A common practice among credit card and loan is to sell their default accounts to third party debt purchasers.  This provides the lenders revenue, and the new company can then generate a profit by successfully pursuing the borrowers in collections.

Commonly these companies are mistaken for collection agencies.  However, they are the lawful owners of the obligation, referred to as an Assignee.  Consequently, if there is no subsequent effort to pay that company, it is likely that a lawsuit will be filed to collect upon the balance due.

However, since they acquired the account at a reduced value, most debt purchasers tend to provide reasonable terms to resolve proceedings.  That can be via monthly payments in satisfaction of the full balance, a reduced pay-off equally subject to installments, or a potential discounted lump-sum.  Final settlement can vary depending upon the creditor as well their representative counsel. 

Some of the more notable debt purchasers include Portfolio Recovery Associates, Midland Credit Management/Midland Funding and LVNV Funding.  However, a large measure of alternative companies are equally engaged in that industry.