General debt buying

Operator terms for charged-off debt sales. These are desk definitions, not legal advice.

Filter terms

Charge-off: An accounting write-off of a receivable the originator no longer expects to collect in full. Ownership can still be sold in the secondary market.
Face: The unpaid balance on the tape, usually current balance. Bids are a percent of face or bps of face.
Data tape: Account-level file buyers underwrite: charge-off date, last-pay, balance, state, original creditor, flags.
Media: Account documents: applications, statements, charge-off evidence, payment history, COS where it exists.
Chain of title: The assignment trail from originator to current seller. Gaps stall or kill a bid after it looks won.
Buying box: A buyer’s written criteria: asset class, face, vintage, states, capacity, collect vs litigate.
NDA: Mutual confidentiality before a working tape moves. DebtHub uses HelloSign. No public consumer lot list.
PSA: Purchase and sale agreement. Transfers title at funding. Sets cut-off, warranty, and media exhibits.
Cut-off: The date that splits pre-sale activity from buyer ownership. Warranty clocks often start here, not at boarding.
Putback / buyback: Account-level return of ineligibles (typically deceased, paid-prior, contract-defined) inside a warranty window, often 90 days.
Spot sale: One-time sale of a defined pool. One PSA, one funding.
Forward flow: Recurring sale of future charge-offs on eligibility rules and a pricing grid.
Placement: Agency works the paper for a fee. You keep title. Not a sale.
bps: Basis points of face. Used on thin specialty paper. 100 bps = 1% of face. Name the unit in the bid.
Original creditor: The lender or issuer that originated the account. Required on the tape even after resale.
Reg F: CFPB Regulation F (2021): validation, call-frequency, and electronic-communication rules for collectors.
FDCPA: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (1977), the federal collector floor. State licenses sit on top.
Vintage: Charge-off year or range. Fresh last-pay on old charge-off is a different file than the reverse.

Longer DebtHub glossary What is a charge-off?

Educational only — not legal advice, not an appraisal. Desk: portfolios@debtmarket.net · 561-254-6608.