Portfolio Recovery Associates review: Fraudulent Debt Collection 77

We have had TWO bad experiences with PRA, totally different cases.

CASE #1
My fiancee' was harassed by PRA a couple of years back. My fiancee was willing to pay the debt off at first. However, they would not accept a monthly check through the mail. They wanted his bank information so that they could automatically take out the "agreed" monthly fee. When he refused to do this, they showed us their true colors. They swore at him and me, threatened us with going to jail, getting our home taken away, etc. They called at all hours of the day, several time a day. I couldn't even believe they were treating us the way they were. They also gave me his personal information, without his knowledge, which is against the law. So many laws they broke.

We reported their behavior to the FTC. Calls and letters came to a halt. That is until we received a letter from the magistrate court several months later informing us that my fiancee was being sued in our home town by PRA for the debt they bought for pennies on the dollar! At the court hearing, my fiancee explained to the judge that we were harassed, threatened and sworn at by these people and that he tried working them, but they wouldn't unless he forked over bank account info. The judge didn't even care! He ruled in their favor and ordered my fiancee to get in touch with the PRA and arrange a payment plan.

We hadn't contacted them after a few weeks, so without our knowledge they had another court date and the judge garnished our entire bank account and paid those criminals $2500! $500 of which bounced causing several hundred dollars in over draft fees. It financially hurt us for a long time afterwards, considering we're a small business struggling in this horrible economy!

CASE #1
Now they're after me. I have an almost 7 year old debt with certain company. They sold it to PRA 3-2008. They tried calling me about a year ago, but I told them I'd only talk with them if they'd let me record the conversation. They cussed me out telling me that I didn't know who I was messing with, and hung up. I haven't received the first letter or phone called. So 3 days ago I pull up my record report. Under my debt with them, they have stated that I made a payment (it didn't say when) to PRA in the amount of $199! I've NEVER made a payment to them!

It's obvious that they're trying to restart the statute of limitations so they have more time to collect that debt from me! It should be up by now in my state of WV! I've reported it to the FTC and called the Attorney General about it as well.

This evil dirty company needs stopped! We attempted paying off what we could afford monthly, but it wasn't good enough for them. If you research them online, you read hundreds of stories saying the same things about them. Why haven't they been stopped?

If anyone has more info on them, or if there are any class action lawsuits against them, please contact me ASAP. I'm contacting an attorney about them tomorrow. UNTILSUNRISE23 (AT SYMBOL) AIM.COM

Boo Hoo...Cry me a river...Everyone wants to complain when a debt collector is trying to collect on a loan that you the consumer defaulted on...All of this could be avoided if you would just pay your damn bills...A creditor shouldn't have to SELL the debt to someone else because the account is delinquent because you the debtor refuse to pay it...If you had any intentions on paying the bill, it wouldn't have been written off by the original creditor...It's pretty sad that someone has to try & track you down to pay off a bill that YOU AGREED TO PAY originally...Stop being deadbeats & pay your bills!

I called Portfolio Recovery Associates, at their (local)# [protected] and asked for their fax number and they wouldn't give it to me. I called back and asked for a rep, I told her that I was a debt collector trying to recover some money that she owes for a sears credit card. Isn't your name, she said I don't have a sears account. So I said I'm only an employee here at BRP and it shows here that you owe $1255 to sears and it shows on your credit report as no payment has been made. She freaked out and said that she works for a collection agency and she knows all the little tricks that these companies play. I said so your familiar with the process and that Portfolio Recovery Associates reports to the credit bureau when they shouldn't be doing so. She stayed quiet told me to remove that immediately from her credit report. So I said, let me have your fax number and I will fax you the information right of away so you can see for yourself. So she said Fax number is [protected].

LOL

Response to complaints

Re. Portfolio Recovery Associates
THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL in Florida:
1. Has for some time been investigating due to complaints about the inappropriate behaviors of this supposed “business.”
2. Appeared to be PLEASED AND ANXIOUS TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL DATA
3. Stated that if one has paid anything to them or they have done something else to you may be ELIGIBLE FOR MONETARY COMPENSATION BY THE COURTS when the case (and Portfolio Recovery) is done.
4. Indicated you can SUBMIT YOUR COMPLAINT ONLINE AND
5. If you don’t want to be contacted YOU CAN RESPONSD ANONYMOUSLY.
6. Follow the case online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/ and type in Portfolio Recovery in the search box.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT THEY ARE CROOKED AND EVIDENTLY MAKING THEIR MONEY BY SIMPLY HARRASSING AND THREATENING PEOPLE?

1. I have NO OUTSTANDING DEBTS at all; This “collection agency” has and never had any basis for contacting me,
2. It appears that I fall into their category of being a target selected with the intent to harass and threaten in order to illegally obtain unwarranted payments.

