LVNV Funding

LVNV Funding is a debt buyer. Its own website (LVNV Funding company site, opens in a new tab) explains that when a lender gives up on an account and charges it off, it may sell the account, and you then owe the debt to the new owner. LVNV does not usually contact you itself. It hands its accounts to Resurgent Capital Services, a licensed debt collector.

A Maryland appeals court described the setup the same way: LVNV buys and holds title to debts (Maryland Court of Special Appeals, opens in a new tab), and its affiliate Resurgent files the collection suits. A 2012 Maryland settlement describes both companies as part of a family of companies under Sherman Financial Group.

That 2012 settlement (Maryland State Collection Agency Licensing Board (copy hosted by NCLC), opens in a new tab) followed a Maryland regulator's order alleging unlicensed collection activity and other violations. LVNV and Resurgent agreed to pay a $1 million penalty and to dismiss 3,564 pending court cases in the state. We found no CFPB or FTC enforcement action against LVNV itself.

None of that makes your debt invalid. It is a good reason to check every detail before you pay.

Usually because an account you once had went unpaid and was sold. It may have been a credit card, a store card or a loan. LVNV's site says it plainly: after a charge-off, some creditors sell the account (LVNV Funding company site, opens in a new tab), and the debt does not go away.

The letter may come from Resurgent or from a collection agency working with it, not from LVNV. Many people first see the name on a credit report instead.

Before you pay or promise anything, check the validation notice (CFPB, opens in a new tab) against your own records.

Resurgent's own site carries the notice that its messages come from a debt collector (Resurgent company site, opens in a new tab). That means the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its rule, Regulation F, apply. Debt buyers are covered too: the CFPB lists debt buyers among debt collectors (CFPB, opens in a new tab).

Debt buyers do go to court. In the Maryland case, the court noted that Resurgent typically files suit (Maryland Court of Special Appeals, opens in a new tab) to collect debts LVNV owns. The lawsuit may name LVNV Funding as the plaintiff even though you never dealt with it.

A lawsuit has a deadline. If you do not respond, the court can rule against you without hearing your side.

Often, yes. Resurgent's own site says it may be able to resolve your debt (Resurgent company site, opens in a new tab) for less than you owe. How much less depends on the account, and nothing is certain.

Debt buyers often pay little for accounts. An FTC study found they paid about 4 cents on the dollar (FTC, opens in a new tab) on average. What a buyer paid does not set what it will accept from you.

If you have $10,000 or more of unsecured debt in total, an LVNV account can be enrolled with your other debts. We would ask for validation of the debt first, then negotiate it like any other account. You approve any settlement before a dollar is paid1.

If LVNV has already sued you, talk to an attorney about the case. We do not give legal advice, and settlement does not stop a lawsuit on its own.