Table of Contents
- What is Portfolio Recovery Associates?
- Who does Portfolio Recovery Associates collect for?
- Is Portfolio Recovery Associates a scam?
- How to stop Portfolio Recovery Associates from calling you
- How to remove Portfolio Recovery Associates from your credit report
- How to deal with Portfolio Recovery Associates harassment
- Should you pay Portfolio Recovery Associates?
What is Portfolio Recovery Associates?
Founded in 1996, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is a subsidiary of debt collection corporation PRA Group, Inc. 1 They purchase a variety of consumer loan debt, including credit card and auto loan debt.
What is PRAPay?
PRAPay is Portfolio Recovery Associates’ payment portal. Debt items from Portfolio Recovery Associates may appear on your credit report as PRAPay, or one of the following:
- PRA LLC
- Portfolio Associates
- Portfolio Collection
- Portfolio RC
- Portfolio Recov Assoc
- Portfolio Recov PRA Inc
- Portfolio Recovery PRA Inc
- Portfolio Recovery Services
- PortfolioRecov
Who does Portfolio Recovery Associates collect for?
Portfolio Recovery Associates purchases debts from banks, credit card issuers, and other lenders. 1
Portfolio Recovery Associates collects both personal and commercial loans, as well as credit card debt.
Is Portfolio Recovery Associates a scam?
No, Portfolio Recovery Associates isn’t a scam. They’re a legitimate debt collection agency that has been certified by Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) since 2014. 2
That being said, they have been subject to some notable litigation in recent years. In 2015, the CFPB penalized Portfolio Recovery Associates for attempting to illegally collect on debts. 3 In 2020, Portfolio Recovery Associates settled a class action suit alleging FDCPA violations. 4
You can check what debts you owe to Portfolio Recovery Associates through their online portal.
VIDEO: Portfolio Recovery Associates in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop Portfolio Recovery Associates from calling you
Portfolio Recovery Associates will call, email, or mail you if they believe you have an unsettled debt. The reason debt collectors like these are calling you is simple—they want to pressure you into paying up.
Unfortunately, Portfolio Recovery Associates representatives will keep trying to contact you unless you pay the debt, prove that it doesn’t belong to you, or reach an agreement with them (or with your original creditor).
Don’t ignore debt collectors like Portfolio Recovery Associates—in the end, you may get sued, and you may even have your wages garnished. It’s smarter to engage with them tactically to ensure you don’t have to pay, or that you get the best deal you can.
To begin, you can get Portfolio Recovery Associates to stop calling you—at least temporarily—by sending them something called a debt verification letter.
Send a debt verification letter
A debt verification letter is a formal request that obligates a debt collector to provide further evidence of a debt. You must send it within 30 days of them first contacting you. Note that Portfolio Recovery Associates should have sent you a debt validation letter proving you owe the debt first, as it’s required by law.
Benefits of sending a debt verification letter
Sending a debt verification letter has three benefits:
- You’ll prevent Portfolio Recovery Associates from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like Portfolio Recovery Associates are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 5
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing Portfolio Recovery Associates to provide documentation will help you determine whether this is a legitimate debt that you actually need to pay. It’s an easy way of figuring out if the debt collector is a scam agency.
- You may successfully disown the debt: If Portfolio Recovery Associates can’t provide more information about the debt (which is frequently the case), then they have no choice but to delete it from your records.
Beware the statute of limitations
The verification materials that you receive may show that your debt has passed the statute of limitations. This is a legal limit that means the debt is too old for Portfolio Recovery Associates to sue you over, at which point it’s known as time-barred debt.
If this is the case, you can send Portfolio Recovery Associates a letter telling them to stop contacting you. Legally, they’ll have to abide by that.
The statute of limitations on most debts is between 3 and 6 years, but the exact amount of time depends on several factors, including the state you live in. The best approach is to check your state attorney general’s website and email their office if the information you’re looking for isn’t available online.
How to remove Portfolio Recovery Associates from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Portfolio Recovery Associates debt, there are three ways to recover:
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
If you think that the debt associated with Portfolio Recovery Associates on your credit report is illegitimate (e.g., if you paid it on time or it belongs to somebody else), dispute the item on your credit report. You can also dispute debts that are older than 7 years (measured from the date of your first missed payment)—by law, they’re supposed to fall off your credit report by then.
To dispute a debt for free, send a credit dispute letter to the credit bureaus that are showing Portfolio Recovery Associates on your credit report.
To find out which credit bureaus you need to send the letter to, request your free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. If they don’t respond to your dispute within 30–45 days, then they’re legally obligated to remove the item in question.
2. Negotiate with Portfolio Recovery Associates
Unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it’s less than 7 years old, removing Portfolio Recovery Associates from your credit report will be very difficult (although not impossible).
Your best move at this point is to simply pay the debt. Newer credit scoring models ignore paid-off collection accounts, which means paying off your collection will boost your credit score even if you can’t remove the item.
However, when you pay, there are two negotiation strategies you can try as a last-ditch attempt to remove Portfolio Recovery Associates from your credit report:
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince Portfolio Recovery Associates to remove the negative mark in exchange for paying off the debt. You can open these negotiations by sending them a pay-for-delete letter.
- Goodwill deletion: This is an alternate strategy you can try after paying your debt. Once the account is paid off, you can send Portfolio Recovery Associates a goodwill letter asking them to empathize with your situation and remove the mark from your credit report as an act of kindness. Create your letter using our free goodwill letter template.
3. Wait 7 years for Portfolio Recovery Associates to fall off of your credit report
Unfortunately, most collection accounts will stay on your credit report for 7 years after your first missed payment. Even if you pay off your debt to Portfolio Recovery Associates, it will remain on your credit report.
Learn more about Portfolio Recovery Associates’s impact on your credit score:
- How many points will my credit score increase after I pay off collections?
- How to rebuild your credit after having a debt sent to collections
How to deal with Portfolio Recovery Associates harassment
Unless you tell them not to, Portfolio Recovery Associates will keep contacting you until you pay off or settle your debt. However, there are restrictions on how they can go about doing this.
Restrictions on Portfolio Recovery Associates
When attempting to collect payments from you, Portfolio Recovery Associates must adhere to the regulations specified in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a federal law that prevents debt collectors from engaging in harassment or predatory behavior, such as lying to you or calling you incessantly or at unreasonable hours.
Portfolio Recovery Associates representatives also need to follow the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can take action against Portfolio Recovery Associates if they do something illegal.
Can I sue Portfolio Recovery Associates for harassment?
Yes, you can sue Portfolio Recovery Associates for harassment. If you can show that they’ve violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can collect $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation as well as payment for any damages that you’ve sustained as a result of their violation. Portfolio Recovery Associates will also have to pay your attorney fees and court costs.
How to file a complaint against Portfolio Recovery Associates
If a debt collector violates your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or does something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state attorney general. From there, you’ll be able to find out whether you can also sue Portfolio Recovery Associates.
Another option is filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but this might not have the outcome you’re hoping for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a private organization that has no affiliation with the US government. They’ll forward your complaint to Portfolio Recovery Associates, but there’s no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. What’s more, if your dispute is sent to an arbitrator, then you may give up your right to take Portfolio Recovery Associates to court.
Should you pay Portfolio Recovery Associates?
You should only pay a collection agency like Portfolio Recovery Associates if you’re certain the debt is yours and you owe it. If you’re struggling financially and can’t afford to pay this debt collector, you can get help from a non-profit credit counselor.
