A Letter from the President

Got Debt For Sale?

Have you thought about selling your charged-off accounts? Most large creditors either already do or are thinking about it. But what about everbody else? Why would someone (like TAG!) want to purchase bad debt?

First of all, there is a market for bad debt. For creditors, there is no perfect point in the revenue cycle to sell debt that works for everybody but generally speaking when you are finished with your accounts, there is someone out there who will be interested in buying them at a discounted value.

Here are some frequently asked questions by debt sellers-to-be:

Why do my old charged off accounts have value? Regardless of the age of your accounts there is still some collectibility remaining. How much that remains is what the buyer tries to estimate during the bidding process.

How far back can I go to accumulate debt I may want to sell? As far back as you want. However, most buyers will want to buy debt that is still in statute so they have all collection remedies at their disposal.

What kind of information does a buyer need to collect my accounts? The more complete your back-up information is, the more the buyer will be able to rely on the accuracy of your data and in-turn, the more the buyer will be willing to pay for it.

How much are my charge-offs worth to a buyer? Generally, a buyer will want to collect three times what they pay for debt in order to cover the cost of the debt, the cost of collection and their profit. So, the buyer will first want to perform due diligence and learn as much about the debt as they can. They will then estimate the collectibility of the accounts and discount back from there for their purchase price bid. The better the back-up you have for your accounts and the more complete the info you can make available, the higher the price a buyer will be willing to pay.

How do I get started? Do some research going back, say 3-5 years, and see what you have for charge-offs that may still be at collection agencies or that you no longer work internally, broken down by the year they were charged off. Put on paper a general description of the types of accounts you have, a detailed description of what has happened to the accounts since charge-off (ie, what was done with them internally in an attempt to collect, the agencies the accounts have been to and for how long, etc.) and then give us a call. We'd love to talk to you about buying your accounts.

The Affiliated Group has been involved in the debt buying market for 8 years which has grown steadily for a decade and a half. It is estimated that this year over $60 billion worth of bad debt will be bought/sold. If you've got charged-off accounts laying around gathering dust you've got an asset that is worth something to someone else. To learn more or discuss your unique situation please call Mark Neeb at 800.264.2448 or drop an email to mneeb@theaffiliatedgroup.com. Thanks!

Mark Neeb