Harrassing phone calls

ComplaintsCollection AgenciesPortfolio Recovery Associates

Complaint

0
John Pansini
Country: United States
These people have been calling me for months, but never asking for me by name. Their message always begins: "Portfolio Recovery Associates... Please return this call at 1-800-860-0644..." They go on to say, "This communication will be with a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt." Then they give their corporate address -- nothing else.

I searched them online and found that there are many complaints against this company. They buy old debts for next to nothing, and then try to intimidate people into paying. They must be stopped.

I would like to join a class action against them. Please advise.

Thank you,
John Pansini

Comments

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  • 0
    larry
    The Norfolk address is legit.  I live there.
  • 0
    patrick
    do a phone reversal gives exact address i did  i got address's from NY,AL,KY numerous other states.
  • 0
    MM
    Every state has a statue of limitations on debt collecting. Most are  3 to 5 years, after that the debt can be wiped off your credit. Google debt statue of limitations, you are obviously out of that time limit. I once had someone try to collect an old debt, (that wasn't mine) from the 1970's! My attorney quickly handled it, and I learned this information.
  • 0
    I Love Cape Cod
    I have a client who was being harrassed by bill collectors. She simply got one of those throw away phones and gave the colectors her "new number". It stopped many of them as they spent their time calling that number which she had in a drawer. The phone cost her about $10, but saved her a lot of aggravation, as she was in dire straights. She could have also changed her regular number and that coupled with the throw away phone should have ended just about all calls.
  • 0
    tj
    Debt collectors who have bought portfolios of old, out of statute (past SOL) debt often engage in harassing, abusive, or deceptive collection.  Since they got it cheaply, have a low rate of collection, and know they probably can't get any validation, they spend little locating the correct alleged debtor, and they may attempt to steer consumers toward paying without verification.  

    The result is they often bill the wrong person, and then attempt to con them into paying anyway.  

    It shows up statistically in high rates of complaints of the above illegal collection tactics against debt collectors collecting on this old debt.
  • 0
    tj
    The types of deception you would expect in such cases would be primarily verbal, in phone calls, where it is less likely to backfire in court.  

    One common deception is to claim that the alleged debt can't be disputed, perhaps because a dispute wasn't sent in time, and that that makes the debt owed regardless of the consumer's dispute.  Claims to have been sending letters (none of which arrived), are lead-ups to this type of fraud.  They are also abusive, as they are deceptively claiming it's "YOUR FAULT" they don't have to "accept" your dispute.

    FDCPA specifically states that no court may consider any failure to dispute as proof of a debt, so claims that it is to late to dispute and therefore owed directly violate FDCPA.

    Deception and harassment both accomplish the same goals:  divert consumers from questioning the legitimacy of alleged debt, and from their right to dispute and request validation.  When you see them employed, therefore, you have to look to the motive of the debt collector, which puts in question that legitimacy.

    When abuse or deception is used in collection attempts on alleged debts believed to not be owed, they represent evidence of a deliberate attempt to defraud consumers.  Debt collectors know misidentification is common yet they are trying to use the illegal tactics to obtain payment anyway.

    That is fraud.
  • 0
    Allahmania
    ..trace their phone line and hire a suicide bomber...
  • 0
    gootch
    Pay your bills!!!!!
  • 0
    gootch
    | 1 reply
    There is an easy solution to all this. Pay your bills. Are you people really hiding behind the SOL? Thats pretty much stealing. But by all means, if you dont owe anything make them prove it. But to run up bills and hide for 7 or in some cases 4 years for SOL is wrong. And if they are calling you and you dont have any bussiness with them, answer the phone and say you dont know who they are looking for, fdcpa regs say they have to then take the number out.
    • 0
      webguy replies to gootch
      stfu.  [***] happens.  Until you have walked a mile in my shoes, you need to STFU.  Yes, there are surely some deadbeats  out there who purposefully run up bills with no intention to pay, but I would bet that the majority of people in this situation have had some unforeseen circumstance(s) which led to the delinquency.     Obviously, this website isn't for you if you pay all your bill and haven't been misidentified by a junk collector.
  • 0
    tj
    Your "solutions" are rather irrelevant if you are dealing with a debt collector that routinely fails to comply with the law.

