Roughly one in three adult Americans have a past-due debt that’s been turned over to a collection agency, according to a novel new study. FILE - In this May 9, 2012 file photo, a Visa credit card is tendered at opening of the Superdry store in New York's Times Square. Credit card debt has basically plateaued during the recovery, according to analysis of New York Federal Reserve data by the financial data firm Nerd Wallet.