portfolio recovery

The company (based in Virginia) has been harrassing me for the past 7+ yrs for a debt incurred in 199?. Despite repeated requests to furnish me with details of the debt I have never received any letter from this firm. I have informed them that upon advice from the FTC I am not to speak with them until this is sent. However, approx. every 3 days they call me at a number that is not listed in my name (each time from a different number, location and person). What to do? They just ignore me!

Comments for portfolio recovery

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 04, 2012
 portfolio recovery
by: Debtcollectionanswers.com

I recommend that you get in touch with a consumer law attorney right away. Based on what you have told me it appears that your legal rights have been violated and you may have grounds for a lawsuit. I am not an attorney however, so you need to consult with one.

Here is what I can tell you however. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires a debt collector to provide you with very specific information when it contacts you about a debt for the first time whether by phone or in writing. To learn about the written information a collector must provide to you read the first chapter of Debt Collection Answers online for free. It appears from your question that the collector has not done this, which means that the collector has broken the law.

Second, given the frequency of the collector's calls, the agency may also have violated the FDCPA's prohibition against harassment.

Finally, although you did not indicate the nature of the debt you owe, it's likely that the Statute of Limitations (SOL) on the debt has expired. The SOL is the period of time during which you can be sued for a debt and it varies by type of debt and state. You can find out what the SOL is for your type of debt by calling your state Attorney General's Office or asking the consumer law attorney you speak with. When the SOL on a debt expires, you still owe the debt, but if you are sued, you can use the fact that it's expired to get the lawsuit dismissed.

If the SOL on your debt has expired you may want to send the collector a cease contact letter. Once the collector receives your letter, the FDCPA says that he cannot contact you again other than to inform you of any additional actions he plans to take to collect from you. Before you send this letter however, I would speak to a consumer law attorney. If you do send it, make a copy of the letter for your files and send it certified mail with a return receipt requested.

A word of warning! You risk restarting the SOL on your debt and making yourself vulnerable to lawsuits all over again if you admit to a collector that you owe the money or if you offer to pay even a small amount on the debt.



Nov 06, 2014
 these people never stop!
by: Anonymous

They keep calling my cellphone,I continuously tell them I have no knowledge of this bill they claim I owe from 199? To a I don't even recognize the name of! Normally I ignore numbers I don't recognize, and will sometimes do a search on the internet, and sure enough, it was portfolio again from yet another number. Today, I got fooled, I answered the phone, because it was a local number...my mistake, it was them! I told them woman to stop right there, she kept talking over me,then said no, she was going to finish, I said no you aren't,that's not my bill,and hung up.

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Collection Company Complaint.

Learn how debt collection laws can help you!
This website does not provide legal advice.
All information is for educational purposes only.
Copyright 2007 - 2018 by Mary Reed and Gerri Detweiler.
All rights reserved.
Read our Privacy Policy here