This company attempts to collect money from a private citizen in an instance where there is no foundation and since there is no money owed nor any past debt they take it a step further to obtain payments that are they are employing techniques of harassment and threats to bully their target into paying.

I have been receiving these unwarranted calls from this company for over a year with coming in at least twice a day from different phone numbers and beginning before 8 am with the last call of the day just after 10 pm. There is no cessation of calls despite that debt collection is unwarranted and inappropriate in my situation.

It is clear that their "business" policy is to get people to pay them just to go away. Given such illicit methods it is clear that who report that after paying Portfolio Recovery continues to harass and threaten in order to obtain additional money from someone who they consider to be an intimated "sucker."

Portfolio Recovery Associates utilizes additional numbers and calls have come from their other numbers, and these numbers including these and others:

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THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AGAINST THIS AGENCY AND IT GOES UNDER OTHER NAMES SUCH AS ANCHOR RECEIVABLES.

E. SUMMARY
Is this a takeoff on what has been known as the "Mafia" publicly ... now accepted as a legitimate business?

Is this also a means of targeting the elderly and those who are not in a position to defend themselves? Are techniques involving the creation of mental distress now considered to be appropriate business practices?

It would appear that this the new face of the debt collection industry and one is no doubt a lucrative "business." Will the courts allow this "business" to find some loophole and continue to conduct their "business" (dirty business ... which Recovery Associates apparently feels is condoned by our legal system ... and which would be the case if they are allowed to continue to function in any capacity.)

Is this what we need in our country particularly in these dire economic times when so many people and our economy are hurting?

It is imperative that a company operating on such a low level (and others like them) be stopped from functioning altogether as they will only move on to finding another way to express their criminal skills in the business setting ... or we might as well consider this a joke and give them a medal for making fools of our entire legal system and every citizen in this country who will then be at their mercy.

An example needs to be set, our citizens supported and not put in harms way with impunity, and our country's reputation and legal system be accorded some degree of respect.

Boo Hoo...Cry me a river...I'm not even going to waste much time responding to your pity party. What I will say is that you should've received a letter in the mail informing you that PRA now owns the debt (if there is a good address on file) & you would've had an option to dispute the validity of the debt. Furthermore, if you've spoken w/ various representatives from that company & this isn't "your debt", you can dispute the debt & send the forms back to the company so they have something to substantiate the "claims" that it isn't "your debt". It always amazes me to see how people react in situations where there is money owed to company A, but they fail to pay & now they feel that they are being "harrassed" by company B or company C. In your case, if it's not your account & you've never had the account, then dispute it genious!

Question; TiredOfCrybabies Have you ever lost your job and as a result having more bills than income becouse your unemployment benifits have run out, or are not enough to cover your bills? It happens. Not everyone is a crybaby or a deadbeat. If this has never happened to you; I'd like to see how you feel about the situation if it dose, especially if you can not find employment for some time. I'll agree there are deadbeats out there but not all. Some just fall victim to hard times. How about sitting down and thinking about the situation I explained and put yourself in the other persons roll before you asign the name deadbeat or crybaby to someone. I have read your comments; seems to me that you are some upper class jerk who had everything done and handed to them, including their ### wiped. You most likely do not know what it is like to work hard for peanuts and loose everything. So unless you can reverse the rolls in some of these situations and think of how others feel, quit acting like a total ###. Your comments have already spoke enough as to your character. Unfortunately there are alot of asshloes like you out there also.

whoever left the last comment for "tiredOfCrybabies; YOU ARE 100% CORRECT I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER MYSELF.

People, really? Understand that it is not the collectors fault that the loan was opened, the collectors understand its not your fault that you got laid off, but if you quit or got fired, then you need to rethink your life.

a Debtor needs to pay the bills, when not able to, dont just hang up on a collector, its one thing that collectors hate more than anything...take the time to say We will have a civilized conversation about my situation and when i am done explaining it, tell me what we have to work with...LISTEN TO THE OPTIONS PRESENTED TO YOU!

