The debt is owed to the creditor. The debt is being collected by the collection agency. The collection agency may be authorized to settle the debt for less than its face value, in which case you can try to negotiate a payoff amount with them, get it confirmed in writing, and pay that reduced amount. You can also tell a third party collection agency that it is not to contact you again in relation to the debt. If the collection agency can't or won't negotiate, or you don't want to negotiate with the collection agency, you can try to negotiate or litigate the issue with the actual creditor.

