The Debt Is Yours Alone

Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of collection agencies are working on a commission and are collecting debt on behalf of the borrower's creditor.

Commission debt collectors do not own title to the debt. These agencies collect on delinquent accounts referred to them by various credit grantors, such as credit card issuers, banks, retail stores, hospitals and other health-care services, or by federal, state and local governments. It is true the agencies charge a hefty fee for their services. Generally, 33 percent of the original debt is considered a reasonable commission, said Rozanne M. Andersen, general counsel and senior vice president of legal and government affairs for ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

For the first time, in an effort to demonstrate the value of the collection industry, ACA surveyed collection agencies to find out just how much is being returned to creditors.

In the survey, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, ACA found that of the $141 billion in bad debt charged off by private businesses in 2005, third-party debt collection agencies recovered about $51.4 billion. Subtract the cut to the agencies, and $39.3 billion was returned to creditors.

Most of that was collected on commission. Of the debt collected by agencies in 2005, just $2.3 billion was on purchased debt, the ACA report found.

There are, without a doubt, a number of agencies that have given people reason to have disdain and distrust for the debt-collection industry. Without question, the penalties, interest and fees on some debt can be monstrous and immoral. But this is more about our collective feelings about the companies charged with collecting debt. Let's say you're buying a home and you find out that the seller paid an incredibly low price for it. Would you argue that the homeowner shouldn't get the fair-market asking price because she paid so little for the home?

This same principle applies to legitimate and legal debt collection efforts. It is none of your business what a debt purchaser paid for your debt. And it certainly is none of your business what commission a debt collector is getting to collect on money you clearly and morally owe.

· On the air: Michelle Singletary appears on Washington Post Radio (107.7 FM, 1500 AM) at 6:20 a.m. Thursdays. She also discusses personal finance Tuesdays on NPR's "Day to Day" program and online athttp://www.npr.org.

· By mail: Readers can write to her at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

· By e-mail:singletarym@washpost.com.

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