Definition
A debtor record stores the contact details and location of the party that owes money. The platform uses this information to determine the jurisdiction of the case and to match it with a collection partner.
How debtor records are created
Every time a client creates a new case, the platform also creates a new debtor record. Even if several cases involve the same person or company, each case has its own debtor entry. Debtor records are not shared between clients or between cases of the same client.
Debtor fields
Contact information
Email - primary contact email
Phone - contact phone number
Identity information
Type - whether the debtor is a Company or a Private individual
First name / Last name - for private debtors
Company name - for company debtors
Company registration number - VAT or business registration number
Location information
Address, Zip code, City - street address details
State - free-text region (for example, a UK county), for non-US debtors; US debtors do not have this set directly because the jurisdiction already represents the state
Jurisdiction - the legal jurisdiction, which determines partner assignment and applicable rules
Restricted fields
Currency - can only be changed under specific conditions (see Currency changes below)
Country - read-only; automatically set from the selected jurisdiction
Client (Creditor) - read-only; cannot be changed after creation
When debtor information can be edited
Whether a debtor record can be edited depends on the case lifecycle stage. The platform controls editing at two levels: the client portal controls whether the edit form is available, and the backend controls whether jurisdiction and debtor type changes are accepted.
Lifecycle stage | Basic fields (name, email, phone, address) | Jurisdiction | Debtor type |
Pending Contract Signing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Pending Verification (internal review, before a partner is assigned) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Pending Verification (a partner is assigned) | Yes | No - locked once a partner is assigned | Conditional - allowed while the assigned partner still matches the case criteria |
Leads | Yes | No | Conditional - allowed while every assigned open case keeps an eligible partner |
Leads Quote Given | No | No | No through this surface |
Active / Paused / Needs Additional Details | Identity fields on the client portal; contact fields on the partner surface only | No | Conditional - allowed while the assigned partner still matches the case criteria |
The client portal exposes the debtor type on its own control, separate from the jurisdiction. A client can correct the debtor type on a case in Pending Verification, Active, Paused or Needs Additional Details whenever the assigned partner remains eligible for the corrected type. In Leads and Leads Quote Given the client portal does not offer the control, and Debitura applies the correction on request. The jurisdiction stays locked from the moment a partner is assigned. Closing and recreating the case is never required for a type correction.
Once a case reaches Leads Quote Given, no debtor fields can be edited through the client portal. For most corrections at that stage the client closes the case and recreates it - but a jurisdiction or debtor type correction does not require that, since Debitura can apply it directly on request.
For cases that are Active, Paused, or in Needs Additional Details, the client portal exposes the debtor type and the debtor's identity fields (company name, registration number, contact person or name). Contact details, address and jurisdiction are not editable there. For those, the client uses the case chat to request that the collection partner updates the information in the partner's own system; the partner can also correct identity fields and the debtor type from the partner portal as long as they remain eligible for the corrected type.
High-impact field changes
Three types of changes have significant side effects, because they touch the parameters used to match a case with a collection partner.
Jurisdiction changes
Changing the debtor's jurisdiction triggers automatic partner re-matching for all cases still in validation. This change is blocked if any case is already assigned to a partner (Active, Paused, Leads, or similar). The platform also verifies that collection partners are available in the new jurisdiction and that a signed Power of Attorney (PoA) exists with the new partner.
If a PoA with the new partner has not yet been signed, the change is not a dead end: the client is guided through signing it and the jurisdiction change is then resubmitted automatically. See How to edit debtor information and claim details for the client-facing flow.
Debtor type changes (Company to Private or vice versa)
Debtor type changes follow different rules from jurisdiction changes. Once a case has been assigned to a collection partner (beyond the earliest validation stage), a type correction no longer reroutes the case to a different partner. The platform instead checks whether the currently assigned partner still qualifies for the corrected type given the case's unchanged jurisdiction, amount and currency. If the partner qualifies, the debtor type is updated and the same partner keeps the case. If the partner does not qualify, the change is rejected with an explanatory error and the case stays with its current partner and its current type - it is never moved to someone else automatically. These rules describe the platform. The client portal, the partner portal and Backend Admin all expose the correction on an assigned open case. Only cases still in the earliest validation stage, before a partner has accepted the case, can be rerouted to a different eligible partner; those reroutes follow the same signed PoA requirement as jurisdiction changes, unless the case is managed by a partner.
Currency changes
Currency can only be changed if the debtor has at most one active case. It is blocked when the debtor has two or more cases, because currency is tied to case grouping. Currency changes do not currently trigger partner re-matching.
Relationship between debtors and cases
Each case has exactly one debtor record. Multiple cases against the same real-world party each have their own separate debtor entry. The debtor's jurisdiction, type, and currency are among the four core parameters the platform uses to match the case with a collection partner (alongside the claim amount).
Audit trail
All changes to debtor fields are recorded. Each update captures the previous value, the new value, who made the change (Client, Collection Partner, or Debitura), and which field was changed.
Impact by actor
Client:
Creates debtor records as part of case submission.
Can edit basic debtor fields while a case is in early lifecycle stages (up to Leads).
Can correct the debtor type and identity fields directly on a case in Pending Verification, Active, Paused or Needs Additional Details. Cannot edit contact details, address or amounts once a partner is working the case, and requests those changes via case chat instead. At Leads Quote Given, no debtor fields are editable: the client closes the case and recreates it for most corrections, though Debitura can apply a jurisdiction or debtor type correction on request instead.
Collection Partner:
Receives case assignments based in part on the debtor's jurisdiction and type.
May be re-assigned if the client changes the jurisdiction, or corrects the debtor type on a case the partner has not yet accepted. A type correction on an accepted case never moves it to another partner.
Can be contacted via case chat if the client needs debtor information updated on a case that is already active.
Debitura:
Validates debtor data during the internal verification stage.
Enforces editing restrictions based on case lifecycle state.
Re-matches a case to a new partner when the jurisdiction changes, or when a debtor type correction is made before a partner has accepted the case. Type corrections on accepted cases are validated against the current partner instead.
Where to find debtor information in the platform
Clients can view and edit debtor details by opening a case from the Cases list. Debtor information is displayed on the case detail page.