I normally agree with most of your posts Wilf, but this makes no sense. If you take your example of the car, the credit broker receives a few interest payments, then sells the debt for a small percentage. So he's lost out.
The new company who has bought this debt has paid this percentage hoping they will get something back - all the time on a car that is getting worth less and less. It seems the in thing these days to rack up debt then declare yourself bankrupt - so they then get nothing - or might just get their money back flogging the car at auction.
To my mind, that isn't generating