Why don’t debt buyers have proper documentation (media) when buying a debt?
Key concepts about “media” and the debt buying industry
According to a Federal Trade Commission study of the debt buying industry, media* (documentation) was included for only 12% of the accounts bought/sold. Often, the only thing that changes hands is a spreadsheet containing the barest of information. So why would a normal business buy the accounts of another business without any supporting documentation? The business of debt buying is not normal!
First, delinquent credit card accounts are sold en masse. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of accounts, are bought and sold in a single transaction. As a simple matter of paper-shuffling, to include media for all these accounts would make the debt buyers’ offices unmanageable. Workers would be buried under an avalanche of documents.
Second, because most people don’t fight back and demand that the defendant prove its case, media isn’t necessary in most cases. Most people in your situation either give up and have a default judgment entered against them or settle for a bad payment plan. Who needs proof or documentation when everyone caves in?
Third, media costs money. The sale of these charged-off accounts is controlled by a contract between the debt buyer and the original creditor. A typical contract says that after the sale, the debt buyer can ask the seller for media. However, the buyer must pay for that media. Sometimes, rather than pay for media, the debt buyer will simply write off that account and agree to dismiss the case.
* Media is the industry term for a charged-off account’s supporting information.
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