All terms

Account media

Account media — Account media is the underlying account-level documentation for a debt — the signed agreement, periodic statements, transaction history, and payment records — as distinct from the summary data fields that travel in a placement or sale file.

"Media" is industry usage; the CFPB's term of art is Original Account-Level Documentation, defined identically in the September 9, 2015 Encore and Portfolio Recovery consent orders as (a) any documentation a creditor or its agent provided to a consumer about a debt, (b) a complete transactional history of the debt created by the creditor or its agent, or (c) a copy of a judgment awarded to a creditor. OCC Bulletin 2014-37 (August 4, 2014) sets the corresponding sell-side expectation that banks furnish "a copy of the signed contract or other documents that provide evidence of the relevant consumer's liability," "copies of all, or the last 12 (whichever is fewer), account statements," and "an itemized account of all amounts claimed to be owed." The distinction between media and data is the single most consequential one in suit-readiness review, because affidavit testimony that recites a review of "records" when only a data screen was viewed is precisely what the Encore order found unlawful.

See also

• Affidavit of debtAn affidavit of debt is a sworn statement — often the only evidence supporting a default or summary judgment — attesting to the existence, ownership, and amount of a consumer debt based on the affiant's review of business records.
• Suit-readinessSuit-readiness is the pre-filing determination that an account carries the documentation, ownership proof, balance support, and limitations-period clearance needed to sustain a collection lawsuit.
• Chain of titleChain of title is the documented, unbroken sequence of ownership transfers of a debt from the creditor at charge-off through each successive owner to the party now attempting to collect or sue.
• Itemization dateThe itemization date is the single reference date a debt collector selects — last statement, charge-off, last payment, transaction, or judgment — from which the validation notice must itemize interest, fees, payments, and credits.

This is an informational reference, not legal advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. Limitations periods turn on facts this page cannot know — which state's law governs, the contract type, when the claim accrued, and whether anything tolled or revived it. Confirm against the primary source and your own counsel before acting.