When we purchase a debt portfolio, the previous owner is no longer permitted to collect on the debt. Legally, any payments you make to them have to be routed back to us by them if made after the date we purchased the portfolio that includes your account(s). There is usually more than one previous owner aside from the original creditor before it comes to us. We are provided information that is SUPPOSED to be 100% accurate, however, there are oversights that do happen with previous owners sometimes. In these cases, you need to be able to provide proof that you paid the debt or payments you made toward the debt. If there is still a balance due, you must make those payments to us, not the previous owner of the account.