Portfolio Recovery Associates

Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) is a third-party debt collection agency. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) is a government agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive debt collection practices. The CFPB has received nearly 9,000 consumer complaints against PRA for unlawful debt collection practices. Consumers most commonly report that PRA engages in the following unlawful debt collection practices:

• Attempting to collect a debt not owed by the consumer;
• Improperly discussing the consumer’s debt with a third party;
• Harassing consumers by repeatedly and frequently calling.
• Continuing to call after being asked to stop; and
• Refusing to validate or provide proof of a debt.

After receiving repeated calls from PRA, a consumer wrote a letter requesting that PRA cease all communication with the consumer. PRA continued to contact the consumer. The consumer began keeping a call log of all the phone calls PRA continued to make. The consumer then filed a complaint with the CFPB and provided the call log as evidence.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from communicating with a consumer after the consumer has informed them in writing to stop communication. Once the debt collector has received a letter requesting that all communication stop, the debt collector may only contact the consumer again to either inform the consumer that the debt collector is no longer seeking to collect the debt or to inform the consumer that the debt collector will be filing a lawsuit.

Creditors and debt collectors should be held accountable for these unethical and unlawful practices. If you are being harassed or subjected to any of these, deceptive, or abusive debt collection practices, it is time to hold PRA accountable. Please contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-219-3577.