731-577-4171

These people are a debt collector.  In the age of cell phones, these companies call the numbers that they last had on file.  Just because your getting the call doesn't mean it has anything to do with you.  When you tell them you are not the party they are searching for, they will not believe you because it is part of the tactic or harassment.  As a rule, if you don't know the number don't answer.  If you answer it the bot will continue to try the number again and again to try to get you back.  I always let it go to voice mail and then I look the number up on the internet. If it was meant for me then they will leave a message or I will check the number and call it back if legit.

You can thank the Savings and Loan meltdown during the 1980's which gave birth to the Resolution Trust Corporation and formation of junk debt buyers (like PRA) for this mess:

History
The debt buying industry in the United States began as a result of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. During this time banks were closing at an alarming rate and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits up to a certain amount, received the assets of the bank to cover the expenses associated with repaying the closed banks depositors.

When the FDIC, and eventually the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) took control of the assets they had to find institutions, organizations and private investors that would be willing to purchase the assets of closed banks including both performing and non-performing (delinquent or charged-off) accounts.

The RTC held auctions around the country allowing various organizations to bid for portfolios of mixed assets. At these auctions the bidders were not able to evaluate the assets prior to bidding and most purchasers had no idea what they had purchased until they had left the auction.

The availability of these assets to the general public was the fuel used to launch the debt buying industry.

Industry Overview
Due to the historic profitability of the business, the debt buying industry has seen dramatic expansion since 2000. Debt buyers purchased approximately $110 billion in face value of delinquent debts in 2005, which is about double the amount bought in 2000.[1] Credit card debt comprises seventy percent of the accounts sold to debt buyers, followed by automobile loans, telecommunications debt and retail accounts.[2] However, purchased debts can also include personal loans, utility bills, medical bills, primary and secondary mortgages, etc.

Depending on the age and history of the debt, a buyer typically pays between 3 and 16 percent of the face value of the debt. Accounts that come directly from the original creditor without having been placed with a collection agency have the highest value, with prices decreasing based on the number of agencies that have previously attempted to collect the debt.[3] As a result of the 2008 economic downturn, prices for the best accounts have fallen from the 2007-2008 high of 14 cents on the dollar to 4-7 cents.[4] However, the large increase in delinquent accounts as a result of the recession has also resulted in sizable growth in the debt buying industry overall.

Debt buyers range in size from very small private businesses to multi-million dollar publicly traded companies - there are currently four publicly traded debt buyers. NCO, previously the largest debt collector, was taken private in 2006 after merging with One Equity Partners.[5] As the visibility and profitability of the industry has grown, so too has competition, both in terms of the number of debt buyers and the rising prices of bad debt.[6] Additionally, there is a secondary market in this debt, with the debt buyers reselling the debt.

Debt buyers may be classified as "active"—those who attempt to collect on the accounts they purchase, or "passive"—those who invest in the debt and then outsource the collection activities to a separate collection agency or collection law firm.

Controversies
A debt buyer does not have the same incentive to maintain the customer relationship with a debtor as the original creditor, and some debt buyers may be unconcerned about negative publicity and complaints.[2] Thus, there are reports that some debt buyers engage in abusive debt collection practices, which are illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, including the following:

Filing lawsuits with no documentation showing that the debt was ever purchased or assigned to the plaintiff[7][8]
Pursuing debts that are not actually owed by the person being targeted[9]
Attempting to collect, improperly suing, or threatening to sue people on debts that are past the applicable statute of limitations or were settled and closed via bankruptcy
Reporting inaccurate creditor information to a credit bureau
Impersonating law enforcement and threatening to have a person arrested, or threatening to directly garnish a person's wages, seize their property, etc.
Failing to validate debt in writing when requested
Continuing to call a person's place of employment when instructed not to
Ignoring cease-and-desist notices to stop telephoning and communicate only via mail
Verbally abusing, using obscene language, threatening and harassing consumers[1]
While original creditors are often exempt from fair debt collection laws, courts and regulators have generally taken the position that debt buyers and any other third-party collection agency are covered by these laws.[10] Thus, debt buyers who engage in abusive collections practices are subject to lawsuits under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other state and federal laws. They may also be subject to regulatory action by state attorneys general or the Federal Trade Commission, which in 2004 shut down Capital Acquisitions and Management Corporation, a debt buyer that allegedly engaged in extensive abusive collection practices.

To address many of the controversies surrounding debt buyers and to learn more about the business, the FTC in January 2010 asked nine of the largest debt purchasers in the country to submit detailed information about their businesses and the debt portfolios they have bought in the past.[11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_buyer

I love the option "BLOCK CALL" on the iPhone!! Don't know who they're working with but I owe nothing.  I hate someone calling and can't understand what they are trying to say. Note to this debt collector: learn to speak English as$hole.

Please stop calling my cell phone I don't know who guys  I don't answer my cell in public

Usually I am disgusted with Debt Collectors, however, this one was very respectful. I only had this number for a month, so I found it odd that these agencies had my new number. So, I gave her my name, she realized I was not the person she was looking for and she removed my number from their list. So, if they keep calling, just give them a different name. Problem solved. :) Hope it helps.

This company has been harassing me for a couple years now. I'm not sure even if it's me they want or the previous owner of this phone number. If I had an unpaid debt I'm sure I would've been notified by the actual company before it got to this level. So stop calling me.

That's correct.  Portfolio Recovery buys old debt that is. Often already paid. They buy it cheap and people pay them because they start their collection attack campaign after the 7 years mark.  They started in on me
Literally the day after I shredded the receipts.  My opinion is they are pure Evil

One of Portfolio Recovery's 1000000 phone numbers. Blocked!

Weird.  Two missed calls from these clowns.  Answered their third attempt.  Gay porn audition?  I have no earthly idea why they would call me!  Sounds like some really sick perverts.  It says Portfolio Debt Recovery online, but this was very inappropriate.  I am not gay, nor would I agree to pornography participants.  Freakin' sick.

I answered the phone, "homicide,detective tightbutte speaking". They hung up...why?  Haha BLOCKED!  

Payment is the only thing that will restart that cycle   admitting  you ad a debt 7 years ago is irrelevant

These guys are bottom feeding class of collection agencies. The buy old or statute barred debt and using harassment tactics try to collect 10 to 30 cents on the dollar. Of course once you pay anything the debt clock resets to day 1 and then their ambulance chasing lawyers will sue for the rest. The best you can do is contact your state authorities (don't waste time with the feds, they won't do anything but collect data and publish reports) to go after them.

This compant calls on debt that's out of statute and their threats are hilarious

Company is 'Portfolio Recovery Associates', a debt collector that called and left no message.

They called me on June 9, 2014 at 3:11pm ET.

I did a *67 - 731 - 577 - 4171 a couple of times and hung up on them.

The number they called is on the do not call registry as well.

This number calls me twice a week and I never answer. Googled it and found this website. I'm 23, I don't know exactly why they would be calling me...I never am late on a payment. I have a car loan and a credit card. That's about it. Never even late on either of them. And my credit card is 85% paid off in full. Any ideas?

Stop calling

Left no message..irritating!!!

This Co. harasses me ever few weeks about a bill that I have never received.

PS The only place that has my cell # is 1 of my banks. They don't identify them selves either.  presumably, LSK Collection Agency in Bethel Springs TN 38315

Scam scam scam illegal debt collector