More than70 millionadults in America have had a debt turned over to aprivate debt collector
That's 1 in 4 adults in general. And 1 in 3 people of color. Your child's teacher. The friendly bank cashier. The person just 2 seats away. Millions have had wages garnished or money seized from their bank accounts, and tens of thousands have been summoned to court in a single county. During the process of debt collection, individuals learn that they can be treated as if they have no right to respect or to redress.
90%of debtors summoned to court do not have legal counsel
A new report on the unprecedented wave of student loan defaults hitting more than ten million American households.
Debt Collection Tracker
See where debt collection lawsuits are happening and how they are unevenly distributed by neighborhood and race.
View our real-time debt collection data
Arts and Storytelling
Our gallery features the Debt Collectors Series, modeled on the work of Jacob Lawrence.
Explore Arts and Storytelling