentials, corporation papers or similar document; Federal document containing your FEIN; a city or county business license; if you are a sole proprietor, provide a copy of your driver's license.
If you are a private investigator, provide a copy of your credentials.
If you represent a law firm, state your position in that firm. Your firm must be available in Martindale-Hubbell or Martindale.com. If you are a sole practitioner, you must be likewise available.
Permissible Purpose...
You will be required to provide the Purpose for your Request for Information about individuals. That purpose must be in consonance with Federal laws ("permissible purpose"), such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
...And Prohibited Acts, To Include Pretexting
We will not search for or gather information about persons under eighteen years of age; political figures; celebrities. We will not provide you with a person's social security number (although we may verify what you furnish to us).
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 USC, Subchapter II, Sec. 6821-6827) prohibits pretexting (defined in the Act as the use of false pretenses, including fraudulent statements and impersonation) to obtain consumers’ personal financial information.
Further, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 USC 1692e Section 807(10)) holds as “False or misleading representations” the use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer.
We will not pretext to accomplish a skip trace, locate assets, or to accomplish any other assignment.
Conflicts
We reserve the right to conflict out of an assignment (with full refund to you); we reserve the right to not explain or clarify that conflict.
Payments
All fees or payments are due in advance, when submitting the Request for Information, unless prior special arrangements have been made. We accept checks, American Express, or PayPal.
