Bad debt lists are sold for pennies on the dollar to collection agencies, who can and do make a profit on then collecting a percentage of it. Planet Money had

Bad debt lists are sold for pennies on the dollar to collection agencies, who can and do make a profit on then collecting a percentage of it. Planet Money had a good podcast episode on it: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/10/08/354591198/episode-574-the-buffalo-talk-off https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/10/08/354591198/epis...