"I'm not a broker. We're the direct lender, so there's no middleman fee. I can fund you by Friday."
It's the fourth funding call of the morning, and this one has a new opening line. The caller knows brokers have a bad name, so he says he isn't one.
This is Part 24 of Stop the Calls. Part 23 took the fake clock off a funding text. Today: a four-question test that tells you who is actually on the other end.
General information, not legal advice. The call above and Hollowbrook Tile (a made-up shop) below are invented examples.
Why "direct lender" is the new opener
Owners have learned that a broker adds a fee and passes their file around. So "direct" sounds safer, and anyone can say it on the phone.
Virginia's law draws the line on paper. A provider is the company that makes you a specific offer. A broker is someone paid to get you financing from a provider (Va. Code 6.2-2228). Even there, a seller with an exclusive deal with one funder can count as the provider. So the label tells you less than the paperwork does.
From the industry side: a real funder can answer four questions in one email. A broker usually needs to "check with underwriting" first.
The tactic: the four-question lender test
Step 1: don't argue on the call. Say: "Email me those details from your company address." Then log the call in your call log template.
Step 2: send the four questions (script below).
Step 3: check the answers.
- Contract name. The company named on the contract is the company you would owe. A different name from the one on the call is your answer.
- UCC filing name. A funder that takes your receivables as collateral usually files a UCC-1 as the secured party. Part 4 showed how to search those filings.
- State registration. Some states register these companies. Virginia's State Corporation Commission keeps a list of registered sales-based financing providers and brokers, and Utah checks registration through NMLS (Utah DFI commercial financing page).
- Broker pay. Virginia's disclosure has to say whether the provider will pay a broker on the offer, and how much (Va. Code 6.2-2231). A "direct" offer with a broker fee on it isn't direct.
Step 4: no answers, no file. If the email never comes, say no and ask for your number to go on their do-not-call list.
The script
"Before I share anything, please email me from your company domain with: (1) the legal name that will appear on the contract, (2) the name that will appear as secured party on any UCC filing, (3) your registration in my state, if my state requires one, and (4) whether any broker or sales agent will be paid on this offer, and how much. If you can't send that, please put [phone numbers] on your internal do-not-call list."
Hollowbrook's owner sent it at 10:40 AM. The reply came from a free email address. It named a different company and said a "partner" would handle the funding. That's a broker.
How we use AI on this
When we help an owner, an AI sort reads every reply to the four questions. It pulls out the company names, flags any that don't match, and flags any reply from a free email domain. Try it in any AI chat:
Here is a phone pitch and a follow-up email from a business funding company. List every company name in each. Tell me if they match, and list which of my four questions went unanswered.
The rules behind it, and where they stop
- Virginia requires sales-based financing providers and brokers to register with the State Corporation Commission (Va. Code 6.2-2230). Some deals are exempt, including ones over $500,000 (Va. Code 6.2-2229).
- California requires covered commercial financing providers, including merchant cash advance providers, to give written disclosures with the offer (California DFPI).
- A telemarketing caller must give their name, the company they're calling for, and a phone number or address for it (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(4)): FCC do-not-call rules
- Business lines aren't covered by the National Do Not Call Registry at all. It's for personal numbers: FTC Do Not Call FAQs
Rules differ by state, and none of this promises an outcome. A licensed attorney can tell you how they apply to you. More in Know Your Rights.
Your checklist
- Don't debate "direct lender" on the phone.
- Ask for the four answers by email.
- Compare the contract name, the UCC name, and the caller's name.
- Check your state's registration list, if it has one.
- No email back means no file.
Coming in Part 25: the "we just need your bank login to verify revenue" ask, and what to send instead.
