collection agency

American  

noun

1. a firm that collects unpaid bills for other firms and is usually compensated by receiving a percentage of the amount collected.

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Example Sentences

But the fines – which were passed on to a debt collection agency – are understood be for both the vehicle he currently drives and one he claims he sold in 2021.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

While buy-now-pay-later activity doesn’t typically show up on your credit report, that can change if the balance is neglected and sent to a collection agency.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

In March 2024, a New York lawyer representing a collection agency contacted one family who worked with SEAM, saying that Side owed a high-interest lender $69,500 and was seeking to recover it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

When hospitals can’t collect on unpaid bills, they will sometimes bundle the debt and sell it at a steep discount to a collection agency.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023

Kathy called it that, their spirited back-and-forth about everything from what the kids ate for dinner to whether they should enlist a collection agency to help with a particular client.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers