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.

See all Topics

Bartmann Debt Collection Bill Put Aside in Oklahoma

11 April 2012

Debt Consolidation Company Sued by Vermont for Over $2 Million

3 April 2012

Debt Buying Contracts, Bank of America Now Focus of Magazine Reporting

30 March 2012

CFPB Report to Congress Only Tells Part of the Story on Debt Collection Complaints: ACA International

29 March 2012

Executive Change: Laura Jensen to Absolute Resolutions Corp. as Dir of Business Dev

28 March 2012

Sara De Tute to Join Lowell Group's Executive Board

28 March 2012

Georgia House Committee Changes Language in Debt Buyer Bill

27 March 2012

European ARM Firm Intrum Justitia Adjusts Cost Accounting

27 March 2012

CFPB Launches "Answers" Portal for Financial Questions, Including Debt Collection

23 March 2012

ACA Members Green-light New Governance Structure

23 March 2012

Does this Image about Debt Collectors Step Over a Line?

22 March 2012

CFPB Issues First Annual FDCPA Report to Congress

21 March 2012

Further Developments on Georgia's Debt Buyer Bill

20 March 2012

Fourth Annual DBA International Golf Outing Raises Thousands for Autism Speaks

20 March 2012

How Seriously Should Consumers Treat Debt?

20 March 2012

Georgia Bill Would Severely Restrict Collections for Debt Buyers

19 March 2012

Government Probe of Chase Bank's Debt Collection Practices, Part II

16 March 2012

Lying Down with Big Dogs: JPMorgan Chase

14 March 2012

Asta Funding Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.02 Per Share

14 March 2012

Government Probing Chase Debt Collection Practices: Report

13 March 2012