FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Grinberg Paul 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 05/11/2007 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC [ECPG] (Last) (First) (Middle) 8875 AERO DRIVE, #200 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director _____ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) SAN DIEGO, CA 92123 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 5,737,032 (1) I By Limited Partnership (1)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Grinberg Paul 8875 AERO DRIVE, #200 SAN DIEGO, CA 92123	  X	Â	Â	Â

Signatures

/s/ Robin R. Pruitt, Attorney-in-Fact for Timothy Hanford		05/21/2007
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Reflects shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc.'s common stock held by JCF FPK I LP. By way of his position as investment co-head of FPK Capital and his interest in Fox-Pitt Kelton Limited, a limited partner of JCF FPK I LP, Mr. Hanford may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of these shares through his pecuniary interest in JCF FPK I LP. Mr. Hanford disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares in excess of his pecuniary interest therein.

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