469-680-3366

New Number for a Debt Collector

I have lived in my current town now for 7 years. Portfolio Recovery called and told me I owe a debt and the address they gave was one I had lived at 9 years ago and that place was torn down 6 years ago, but supposedly I opened an account 5 years ago for that address for some CC I never owned. I informed them that this has to be a mistake since I have not lived in that town for over 7 years and that address was torn down to make a new industrial park 6 years ago. I asked for proof of the debt and copies of any written contracts, so far 6 months have gone by and I have received nothing from them but constant calls - 3 rings then hang up.

I have received many missed calls from 469-680-3366. I finally called, and after hearing the company's greeting that they are a debt collection agency, I knew that there was no way this call was for me. The first rep asked my name. I told her to remove my number from their calling list, because I do not have any outstanding debts. She instantly became hostile and said, "No one said you owed any money! What is your name?!" I told her that she didn't need to know my name, because I have no debts. With much attitude, she said, "I don't like where this call is going! I don't need to argue with you!" She then promptly hung up on me.

I called back and told the next rep to remove my number. She placed me on hold for a very long time, came back on the line and asked for my name. I told her that I did not owe any money, so I was not going to tell her my name, and if she could not give me anymore information, to remove my phone number from the records. I don't know? It feels like they are randomly calling people, fishing for names, and then randomly tell people they owe money. It's all very odd, and the company sounds very unethical and not legitimate.

Portfolio Recovery purchases charge offs from creditors. The problem is I don't owe any creditors or financial institutions, I'm totally debt free. I picked up and explained to them this was a mistake...a BIG mistake. Next thing I know I start getting letters with demands, calls 10 to 15 times a day and they come from different numbers. I contacted the main branch in Horsham Pa. Sent them and all 3 credit agency the same as a dispute. All 3 removed them from my reports. Calls have continued till this day. I have traced some of the calls, they go to residents homes all over the country. This is clearly a debt not owed, they have been sent the paperwork to prove it. If it was a legitimate debt, the credit agency would not have removed it from my reports ASAP and have stopped them from putting it back on.

Again last week, they send me another letter trying to get payment or payment arrangement. They are something special. The calls continue every day. I block the number - the next call is from a different state. If you are reading this and they are trying to get a payment from you - DO NOT PAY THEM. IF YOU MAKE A PAYMENT, YOU AUTOMATICALLY OWE THEM AND IF YOU DID OWE. BUT HAS BEEN OVER 10 YEARS, IT IS UNCOLLECTIBLE UNLESS YOU MAKE A PAYMENT OR AGREE TO MAKE PAYMENT. Don't make that mistake. File complaints with state and federal trade commission, they won't help you but after they get lots of complaints, they do go after them.

This company has been sued by many states and citizens and lost. They are bottom feeders and need to be shutdown but even after feds fined them and they lost many lawsuits, they are still doing business as usual. That should tell you how much money they make screwing Americans.

Portfolio is a criminal organization that regularly extorts money from people.  You can take the following advice or you can put up with the calls:

You need to send them a certified, return receipt debt validation letter (think of it as the best $6.47 you ever invested).  Also send it first class mail in case no one will sign for it.  Make a notation of that fact at the bottom of the letter.  You also need to report them to the proper agencies to which I have provided links to.  Then you need to go out and get a consumer lawyer to sue them on a contingency basis (no money out of your pocket) and let them pay you for the harassment.  If everyone did these three things, these crooks would be bankrupt and we would all be the richer for it.  Use these web sites to find an attorney in your state that will probably take the case on a contingency basis (no money out of your pocket up front):  http://www.consumeradvocates.org/
http://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-atto ... tates_value=All

Everything else you need to know follows including at least two agencies where you should report their criminal activities.

PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES AKA PRA
Good news, they got slapped hard for 82 million recently:  http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article21073359.html
Also the NY AG slapped them again it seems:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-0 ... ion-in-new-york
CFPB fines them for lying:  http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb- ... lect-bad-debts/

Portfolio Recovery Associates Phone Number List.xlsx

I have to wonder why an allegedly “legitimate” business would need over 500 phone numbers to call out on?
Web page with contact information:  http://www.portfoliorecovery.com/contact_us.html
Make sure you read how they just lost an 83 million dollar lawsuit against them:  http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article21073359.html

Make sure you read how the NY AG spanked them bad on May 1, 2014 in the following BBB page.

