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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Portfolio Recovery Associates Motion Denied in FDCPA Class Action Case

19 October 2015

New Academic Paper Urges CFPB to Carefully Consider Impact of Potential New Debt Collection Regulations

30 September 2015

Three Take Aways From the Dallas Debt Collection Dialogue

30 September 2015

DBA International Commends George Mason University for Report on the Law and Economics of Consumer Debt Collection and its Regulation

30 September 2015

Encore Capital Group Acquires Controlling Stake in Baycorp

28 September 2015

Encore Enters Settlement Agreement with CFPB - Company Position

10 September 2015

Encore, PRA Reach Settlement with the CFPB, Agree to Hefty Fines

9 September 2015

As Economy Improves, Collectors Need Fresher, Expanded Data Sets, TransUnion Says

3 September 2015

NYDFS Amendments Take Effect Sept. 9, And New FAQs Released

1 September 2015

Helen Mac Murray, Attorney General Consultant to DBA International, Selected for Inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® 2016

31 August 2015

FTC's Reilly Dolan Lists Those Banned From Debt Collection, and Discusses Industry Self-Regulation

28 August 2015

Eleventh Circuit Court Cites “Plain Language” of the FDCPA, Rules in Favor of Capital One in Debt Collection Case

27 August 2015

DBA International Updates its Code of Ethics

19 August 2015

CFPB Files Amicus Brief in FDCPA case

18 August 2015

New York Rules Could Strengthen the Relationship Between Collection Agencies and Creditors

11 August 2015

Encore Partners With U.S. Reps. Peters and Hunter On Bill To Exempt Forgiven Debt From Federal Taxation

22 July 2015

CFPB's First Monthly Complaints Report Could Use More Context

16 July 2015

New York Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court Decision and Upholds Local Law 15

10 July 2015

Executive Change: JH Capital Group Announces Garon Robinett as Vice President of Business Development

9 July 2015

JPMorgan Chase to Pay $125M to Settle Debt Collection Investigations

8 July 2015