Draven2010 and Tired of Crybabies:

It appears that you guys are trolls, possibly employed by Portfolio Recovery Associates to muddy up the waters, as has already been opined. The point here is that PRA routinely breaks the law, that PRA routinely attempts to intimidate people into giving them money, that PRA doesn't care if the bill is valid, if the bill is yours - whatever. They just want money. If PRA was truly interested in "giving collections a good name" they would work with these people to get legitimate bills paid and to identify cases of mistaken identity. They certainly wouldn't admit they know a bill isn't yours but demand you pay it anyway or we're going to harrass you forever. I had PRA calling me repeatedly for someone I never heard of. They not only refused to stop calling, they told me they were debt collectors and had the "right" to call me twice a day! When I explained to them they had the right to call their debtor twice a day but not a wrong number, they told me they would continue to call me until I told them where to reach this person. First, impossible since I didn't know the person they were looking for, and second illegal. Apparantly not only does PRA demand money they don't deserve, they expect people to work for them for free. HELLO - it isn't my job to do your skip tracing for you!
You say collectors will work with you. This is also not true. Many times people have attempted to "work with" these bottom feeders and they do not cooperate. How do you explain PRA's refusal to accept payments unless it's the amount they demand the way they demand it? It's only logic, if I can't afford to pay $100 a month, I sure as hell can't afford to pay you $200 a month. Time after time we see PRA demanding money that people simply do not have. PRA is not willing to work with these debtors. These lowlifes have been known to demand that people pay them money before they pay their rent, buy food, and otherwise take care of the basics of existence. Seriously, how do you expect anyone to pay hundreds of dollars on a debt and forgo a roof over their head or groceries? Do you honestly expect anybody to pay PRA instead of buying food for their families? Do you honestly expect that anyone should pay PRA instead of their rent? This is absurd. Many people are in financial distress in this country right now due to the economic situation. PRA would not have such a bad reputation if they were reasonable. They are not. They should be forced to operate within the law or they should be closed down.

Dravan2010

Yes; I agree it is not the collectors fault a loan was opened or a person lost their job. In most cases I'll agree with Valari collectors will not work with debetors that are willing to pay an affordable amount each month untill the debt is satisfied. If collectors would be more reasonable about the amounts they demand instead of that commission check for the collection of an account; the agency employee and the debtor would all be satified. Especially the employee for having the most accounts collected. It is true if someone dosen't have it how can they give it? Honestly answer this question: would you yourself pay a collection agency an amount you know you can not afford to pay each month before you paid for food or rent. If your answer is YES you're a liar. My point is everyone involed must be civil, realistic and reasonable to resolve the issue. Most collection agencies as well as their employees are not; nor do they want to be due to commissions and bonuses that are at risk of loss. If a person is in debt to a collector due to quiting or being fired; Yes they need to rethink what they are doing and the are deadbeats but if your comment was made to insinuate that everyone who is unemployed and can not afford to pay debts must have quit their job or got fired which is most likely what you are saying you are just as much of an [censored] as "tiredofcrybabbies" as someone has commented. Yes it is true to those who do not know employees of collection agencies are paid a commission and even bonuses over and above their hourly rate of pay for what they collect. It is the number one reason they ask debtors for such astronomical amounts. Don't deney it Dravan2010 I have worked for a number of collection agencies and that's how they operate to motivate employees to get their money for the bad paper they bought for pennies on a dollar and are going to add hundreds to the actual balance in bogus fees and expenses and even as far to report a loss to the IRS for the full value of the account not the amount they purchased it for . They even try to collect it with intrest of 18 to 20 percent; paper they already knew was bad. The new american way rip off the unfortunate. another name for it is legalized extortion. I also agree that you "dravan2010" and "tiredofcrybabies" are trolls paid by collectors to dispute the truth about collectors with lies. I must say how naive do you think people are not to see though comments made by a couple of [censor]s such as the two of you.

I bet Debt Collectors heard the phrase, "It isn't mine, " a hundred times a day. I'm truely sorry for those of you who really have been asked to pay bills that really aren't yours, or have been spoken to in an unproffessonal manner, but the truth is debtors make this business hard for other debtors. Not everyone is honest. I've been on both sides of this fence. I used to work in collections, not for PRA, and now I am dealing with a collection agency taking while taking care of a charged of debt. FYI the debtor often sets the tone of a collection call. If you answer the phone, "Who the hell are u?" or "What the f**k do you want?" as many of my debtors did, then how do expect for the conversation to go? Everyone needs to remember that we are all people dealing with people...

If you work for Portfolio Recovery Associates, I am sorry to tell you that you work for [censor]. They are bottom feeders interested in lining the pockets of their executives and officers. Most of the debt they are trying to collect was written off by the ORIGINAL debtor many many years ago. The law attached an SOL for the purpose to prevent this from happening. What has happen, is that companies like PRA found a loophole in the law. SOL were established to protect consumers from harassment and debtors prison that was common in 19th century. The law stated that a debtor had the right to collect the debt in a certain time period. If the debt wasn't paid, a debtor could be taken to court. But this all had to be completed in a timely manner. The problem is that collecting a debt can be more expensive then the debt itself or a judge would rule in favor of the debtor at a reduced rate or a bankruptcy. Most creditors know that they are low on the totem pole in bankruptcy. So most creditors just write off the debt and place it on a credit report. To extend credit to an individual is a serious contract and risk is involved. The company has the right to never extend credit to that person again. Credit report were designed to reward good payers and warn other companies of high risk candidates. PRA and similar debt collectors started came up with a novel idea to buy hard to collect debt. Laws were enacted and debt begins to be traded like junk bonds. That wasn't enough for these low life debt collectors, they came up with the idea to buy old debt for pennies on the dollar. Companies looking for extra revenue sold them the debt. Better to get a penny then nothing. IMHO and a growing sentiment is that ONLY the original debtor should be allowed to collect debt. They extended you the credit they should be responsible. Credit equals risk. If companies can't deal with the risk, don't extend credit. Credit isn't a right. Laws clearly state you can deny anyone credit based on credit reports. That is why not everyone owns a home or gets a mortgage. Don't ever defend PRA or an debt collector. They are [censor] and to work for them makes you [censor]. Look at the CEO and managers of this company. They care little except on how to take advantage of the people. We don't have debtor prison any longer. It is leaving bankruptcy as the only means possible for anyone to get out of debt. Yes, you can file bankruptcy and avoid these calls. At least you can answer your phone without fear of being harassed. Contact your states Attorney General and congress to pass laws to ban this practice. Let's make SOL apply again. Yes, you are responsible for your debts. Only the original creditor should be allowed to collect the debt and in a timely manner. That is why we have a civil court system. Companies and individuals have the right to collect a debt; they may take you to court. But after a certain time period the debt is forgiven and lost. When dealing with PRA, treat them as a crook. Hang up and be just a rude. Once you begin to be civil to these [censor] suckers you justify their career choice. Until then, PRA workers, get used to hearing my whistle and profanity. Welcome to my world, you call me I can be rude, you call me and be rude, I going to see you in court. Your days of collecting 25 year old debt is coming to an end. In time, Congress will pass legislation to prevent this harassment. Most states and our our beloved US has debt they may one day have to right off. The world is heading toward a great depression unless we find a way to live within our means.

It's sad how naive you all are...I'm not rich, nor am I debt collector of any kind...You nimrods boo hoo & pitch a fit when you get into a bad financial situation and want to blame the world...All I'm saying is don't blame the collector...It's not his/her fault that you aren't responsible enough to pay "your" bills...True, you do have people that legitimately have a valid excuse to be in debt but then you have these "geniuses" that get this great idea that; Hmmm...Let me max out a few credit cards & knowingly not pay them back nor ever have the intention of paying...As far as the [censor] comments, we're all grown. All of you [censor] up here apparently are in debt & weren't smart enough not to use the entire credit line just because you dad it...It's pretty pathetic how sad you all are...Grow up...A company shouldn't have to sue you to get money back that your [censored] agreed to pay in the 1st place...On that note, I'll let you crybabies continue moaning & groaning about why you can't pay your bills...

FYI: If you [censor]s paid your bills on time, there wouldn't be a need for so many debt collectors/debt collection agencies/debt consolidation companies...Think about it~

Tiredofcrybabies
Go piss up a rope. I hardly think a credit card with a limit of $400 offered to a 19 year old college student in 1990 is breaking the back of this country. I payed on that card for 3 years before having financial difficulties, I probably payed the principle balance 3x over as I averaged payments of $35 dollars a month. So the first time I had to choose between rent and my payment I was charged a forty dollar late fee. I paid my $35 dollars but again the next month was late. This put me over the limit as I was charged $40 dollars again. Add to this an additional $40 over the limit fee. Now mind you this was a credit card with a limit of $4oo. For which I was charged in one month $100 additional dollars in interest and fees. I gave up trying to pay when my balance was something like $1200 after six months. This was charged off in 1996 as far as the principle balance I owed nothing. The company made their money, but I did not receive $1200 in goods and services. Now it is 2010 and PRA writes me to tell me that I owe $3790.00. I don't think so. So you and they are welcome to stick it where the sun don't shine. I have little pity for usurious practices that prey on the young and ill informed. I was recruited for this card at my school in the quad. This is common practice among credit companys who prey on young naive and desperate young people. Wah I took the debt? Well call the wahbulance the sharks took the risk. And of they were sharks, PDA are bottom feeders nibbling at the decaying remains of legally unenforceable detritus of finance charges and fees.

I think the Tiredofcrybabies is himself a collector and doesn't want the collection agencies be even more under scrutiny or he works for PRA himself and tries to save a company with the character of a parasite of the society be shut down by Federal Trade Commission and he would lose his job as a professional parasite.

I can't imaging anybody issuing a supportive statement for a third party who is trying to make money of a situation where the creditor or another agency has sold the debt to PRA and a guy buckling under a 35% interest rate. Yes if these greedy, crook credit card companies would not have charged these exorbitant interest rates probably we would all be able to pay them off and on time.

TiredOfCrybabbies

You state in your last post " True you do have people that legitimately have a valid excuse to be in debt " Yes I aggree there are people that run up charge accounts with no intention of paying. That is totally wrong and in most states is considered fraud. That said; you continue to stereotype in your posts. Your rude and degrading comments made in your posts are not directed at the debtors that act irresonsibly and max out charge accounts "just because they had it " alone. Your posts attack all persons in debt regardless of the reason. Then there are those that have been wrongly sought out as debtor to which you stereotype as well and futhermore expect them to do excessive and exorbinant amounts of work to prove a collector wrong. It is the job of the agency to seek out the correct debtor not the wrongly accused.

Most of the people for these reasons have commented correctly as to your comments. Your comments as well as those of " Dravon 2010 " have not changed my thoughts as to your character or as to what you really are. The people that post here are not naive; they just have a good grasp on the entire situation including considering personal circumstances. We even know what you really are and that pisses you off to the point that you must make these rude and degrading comments. I believe you are a jerk raised in an upper class family who had everything handed to them. I also believe you are a collector and unhappy that you lack the skills to do anything else as a result of your upbringing. You are a self- righteous egotist that will never amount to anything but a peice of [censor] stuck to the sidewalk of life that the rest of us step on and kick around as we acheive the goals in life that you never will and wish you had. A word of advice, direct your comments to the appropriate goup of people before you comment and then comment accordingly or do not comment at all [censored]. The people that you wrongfully stereotyped, rudely degraded and offended do not need to here the self- righteous egotistic [censor] comments. It is tough enough to make ends meet in this economy and keep a positive attitude without having to here self- righteous egotisic [censor] comments that come from an [censor] like you.

Tired of crybabies and anyone else that may listen.
Go to the origin of this post and carefully read it before making any more blanket comments about people. The person moved in 2004 to another area but was tagged with a "debt" that was from the original area that occurred in 2006. Obviously the debt was from someone else. "...crybabies" was totally off to even respond to this post. Evidently "portfolio recovery" is chasing illegitimate claims against people who are not in the wrong. They evidently harass people just because they feel they can. It is the collection agency's responsibility to find the correct person of debt, not to harass an innocent person just because they have a phone number or address that either belonged to someone before or after. The issue here is the illegitimate harassment which this company does.

I agree with donnamamma36. PRA is trying to goad my wife into settling a debt from her college days. it's for about $1800 and over 10 years ago. I have copies of her credit reports from all 3 agencies over the past 3 years and there is nothing on it about this debt. now all of a sudden PRA is calling and trying to collect on this when the SOL has run out. They called 2 weeks ago and I told them to [censor] off and this past monday they send correspondence, looking like a check. I knew it was junk mail since it didn't have who the sender was and came with the third class postage. I opened it and it was from PRA stating the account in debt (which is not even on any of the credit reports) and asking for a one time payment of the $1800 or paying it off in increments or a one time settlement of $700. WTF? I laughed so hard and knew what a scam they got going. Now their [censor] are going to be in trouble as I have sent a copy of this correspondence off to Andrew Cuomo the NY AG. He's been tough on these debt collectors with unscrupulous practices. So to TiredOfCrybabies...suck my nuts you t-bagger...

This debt with Amercan General Finance has been written off. This debt is almost 10 yrs. old.

I have started to get calls from Portfolio Recovery on my cell phone number that I have had for the last 11 years. They are calling to collect on a credit card they claim I had in 1990 (yes 20 years ago). The collector I talked to was rude, threatening and would not listen or provide any information. First off I would not provide any information to someone calling like this how the heck would you know who they are. The pond [censor] on here calling people on here deadbeats are worthless because a collector is calling. I filed a Chapter 7 in 1991 so this card would have been included in the bankruptcy. I filed Chapter 7 because I had to protect myself legally from a false allegation brought on by a woman claiming I was the father of her child. I attended college in that state and the woman who I was friends with got pregnant 6 months after I left that state by another man. That State on her word then sued me for child support. The State has bottomless resources in these matters and your guilty until proven innocent in these cases and it cost me a fortune, relationship and all my possessions to defend. In the end the blood test proving that the child was not mine by 100% which I stated from the get go heck I was training in anther state for the service when this woman was impregnated. So what is a man making $7 dollars an hour, serving in the Army Reserves and going to college full time going to do with $14, 000 in credit debt going to do? Sure I asked the attorney that I hired if I could get my money back or damages back from the state and the answer was no. You could sue the girl, but what are you going to get from a welfare mom? So what a disaster, I could ignore the phone calls? No I hired an attorney and properly addressed the situation and filed bankruptcy. I lost everything that I had of value to pay the debts. Flash forward 20 years later, I have great career, excellent credit and have taken great care in everything I have done. Then this pond [censor] scamming company starts to call me about a debt that was dealt with in the bankruptcy 20 years ago. Makes me pretty darn angry and I reliving everything all over again. There is no communicating with this pond [censor]. These collectors are probably dead beats with no other job opportunities. I consulted an attorney no it did not cost me anything since I have several in the family. First of all they should not be calling on debt discharged in a bankruptcy. Second there is a statue of limitations on debt when it can appear on your credit report . First off readers don’t speak with these people, don’t give them your address, your other numbers or anything else. Deny the debt and hang up! Check your states statue of limitations as well if you are within the limitations then deal with the original creditor if you can. Run your credit report and place a lock on reports as well which you can legally can do for free through the three main credit report companies. As others have indicated file complaints with your Attorney General, FTC as I have done. I don’t know if it helped. I do recommend that people should get this in the ear of their local congressman as well which I am going to do. I am not saying debt collection is all evil, but there has to be way to stop such despicable businesses like Portfolio recovery.

They're trying to contact me for a debt I paid in full 20 years ago, yet somehow must have ended up on an uncollected debt list. Have mailed me every month or 2 for a year, now they've started calling my house. At least they're not blocking caller ID (yet) but I don't answer any calls I don't recognize anyway. SOL is long since past; if it comes to it, this will cost more to defend myself against (if I have to hire an attorney) than to pay their settlement offer, yet on principle I refuse to even deal with them or answer any communication. Are there any good resources listing exactly what actions on my part could risk resetting SOL and what I am safe to do? I'd think never responding to any communications, but in what ways could they escalate their attempts?

PRA has recently started calling my home about a debt from the very early 1990s, well past the statute of limitations. I will most likely be sending them a cease-and-desist letter to make them stop calling me. Has anyone here been bothered by them after sending such a letter?

@ Surveyor1234...I'll keep this real short n sweet...Keep in mind there are 2 sides to every story & it's easy to err on the side of the person who owes the money...Just keep in mind, I've been there myself & these stories that are being plastered on this website (along w/ many others I'm sure) are only reflecting one part of the story...I was in debt for YEARS but I didn't complain online, nor did I look towards anyone looking to hand out favors...I simply did what I had to do to better my situation & made things better and PAID MY BILLS...It's not that hard to comprehend...I'm not even going to waste anymore time responding on this post because some irresponsible person will catch feelings & try to bash me when he's really the piece of [censor] that either doesn't want to better their situation or just doesn't mind being in debt until they have to buy a home or something...SMFH @ all of you that hide behind this "mythical" 7 years & it disappears clause...That's not the case...Educate yourselves...Learn what it is that you're doing...Oh yeah...& BTW...to you PROFESSIONAL DEBTORS that just get credit w/ no intention of paying i back, JUST KILL YOURSELF because you're the reason that the average man/woman doesn't pay their bills because they learn of [censor]-BIRDS LIKE YOU!

They're after me for a debt almost 20 years old. They've sometimes called me twice in the same day. I have had no written communication with them as of yet. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission as well. My state has a 4-year statute of limitations, so I know the debt they're trying to collect from me is well past that period.

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Located at: 120 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, Virginia 23502

Portfolio Recovery Associates, (portfolio r) and any number of fake names they use has already been cited by Office of Attorney General in various states and continues to be investigated.

This is ostensibly a debt collection agency however they harass, threaten and attempt to wrongfully a extort payments from anyone whose number they happen to start (and never stop) dialing. You do not need to be or ever have been in debt. Even if you are or were, this company has no legal right to be contacting you.

Research points to affiliations with terrorist organizations and criminals who attempt to make money as well as undermine U.S. citizens and economy.

They have a clear goal, attacking and demoralizing our citizens. Clarify yours and protect yourself and as requested by State Attorney General Offices, contact these offices and report the harrassment.

I'm being bothered by them now, for a debt nearly 20 years old. I know this is an old thread, but they need to be recognized as what they are. They are junk-debt buyers who aren't above violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Love these guys/gals that sit up here and ridicule people because of debt. People default on debt everyday, some of it is valid most of it probably not. The fact of the matter is we have legal systems to protect not only the business but the consumers as well. Don't sit on a f-ing soapbox and act like your all high and mighty cause you pay your bills! And don't be an idiot and act like all situtions are black and white so you should do the right thing "and pay your bills". That kind of thinking is niave, which hearing the people that are freaking out on everyone on this messageboard is not surprising. These people I am sure work as collection agents and I am sorry to say that is no living. You have to intimidate and scare people into paying debt, to me that is not an honorable job but they take those jobs cause there is commisions to be had. Learn a little about Business and Economics and you will understand that this is all part of the process in an economy and most business that have defaulted loans actually plan on them and include them in their budget, doesn't make it right but it is what it is. People who default on their debt are not more ruining the economy than the crooks on Wall Street who sell bad mortgage debt as securities. Do I condone being reckless and going into debt, no. But I am not going to sit hear and listen to these trolls who do not know how to effectively debate, talk crap. Companies like Portfolio Recovery are trolls who wade through the oldest of debt and purchase it for pennies on the dollar so they can make extreme profits. Believe me there are a lot of real issues in our country today...this is not one of them.

I've been harassed by them several times. I don't understand how they have any of my information, and I don't understand where this debt came from. I just recently turned 18 in October. This debt it from 2004. I was apparently 12 when I received a debt from Dominion Power. How this happens, I don't know. Last time I checked, you have to be about 18 to even open an account with them, let alone rent a house/apartment. I've asked several times for them to send me a bill, but all I've gotten are more and more phone calls. It's honestly becoming a pain in the [censor].

abcd, either send them letter asking them to validate the debt (debt validation letter) or a cease-communication letter. Also file a complaint on them with the Federal Trade Commission and your state's Attorney General's office.

Ok people- I'm tired of these guys harrassing me too. It's time to get even. When a company of this type starts harrassing American citizens, they can be crushed by American citizens attacking back- jihad cell style. I'm a technology professional with more than 20 years experience, and they have been harrassing me for years. I'm tired of it. Are you? It's easy for us to cause chaos with this company, legally. Let's prevent them from doing business. Let's make their employees think twice about where they work. Let's make it hell to work there and to harrass people. I'm goign to make this my part time hobby. If each one of us spends only 10 minutes a week focusing on causing disrupting their elicit, immoral business, that's enough to make their professional lives way more miserable than they make our private lives. The economy is bad, and we can't all afford lawyers to get these mafiosos out of our hair. So it's time to take matters into our own hands- it's time for American citizens to show that they are not goingto be abused by companies like this. The things you can do are very simple, and won't take much effort at all. I'm going to give you some ideas to start. I'm goign to be doing some of these things- and others- tricks I have learned over the years that can make even the giant corporations drop to their knees and give in. I'm not going to tell you all my tricks- some of them are secret- but I want you to get the idea, and think of your own ways to get them back. Remember, I will be doing these things- I am dedicated to the task after seeing how many people are being harrassed across the country by this immoral company- join me- it's fun! Imagine the giggles you will get- the entertainment value of knowing that we as a group are getting even. Even if I just do it by myself, they will be severely annoyed- if you all join me, we can make the cost of doing business for them skyrocket- and we can make the experience of working there a joke- we can make the upper management have mental breakdowns. Believe me, I have done it before- these legal tactics have worked for me every single time a company has been outrageously out of line with me. Ok- here goes- remember- these are just easy things- think of new ideas- share them here- let's work independantly, as a team. Ok first- here is their website: http://www.portfoliorecovery.com. Go there. Get their contact numbers. Call them and waste their time. Or just call and hang up. Call and ask for random names of people and see if you get them- if you get the name of someone working there now, post it here. If a name is posted here, call and ask for it. Make up a story about how you want to want to come clean and make payments. Oh, can't find your account? Hmmm that's weird...but you keep getting phone calls? The idea here is to waste their time. If we are all wasting their time, they can't collect any money- they can't pay their employees eventually. Every phone call they get has to be answered and investigated. If you get a recording or voice mail- leave a message- a long one. Tell them how the citizens of America are sick of their BS and we are going to get them back. They will have to listen to all those Vmails to get to the real ones- again- waste their time. If you have an email address- send them email from a safe email address of your own that does not identify you- for example, make a new one on Yahoo! or Hotmail. But don't just send one- spend 10 minutes and send it 100 times. Change your subject line- use multiple email addresses- change your text slightly- but keep sending and sending. They will try to filter their email- they will try to filter by subject, by sender, by text of the message to clear out their email box. That's why you keep changing it slightly, so they will have to go through each one and separate their real mail from the mail of pissed off American citizens who are striking back, cell-style. Again- every moment you keep their staff busy chasing their tails is money spent by them, paying their employees for nothing. If we send enough email, it will clog their email boxes and they won't receive anymore. Use fake phone numbers on your email- or get creative and use contact info of the police department, attorney general, better business bureau, etc. Best is to write an email that seems legit to them, that they will have to spend time investigating. Try to be as convincing as possible to get them to waste their time. Or, you can just write a sentence or two about how the Amercian citizens are not going to stand for thier abuse. Next, send them some postal mail. Gather up your stinkiest trash (for example, raw shrimp heads- liver, etc- be inventive) and send it to whatever mailing addresses they provide you on their website or through correspondence email or postal mail. Use a box, use a padded envelope- they will have to open those. If we send enough, you can imagine the fun they will have at their office. Those are some ideas to get you started- post some more! Let's share and make this a source for entertainment for ourselves! A good laugh is owed to us by them. Let's stand together and make their business hell wo work out- there is strength in numbers. Don't get mad- get even! Oh and BTW- if they are calling your house, I think you can say pretty much whatever you want to them. If it's a female- see what her breaking point is- see if you can get her to hang up on you- see what you could say to make her face turn red and become speechless. They are calling you, after all- you aren't calling them. Same thing for a guy- ask him if he likes **** in the *** (fill in your own comments). Be calm, and see how long you can keep them on the phone and waste their time. Again- make it be a source of entertainment for you. Search for their employees' resumes or perosnal sites online- see whatever info you can get about their email addresses at the company, etc- and post their info here- or anywhere on the web. Copy my post here and post it on other sites, where people are searching for Portfolio Recovery, this is war folks- let's not take this lying down. Let's have a good laugh and get back at these [censor]. Bring attention to this post- copy it and send it to people- let the word get out and let's stop this harrassment!

