Property Tax Payment Agreements Receivable, Net (Details Textual)	Sep. 30, 2012
Property Tax Payment Agreements Receivable, Net (Textual) [Abstract]
Percentage of general origination of tax lien transfer	25.00%
Percentage of most origination of tax lien transfer	15.00%

Maximum percentage of general origination of tax lien transfer.

No definition available.

Name:	ecpg_MaximumPercentageOfGeneralOriginationOfTaxLienTransfer
Namespace Prefix:	ecpg_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant