I want to use the internet to buy a credit report on a person in order
to find out if they have bad debts or excessive credit card bills in
arrears, etc.   I want to be very sure that I do this in a completely
legal way.  I want at least one URL of a reputable, legitimate website
where I can buy a credit report on another person who is not related
to me that will show their debts, their credit record, etc. with as
much detail as possible.
   I want this information because of litigation I may become involved
in.  I could have a lawyer get the information  but that would involve
excessive charges from the lawyer that I don't want to pay if I don't
have to.  I prefer instead to (legally) obtain the information and
then present it to the lawyer.
   Getting the person who I want the credit report about to agree to
let me see it is impossible.  It is also not feasible to get a court
order or anything like that.  I simply need to be able to get the
credit report myself using my own efforts.  I would ideally want to
see a ten year history or even longer, if possible.
   I know the person's social security number and address and name.
   Obviously, if the cost of the report is excessive then I might as
well just hire a lawyer.  I was hoping to get a very thorough credit
report for a price under $100.  For that I would expect a really good
report.

The short answer is that you won't be able to obtain an actual credit
report on an individual without their permission. Even lawyers are
under severe pressure when attempting to obtain credit information for
use in lawsuits. In a lot of cases, unless you are a direct collector
on a debt owed to you, you're probably not going to have much luck,
even with a lawyers

Per the American Bar Association Journal:

[blockqoute]For starters, the FCRA makes it unlawful for an attorney
to order a credit report to uncover information about the other side
in a civil lawsuit ? meaning it can?t be requested as part of the
proverbial discovery ?fishing expedition,? says Columbus, Ohio, lawyer
Jeffrey Langer, who chairs the ABA?s Consumer Financial Services
Committee.

Yet the FCRA does allow attorneys to obtain credit reports on opposing
litigants to review or collect on an existing credit account. And once
a judgment is secured against an individual, the Federal Trade
Commission says a debtor/creditor relationship has been established,
giving the attorney who is seeking to collect on the judgment a green
light to get a credit report on the judgment debtor. [/blockquote]

Beyond that, even the slightest details of a credit report must be
carefully entered into court as evidence, since information entered
without redaction could potentially leave a litigants financial record
a matter of PUBLIC record, which would give them recourse to push
litigation against you.

If you attempt to obtain a credit report, through a lawyer or
otherwise, be sure that you are completely within the framework of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act. Straying even a little from the exceptions
outlined in that Act will open you AND your attorney to litigation,
and judges have no problem awarding both real and punitive awards to
individuals whose rights have been violated under the FCRA. I would
recommend in this case consulting a legal expert, and making sure it's
done right.

Thank you very much for your comment.  I will take your advice
utterly, and not pursue the matter in the absense of a legal opinion
that it's okay.  Again, thank you very much.  I'm going to leave the
question as opposed to canceling it just in case some really useful
information appears in an answer about something I can still do that
is completely above board, but I sure as heck won't do anything that
is not squeeky clean and legal.