Portfolio Recovery

If your referring to portfolio recovery associates, LLC then here is what NACA attorney Bud Hibbs has to say:

Portfolio Recovery Associates, (PRA) bottom feeders with deep pockets, have apparently figured out how to get blood from a turnip. Boasting a strong bottom line and profits at around $36.5 million for 2005 (2006 due in Feb), things aren????????t too bad for these junk debt buyers, for now.

The turnip blood appears to be flowing from portfolios they collect on that date back in to the 90????????s-- we????????re talking accounts so out of statute that most consumers can????????t even remember if they even existed.

The have their $8-12/hr. collectors calling off those God-awful automated telephone machines (email the brass, above if you want your name removed) and managers working there for about $35-40k/year according to job sites we visited.

A bottom feeder is a bottom feeder and make no mistake, these vultures live off the grief and (in some cases) the time barred debts of unsophisticated consumers. Like most of the bottom feeders out there, PRA and Anchor are fighting the density of junk debt buyers who have flooded the market. To say the price for accounts has gone up is an under-statement. PRA is paying more just like everyone else to stay on top of the market.

The bigger problem they and others like them will be facing in 2007 is when Wall Street realizes this industry has already seen its best days. The Bankruptcy Reform Act and increased minimum payments has spawned an attitude among consumers to keep those credit card accounts under control.

Organizations like the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) see: www.naca.net has grown into an army of attorneys who assist consumers in litigation. The credit bureaus will soon face the growing wrath of consumers in the manner they allow information to be gathered, sold and reported by these junk debt buyers and Congress may just be listening.

So what do you do if contacted by PRA / Anchor?
1) Make them send you a written notice as required by federal law.
2) Dispute everything they say (debt collectors are liars), make them validate each and every claim with documentation.
3) Check to see if the account is within your state statutes. http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html
4) Verify the account on your three credit reports (it may not be there)
5) Tape record all debt collector calls (where legal) so you can collect when they screw up. See: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states.html
6) Hold debt collectors to the law; make them work for their pay.

NEVER give a debt collector your banking or credit card information. If you need a local consumer law professional, I recommend the experts at: www.naca.net

Tell them Bud Hibbs sent you.

So, apparently these are not very nice people. I guess the first thing that I need to do is mail them a letter requesting that they validate the debt (?) and then wait for them to provide the information. what if they refuse ? they show a balance of $638 from a ge electric capital (huh?)

that was me on the last post, forgot to re sign in

still me, darn I am having a bad morning

Yes, send them a debt validation letter (you can find a good template in my signature) send it USPS certified mail, return receipt requested. Once you receive the signature card in the mail (a copy of the signature of the person who signed for it) keep it in a safe place, that is your proof they received it. Per fdcpa until they validate they must cease all collection activity until they can provide validation. This is per ???? 1692 g(b)of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Deeannstudent, yes definitely send them a validation letter (CMRRR) STAT. Have you received a letter from them yet? Or just a phone call. Remember they are supposed to mail a letter within the first 5 days of contacting you by telephone. Then, when you dispute the debt and request validation, they should suspend collection attempts while they are supposed to be validating the debt. Also, the validation is not just a computer print out with your name, the name of the debt, and the amount; it is much more detailed than that. Some CA's try to pass something week like that off as validation, hoping you will just accept it.

Am I correct in assuming (by the question mark next to it) you don't know or recognize this debt from GE Capital? Then you should really make sure to request validation and dispute it. It might not even be yours.

Hope this helps.

Do you happen to have a physical address for these people, all I can find is a po box

I Google them and found their website. Here is what they have listed for contact information:

Locations
Virginia Offices

Norfolk
Our Corporate Headquarters is located in the Riverside Commerce Center, 120 Corporate Blvd., Norfolk VA 23502. We are located at the intersection of Military Hwy. and I-264 by Military Circle Mall.

Hampton
Our Hampton office is located in NetCenter (Newmarket Mall) at 5200 West Mercury Blvd, Hampton, VA.
Kansas Regional Office

Our Hutchinson office is located at: 500 West 1st Avenue, Hutchinson, KS 67501.
Tennessee Regional Office

Our Jackson office is located at: 4829 Hwy 45 North, Jackson, TN 38305.

Have you received anything in writing from them? Or just a phone call. Do you have caller ID, and if so, what was the number the call was made from?

Thanks for the info, no, all they have done so far is send a letter. no calls as of yet...

FYI You can send a certified letter to a PO Box. The post office or mail drop service will put a note to come to the counter and pick it up. I have done it on a couple of occasions without a problem.

so once I send this letter certified, how long do they have to respond and what if they don't respond within that time ?