Dear Experian,

When an account has been purchased by another lender, or transferred to another lender, and the new lender starts collections on the account, can the “Credit limit/Original amount” that is been recovered be higher than the amount shown on the credit report? This amount has not changed from the original lender to the new one.

- CTR

Dear CTR,

An unpaid balance continues to accumulate interest and fees. When a collection agency purchases the unpaid debt, it typically adds the fees and interest to the unpaid debt and reports the new total amount to your report.

As a result, the total amount of the debt may be more than the original loan amount as reported by the first lender.

Thanks for asking.