Debt Purchase

Some debts stop being worth chasing long before they stop appearing on your books. An ageing ledger of overdue accounts ties up management time, sits on the balance sheet as an uncertain asset, and rarely improves with age. Debt purchase turns that uncertainty into cash. Instead of pursuing accounts over months or years for a recovery you cannot predict, Merion buys the ledger outright — you take an agreed, fixed sum now, and we take on every account from the moment the sale completes. For a creditor who would rather have certainty today than a variable, drawn-out return tomorrow, selling is often the cleaner decision. If you would prefer to keep ownership and simply hand us the chasing, our commercial debt recovery service does exactly that — but where you want a clean exit, this page explains how an outright sale works.

What we buy and what's included

Every ledger is different, so every assessment is individual. As a guide, the accounts we most commonly purchase include:

• Aged ledgers — books of overdue business-to-business accounts that have run past your own collection efforts and are no longer core to current trading;
• Written-off accounts — debts already provisioned for or written off internally, where any recovery would otherwise be a bonus rather than an expectation;
• Post-judgment debt — accounts where judgment has already been obtained but enforcement has stalled or is not worth your continued effort;
• A portfolio or a single large account — we consider both bulk portfolios spanning many debtors and individual high-value accounts on their own merits.

What the sale includes is the part that gives you certainty: full legal assignment of the debt to Merion under a written sale agreement. Ownership of the accounts transfers to us, along with the right to pursue and recover them. From settlement onward the accounts are ours — you are out of the matter entirely, and there is nothing further for your team to manage, fund or follow up. If a ledger contains a mix of recoverable and clearly worthless accounts, we tell you plainly which carry value rather than buying the whole book on undifferentiated terms.

How it works

The path from first enquiry to settled funds is short, confidential and obligation-free at every stage:

1. Enquiry. Tell us about the ledger through sell a debt — the type of accounts, roughly how many, the total face value and the typical age. Nothing is committed at this point.
2. Portfolio review and valuation. We assess the ledger — the age and documentation of the accounts, the debtor profile, and what has already been attempted — and arrive at a valuation that reflects the realistic recoverable value, not the face value.
3. Offer. We come back to you with an indicative position and, where there is a fit, a firm offer to purchase. You see exactly what you would receive before deciding anything.
4. Assignment and settlement. If you accept, we complete the purchase under a written sale agreement, legal assignment of the accounts transfers to Merion, and you are paid the agreed sum. The recovery effort becomes entirely ours.

Why sell to Merion

Selling a ledger is the right move when certainty matters more than chasing the last possible dollar. The advantages are straightforward:

• Immediate certainty. A fixed, agreed sum now replaces an uncertain, variable recovery spread over an unknown timeframe — useful at year-end, on exit, or simply to clean up the balance sheet.
• No ongoing cost or effort. There are no collection fees, no legal spend and no internal time sunk into accounts that are no longer core. The price you agree is the price you receive.
• We handle everything after the sale. Once assignment completes, the accounts are pursued by Merion, professionally and within the relevant Australian debt collection guidelines — your name is out of it.

If you are weighing a sale against continued recovery, our write-off vs recover calculator and net recovery estimator help you see the trade-off in numbers, and debt recovery vs factoring sets selling alongside other ways of releasing value from receivables.

Common questions

How is the purchase price worked out?

The price reflects the realistic recoverable value of the ledger rather than its face value — so it factors in the age of the accounts, how well they are documented, the debtor profile, and what collection or legal steps have already been taken. Older, thinner or already-pursued accounts naturally carry a lower value than recent, well-documented ones. We do not quote a fixed percentage in the abstract because no two ledgers are alike; the valuation comes after we have reviewed the actual portfolio.

What information do you need to make an offer?

To begin, a simple summary is enough: the type of accounts, the number of debtors, the total face value and the typical age. To firm up an offer we then review the underlying detail — account-level balances, supporting documentation and any history of contact, judgments or payment arrangements. The more complete that picture, the more accurately we can value the book.

Is the process confidential?

Yes. Every enquiry is treated in strict confidence, whether or not it proceeds to a sale, and the review is carried out discreetly. If you would like a confidentiality agreement in place before sharing ledger detail, simply ask.

Can I sell only part of a ledger?

Yes. We are happy to consider a single large account, a defined segment of a book, or the whole ledger — and we will tell you which accounts carry value rather than insisting on an all-or-nothing basis.

What happens to my customers after the sale?

From settlement, the accounts are pursued by Merion under our own name and within the ACCC and ASIC guidelines that govern debt collection in Australia. The debtors deal with us, not you, and the accounts are handled professionally throughout. If preserving particular relationships matters, raise it before the sale and we will factor it in.

Related

• Commercial Debt Recovery
• Legal Recovery
• Receivables Management
• Fees
• The Recovery Process
• Free Debt Appraisal
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• FAQ