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

CFPB and NY Attorney General Take Action Against Network of Sham Collection Companies

3 November 2016

pixabay-new-york-statue-of-liberty-freedom

Coming Soon: A Big Debt Collection Deadline in New York

26 October 2016

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear FDCPA Case

12 October 2016

Photo of DBA International representatives with CFPB Director Richard Cordray [Image by creator  from ]

DBA International Meets with CFPB Director Cordray

20 September 2016

File drawer with one folder in focus, labeled "Court Decisions" [Image by creator tashatuvango from AdobeStock]

5th Circuit Rules Against Collector For Not Making Disclosures in Time-Barred Debt Case

14 September 2016

Small statue of lady justice [Image by creator sebra from AdobeStock]

DC Circuit Rejects FDCPA ‘Meaningful Involvement’ and Related State-Law Claims

7 September 2016

4th Cir. Holds Time-Barred Proof of Claim Does Not Violate FDCPA

7 September 2016

 [Image by creator dpyancy from AdobeStock]

Former Regulator Accuses CFPB of Targeting the Biggest Companies and Imposing "The Maximum Fines They Can Afford to Pay”

30 August 2016

Small Business Representative Shares Her Thoughts About Yesterday’s Debt Collection SBREFA Hearing

26 August 2016

Photo of a person about to jump off a diving board into a pool [Image by creator wellphoto from AdobeStock]

Massachusetts Jumps into the Active Debt Collection Regulation Pool

25 August 2016

CFPB Debt Collection Proposals Would Create Problematic New Substantiation Standard

25 August 2016

7th Cir. Deepens Split on FDCPA Liability for ‘Time-Barred’ Claims

11 August 2016

PRAA Announces Financial Results for Q2 2016; Comments On CFPB Outline of Proposed Debt Collection Rules

10 August 2016

Encore Capital Group Announces Financial Results for Q2 2016

8 August 2016

 [Image by creator kentoh from AdobeStock]

insideARM Perspective on CFPB Outline of Proposed Rules – Litigation and Time-Barred Disclosures

3 August 2016

Real Time Resolutions, Inc. Becomes Certified Debt Buyer

3 August 2016

Arms of 5 business people holding up different colored large "quote" marks [Image by creator Sergey Nivens from AdobeStock]

15 ARM Industry Experts React to CFPB Outline of Proposed Debt Collection Rules

2 August 2016

DBA Announces New Version of Certification Program, Effective August 1, 2016

1 August 2016

 [Image by creator kentoh from AdobeStock]

CFPB Outlines Debt Collection Rulemaking Proposals

28 July 2016

 [Image by creator iQoncept from AdobeStock]

Midland Credit Management, Inc. Settles Multidistrict TCPA Class Action

26 July 2016