Alabama Debt Collection Lawsuit: “is it legal for a debt collector to buy my debt?”
When you’re dealing with a debt collector, you may wonder, “Is it even legal for a collection company to buy my old debt?”
Debt buyers claim to buy old debt.
They go around and buy old credit card debt, car loan debt, and defaulted debts.
That’s why they’re called debt collectors, or debt buyers.
After they acquire the debt, they usually send us letters, sue us, and/or credit report on us.
It makes sense for us to wonder if it’s legal to buy debt, especially when they are trying to sue us.
Yes, it’s legal to buy debt.
Usually there isn’t a problem with buying debt.
A debt is just a thing.
Just like a house or car, a debt can be bought and sold.
A debt owed is an asset to the creditor.
If someone owes us money, from an accounting perspective, it’s an asset.
The same principle applies to big companies such as Bank of America, Chase, etc.
These companies accumulate billions of dollars in debts that people owe them.
If they don’t collect on it, companies such as Midland Funding or Portfolio Recovery Associates will go to them and pay a certain amount for that debt.
These big companies are allowed to sell debts to other companies.
Just like a yard sale or consignment shop.
There’s nothing wrong with buying old debt in the state of Alabama.
Sure, there are exceptions to this, but as a general rule, it is legal to buy and sell old debt in Alabama.
Your next question may be, “Is it legal for them to sue me on this debt?”
Quick hint — it is legal in and of itself to sue, but often these collectors will violate the law when they sue you. And even if they supposedly buy the debt, you still have excellent options on how to deal with the lawsuit. You can read about your five options when sued.
Contact us.
If you live in Alabama and you have any questions about what we’ve covered in this article, feel free to call us at 1-205-879-2447.
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Have a great day.