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This site explains how debt collection works as a system. It is not legal advice and does not tell you what to do about any debt. For your rights and official guidance, see the CFPB. What this is.

The Portfolio

The Portfolio

All The Portfolio articles from Validate Debt First.

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Portfolio 6 min read

The Economics of a Contingency Fee

How contingency fee arrangements between creditors and collection agencies set the financial incentives that shape ho...

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Portfolio 6 min read

How a Debt Portfolio Is Priced

Defaulted accounts sell for cents on the dollar. What drives the number, and what the price implies about the paper.

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Portfolio 6 min read

Placement and Purchase Are Not the Same

An agency working an account for a fee and a company that bought it outright behave differently. Why the arrangement matters.

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Portfolio 6 min read

What Charge-Off Actually Changes

Charge-off is an accounting decision, not the end of a debt. What moves inside the bank, and what does not move at all.

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