Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Debt buyers === "Debt Buyers" is a segment discussing the business and questionable practice of [[debt buyers]]. It aired on June 5, 2016, as part of the fourteenth episode of the third season. Oliver announced he had purchased nearly $15 million in [[medical debt]] that belonged to 9,000 debtors. He did this through a company he had created, called "Central Asset Recovery Professionals Inc." (CARP), which he described as being "for [[Carp|the bottom-feeding fish]]." Oliver stated that it was "pretty clear by now [that] debt buying is a grimy business, and badly needs more oversight" and went to point out that starting such a business was "disturbingly easy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawler |first=Kelly |date=June 6, 2016 |title=John Oliver buys and forgives $15 million of debt |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/06/06/john-oliver-buys-and-forgives-15-million-of-debt-last-week-tonight/85488616/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606180535/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/06/06/john-oliver-buys-and-forgives-15-million-of-debt-last-week-tonight/85488616/ |archive-date=June 6, 2016 |website=USA Today |language=en-US |access-date=June 6, 2016}}</ref> It cost him $50 to register the business in [[Mississippi]], while it cost less than $60,000 to purchase almost $15 million in [[bad debt]], medical debt from Texas. Oliver forgave the debt in its entirety, and claimed that it was the largest single giveaway in the American television history, eclipsing that of [[General Motors]] on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' in 2004 where it gifted cars to Winfrey's studio audience, worth an estimated $8 million in total.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phippen |first=J. Weston |date=June 6, 2016 |title=John Oliver's $15 Million Debt Giveaway |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/john-oliver-debt/485834/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607105724/http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/john-oliver-debt/485834/ |archive-date=June 7, 2016 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US |access-date=June 6, 2016}}</ref> Writing for ''Slate'', Jordan Weissmann disputed the $15 million figure: "[Oliver] says CARP paid around $60,000 ... for its paper, which was 'out-of-statute'{{snd}}meaning the debts were so old that creditors technically couldn't even sue over them anymore. That suggests the seller thought the debts were worth no more than, well, $60,000."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weissmann |first=Jordan |date=June 6, 2016 |title=Sorry, but John Oliver Did Not Really Just Give Away $15 Million |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/06/06/john_oliver_did_not_really_give_away_15_million_on_his_show.html |url-status=live |work=Slate |language=en-US |access-date=June 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606221649/http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/06/06/john_oliver_did_not_really_give_away_15_million_on_his_show.html |archive-date=June 6, 2016 |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> The show partnered with [[RIP Medical Debt]], Inc. to abolish the debt.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kasperkevic |first=Jana |date=June 6, 2016 |title=John Oliver buys and forgives $15m worth of medical debt |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/06/john-oliver-medical-debt-forgiveness-last-week-tonight |url-status=live |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619140428/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/06/john-oliver-medical-debt-forgiveness-last-week-tonight |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |quote=Instead of collecting the debt, however, Last Week Tonight partnered with RIP Medical Debt charity and decided to forgive that debt.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goff |first=Robert |date=June 5, 2016 |title=The Miracle of Debt Forgiveness on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver |url=https://www.ripmedicaldebt.org/the-miracle-of-debt-forgiveness-on-hbos-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115132834/https://www.ripmedicaldebt.org/the-miracle-of-debt-forgiveness-on-hbos-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver/ |archive-date=November 15, 2016 |website=RIP Medical Debt, Inc. |language=en-US |access-date=November 14, 2016}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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