BBB page with 1,371 (the BBB wiped off 49 complaints so that Portfolio could keep their A rating) complaints, 13 negative reviews a government action from the State of New York, an alert, and yet they get an accredited A rating (back up from a B+, they removed 31 complaints and 2 negative reviews to get them that rating, but  they must still must be paying big bucks for that rating boost):  http://www.bbb.org/norfolk/business-reviews/d ... olk-va-51000164
Bizapedia has them as a Delaware Corporation started in 2007 as opposed to the information on the BBBB page that says 1996:
http://www.bizapedia.com/de/PORTFOLIO-RECOVERY-LLC.html
http://www.bizapedia.com/addresses/120-CORPOR ... K-VA-23502.html

Other complaint sites:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/portfolio-recovery-associates-c275360.html
http://www.creditreportproblems.com/Portfolio_Recovery_Associates_LLC.htm

Cases against PRA:
http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020130416695
http://www.prweb.com/releases/Class-Action/Lawsuit/prweb5253574.htm
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district- ... 2707/228930/60/
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/casdce/3:2015cv00768/471398
http://www.bigclassaction.com/lawsuit/portfol ... olations-of.php
http://leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%20201409 ... SOCIATES,%20LLC
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/illinois/ilndce/1:2015cv02765/308374
http://www.creditreportproblems.com/pennsylva ... -practices-act/
http://www.creditreportproblems.com/portfolio ... cpa-violations/
http://designertoday.com/News/6736/Reader.Get ... .Prejudice.aspx
http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=PORTFOLIO+RECOVERY+ASSOCIATES%2C+LLC
http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/14a0266p-06.pdf
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/12/28/11-56600.pdf
http://statesboro.biz/News/702/Class-Action-L ... f-The-TCPA.aspx
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCOURTS-mie ... 1_12-cv-11526-2
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCOURTS-kye ... 5_13-cv-00147-0
And a CFPB case about a lawyer who works for PRA.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/ ... ction-lawsuits/
Some more interesting reading:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuild ... /td-p/8653

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/09/portfol ... dial-proof

http://www.creditreportproblems.com/Por ... es_LLC.htm

"PRA may also sometimes make harassing calls and send out threatening letters. In some cases they may have your information by mistake ~ so they are sending the WRONG PERSON collection notices!"

http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pd ... 66p-06.pdf

TCPA Class Action Suit against:
http://statesboro.biz/News/702/Class-Ac ... -TCPA.aspx

Mentioned here among other bottom feeding criminal DC's:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html

Lawsuit against them:

http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-sett ... iolations/

They were  listed among the worst offenders on the late Bud Hibb's site!


It is incumbent upon them under the law to prove that the debt exists and that you owe it, and that they have the legal right to collect it.  You are not obligated under the law to prove that you don’t owe or that it is paid.  

Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter (US MAIL ONLY) postmarked within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt.  It also must contains “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes.  The one other important thing that this letter must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified.

Read up on your rights here and also make a complaint at this government site:  http://www.consumerfinance.gov/

Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices:   https://800notes.com/faq/attorney-general

Repeat calls. No message.

Caller did not leave voice message.

My theory is, if someone calls me and doesn't leave me a message, they don't NEED to speak to me.
After getting many calls for a mary E. Bennett I finally set my finger to silent and gave everyone I need to hear from a personal ringtone. My phone does vibrate on silent so i can see if anyone I missed is calling.

Called me yesterday asking for someone named Juan and I told them they had the wrong number and hung up. Today they called asking for Latoya and I again told them they had the wrong number and the lady on the receiving end said okay thank you and hung up.

They said I owed money to a company I have never heard of. The caller ID said Scam Likely.

Don't know who this is for. Called this evening Left no message

wow i take this like the game it is i have nothing against any anyone making a living but i must say sitting on your [***] all day calling people telling them pay up or else lol.i talked to one of these so called human beings and he got all bent when i had the nerve to laugh at him and his big threats ,He tells me how could you go out and spend this money then not pay,i told him i fell at work fractured 3 vertebrae and lost everything in my life and he just helped me through a bad day by laughing at him ,while he started back with threats  i laughed a little more told him all i owned was my dog and he was not getting him and hung up. i must have blocked several hundred numbers of them by now and with service i plan on till i block all of them.

Too bad you didn't read my other post on how to make the calls stop, and how to get them to pay you instead.

They will not give you anything as they do not have anything to offer. They bought the debt and it does not matter if you owe it or not you have to prove it is not yours as far as they tell me.

Called cell left no message.

Called, left no msg. Thank you very much, BigA, that's a whole lot of very useful information!

Called, left no message.

THESE ARE TERRORIST SCAMMERS!  PLEASE REPORT THEM INTO THE FBI.

They have been calling my elderly father for years harassing him. He owes no one and has a bad heart and they were told they had the wrong number many times and to take his number off their call list that is was causing him stress on his heart that he doesnt need. They finally succeeded in harassing him enough that he is in the hospital and is having alot of problems because of their harassment. Due to their unscrupulous methods and constant harrassing phone calls for something that they have the wrong number for I am now handing this over to my lawyer who defeated the tobacco industry and I plan to take them to court and will be seeking a huge 9 figure amount. They want to play and cause innocent people harm then I will hurt their corporate and individual bank accounts deeply.

Just have your attorney look up the track record of Portfolio.  Let us know how that turns out.   Hopefully your dad will recover.