Here is their profile on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/portfolio-recovery-associates-inc

Go make yourself a profile on linked in and then tell their employees, president, etc. what you think of their practices. While you're at it, lump in their other companies, like this one: http://www.igsnevada.com/. Make it known that working for PRA is going to damage their reputations- hinder their professional careers. The harrassment and illicit practices must stop. Tell them Kilroy sent you! Kilroy is a symbol of the American soldier (you can look it up on wikipedia.org).

While you are at it, vote for my posts! This will help spread the word...

I sent the below letter and received a letter that they were closing the case give it a try

Portfolio Recovery Associates
120 Corporate Blvd. Ste. 100
Norfolk, VA 23502
[protected]

Your name
Your address

January 6, 2011

Dear Collection Manager,
Re: Account # unk

I recently pulled my credit report and noticed a collection from your agency. Not recognizing the debt I called and asked for validation of the debt to please be mailed to me. I have called several times since then and still have not received or been notified of this collection by mail. However, this letter does not imply that I refuse to pay this debt. Rather, I would like to dispute your claim.

As per the FDCPA, I have the right to request a validation of this debt. I request you to prove that I am indeed the party who is by contract obligated to pay off this debt.

I hope you are aware of the fact that reporting any invalidated information to major credit bureaus may constitute defamation of character, as negative listing on credit report does not allow me to enjoy the benefits of good credit. In addition, you must also be aware that until you validate this debt, you can neither continue collection activities nor report this information on my credit report. I'm sure your legal staff will agree that non-compliance with this request is likely to put your company in serious legal trouble with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other state/federal agencies.

Please attach copies of the following documents:

1. Agreement with your client that authorizes you to collect on this alleged debt.
2. Agreement that bears signature of the alleged debtor wherein he promises to pay the creditor.
3. Complete itemized statement on this account so as to prove that the debt amount you wish to collect is correct.
4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable
5. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
6. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
7. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

If I do not receive these documents within 30 days I will be forced to take further action against your company.

With regards,

Your name

I got a letter from u all saying that i owe some money to my name is Kevin Reed and i'm saying that i was incarcerated at the time of this dept.

Kevin, you need to contact Portfolio Recovery Associates and ask them to validate the debt. Nobody on this forum contacted you. The quicker you either request debt validation or send them a cease-communication letter, the faster your issue will be resolved.

@TiredOfCrybabies ... Sounds like someone loves his job as a Debt Collector. Get a real job son, stop preying on people! And people please stop giving guys like him work, keep your debt under control and live within your means. This way we force people like jerk here to find a job that helps the community instead of trying to suck it dry.

its kind of crazy, they call me fairly often. Once and a while I attempt to reason with them on how absurd their tactic to collect a debt (which I have zero knowledge of) from 17 years ago. yes that is seventeen years ago.
I have one policy when talking to these guys, I allow a one time interruption while I am talking, I will then tell them that I will not continue the phone call if they interrupt me again. After which when they do interrupt me, I say 'you did it again, good bye' and hang up. I have asked them to send me paperwork about this account in question and the only thing they will send me is a letter saying I owe money. No details, nothing. They insist I have to produce all of the work to prove to them I don't owe it.
How does one go about proving non-existence?

Tired of Crybabies
Have you ever had your identity stolen? Well I have and by the time I found out it was to late. I've had people call me asking me about a home loan that I took out and I live in an apartment, always have. When I looked at my credit report it shows that someone had gone to several different places using my identity and I had never been to these stores. I reported it to the credit bureau, but it still shows as a hit on my credit and it pisses me off. I know who I owe money to and who I don't and I don't need anyone else adding to that by pretending to be me.