A debt buyer is a firm that purchases debt from another company, usually a creditor or bank, at a deeply discounted rate. The debt purchaser then attempts to collect the debt through its own operations or through the use of a third-party debt collection agency. Some debt buyers may sell all or part of the debt to another party at a profit. Most debt buyers are small and privately held, though there is a handful of publicly traded debt buying companies. Recent changes in law and legal rulings have seen the debt buying industry regulated like collection agencies, or servicers of debt, rather than creditors, or owners of the debt. Debt buyers must adhere to the FDCPA.

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Small Firms Have a Role in Big Healthcare Portfolio Sales

25 October 2007

Hospitals Eye Tenet Portfolio Sale as They Mull Packaging Debt

22 October 2007

UK Debt Purchaser IPO Put on Hold, But Optimism Reigns

19 October 2007

Debt Purchaser Sues Hospital Over $1.9 billion Portfolio

18 October 2007

West Reports Increase in Revenue for Collection Unit

18 October 2007

Debt Resolve Will Not Seek Further Portfolio Purchases

10 October 2007

UK Debt Purchaser Lowell Group on the Block

10 October 2007

Asta Whittling Down $7 billion Portfolio

8 October 2007

UK Debt Purchaser Passes $100 million Revenue Mark

3 October 2007

DiGennaro Puts Collins Focus on 'Technology, Compliance, and Integrity?

25 September 2007

Sherman Management Pays $519 million for 37% of Firm

24 September 2007

Encore Capital to Cut Jobs, Exit Healthcare Sector

18 September 2007

Target Could Sell $7 Billion Card Portfolio: Report

12 September 2007

Patient Relations Central to Healthcare Debt Sales

10 September 2007

Investors Put 32% of Sherman Financial Up for Sale

6 September 2007

MGIC and Radian Deal Off, Sherman Impact Unclear

5 September 2007

Encore Capital Raises Control Trigger

30 August 2007

New OSI Portfolio Head Sees Big Growth Ahead

27 August 2007

UK Debt Collectors? Workload Triples

20 August 2007

Contrax Releases Web-based Post Sale Support System for Debt Buyers

17 August 2007