Portfolio Recovery Associates Problems?

Portfolio Recovery Associates is a major national collection agency. If you are being contacted by them - or have found them listed on your credit reports - please take the following steps:

1. Read the our ebook Debt Collection Answers so you understand your rights when dealing with them. The first chapter is available to read online for free here

2. If you would like to share a complaint about this collection agency with others, feel free to use the form below.

What Is Your Question or Complaint About Portfolio Recovery Assoc?

Do you have a question or complaint about Portfolio Recovery Assoc? You can enter it here. Please be specific, including dates (that you were contacted or fell behind on the bill, etc.) and amounts (the original debt and/or the amount they are trying to collect now, for example), and be sure to list the state you live in.

But please do not enter private information like your Social Security number, account numbers, your address, etc.

Comments about Portfolio Recovery Assoc

Read complaints from other consumers about this debt collection agency:

Portfolio Recovery Associates

Variations on name: PRA III / Anchor Receivables Management

Website: http://www.portfoliorecovery.com/

Address: Riverside Commerce Center - 120 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, Virgina, 23502 USA

Number of Years in Business: Over 10

Employees: 2,350

Hours of Operation: Mon to Fri - 7:30 AM to 11 PM / Sun - 2 PM to 9 PM (EST)

CEO: Steve Fredrickson

CFO: Kevin Stevenson

Phone: (800) 772-1413

Email: customer.assistance@portfoliorecovery.com

Better Business Bureau Report Summary

We researched the Better Business Bureau reports on this company as of September 9, 2010 and found the following data:

Number of complaints processed by the BBB

- in the last 36 months: 787 complaints

- in the last 12 months: 207 complaints

The agency maintains an "A+" rating due to its handling of the complaints filed.

State and Federal Regulatory Actions (FTC, state attorneys general)

yesAttorney General Koster takes action against fraudulent debt collectors--Koster says businesses tried to collect debts people didn't owe--

St. Louis, Mo. - Attorney General Chris Koster today filed suit against two debt collection companies that are operating scams to collect debts from citizens who do not owe the money.Koster filed law suits in St. Louis against Portfolio Recovery Associates, a public company based in Virginia, and Professional Debt Management located in Kansas City.

Koster said Portfolio buys old and bankruptcy-discharged debt, often from another bad debt buyer, and then tries to collect, sometimes through court action. He said the company often is attempting to collect on accounts that are already paid or have been discharged in bankruptcy; sometimes they try to collect from the wrong consumer or for the wrong amounts. He said the company has threatened to garnish consumers' social security checks, which they have no authority to do, and has refused to provide consumers with proof that the debt is valid.

Koster said Professional Debt Management uses scare tactics, leaving messages on consumers' phones that there is an emergency. He said that like Portfolio, they attempt to collect on accounts already paid or from the wrong party.

"The Attorney General's office intends to take aggressive action to protect Missouri consumers," Koster said. "I am asking the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting these companies from violating consumer protection laws and to order that they provide full restitution to the people they have harmed."

Koster also is asking that the court impose monetary penalties and require the companies to pay all court costs. Read the press release from the attorney general here.

Return to Top of Page: Portfolio Recovery Associates Problems?