    This particular debt collector has a history of harassing people who do not owe alleged debts, including calling and harassing people despite repeated requests to cease calling wrong numbers.

    Complaints indicate they appear to be engaging in the same practices that recently cost Allied Interstate $1.75 million.

    In the last two months, their rate of federal FDCPA lawsuits doubled.
  • 0
    TexasTwister
    Portofolio Recovery Associates
    PO Box 12914
    Norfolk VA 23541

    Class action you say??...Count me in!! These four-letterword-ers call me every day trying to collect on an account that belonged to my ex-husband from 1993!!! WTH?! Annnnd they claim they're charging interest on it too!
    As if!
  • 0
    tj
    http://www.prlog.org/11437412-florida-tcpa-cl ... ciates-llc.html

    "Florida TCPA Class Action lawsuit filed against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC

    Turner Law Offices, LLC AND Arcadier & Associates, P.A. announce the filing of a Class Action lawsuit in Florida against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA")

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 14, 2011 – TURNER LAW OFFICES, LLC AND ARCADIER & ASSOCIATES, P.A. ANNOUNCE FILING OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

    ATLANTA, GEORGIA and WEST MELBOURNE, FLORIDA--The law firms of Turner Law Offices, LLC and Arcadier & Associates, P.A. have filed a Class Action lawsuit against Defendant Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC ("PRA") in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of all persons in the State of Florida who, since February 18, 2011, received a non-emergency telephone call from PRA to a cellular telephone through the use of an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice and who did not provide prior express consent for such calls during the transaction that resulted in the debt owed. The action is captioned Karen Harvey et al. v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, and is numbered 6:11-CV-00582.

    According to the Complaint, PRA violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") by using automatic dialing systems and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice to contact cell phone users about purported debts without their prior consent. As described in the Complaint, Ms. Harvey, the named plaintiff in the action, was repeatedly contacted since February 18, 2011 on her cell phone about a purported credit card debt. The plaintiff never consented to those calls, nor did she provide PRA with her telephone number.

    Under the TCPA, PRA could be ordered to pay attorneys' fees, litigation expenses and costs of the lawsuit, and statutory damages of $500 for each negligent violation, and/or $1,500 for each knowing and/or willing violation. According to the Complaint, the potential Class Members are estimated to number in the tens of thousands. Additionally, the complaint alleges collective damages exceeding five million dollars ($5,000,000).
    ..."
  • 0
    tj
    Interesting that the start date for events defining the class is Feb. 18, 2011.  

    This is about the time that PRA started posting "For information only" messages on all the consumer complaint forums, with contact information supposedly to help resolve problems.

    This may imply there is some back story  here, maybe they were notified to cease this practice at this time (FTC?, state AG?), or the suit is aiming at proving "willful" violations of TCPA.
  • 0
    jimates
    after blocking 25 numbers from Portfolio Recovery, my phone does not ring. They still call (not near as ofter), but it is treated as spam. My phone doesn't ring and they get the tone and recording that my number is not in service. I love Google Voice.
    You can view a pdf of the list of numbers here thejmart.com/pr.pdf
  • 0
    James
    You can register your phone number with the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY and if Portfolio Recovery continually harrasses you, report their phone number(s) as unwanted calls.
  • 0
    emmystar2
    I am sick of them too.  They have been calling us for the last 3 years and it is always around the Spring and Summer or when the Income Tax returns come in the mail.  I usually just hang up on them because they never say anything after wanting you to be on the phone.
  • 0
    emmystar2
    This is what has been happening to me.  My husband will answer and they will not even speak to him.  They just laugh or play loud music in the background or just hang up on him.  When I answer the phone, I asked them what the bill was that we had and if they would send me a letter.  They quickly hung up on me so I will not give them the time of day.  I keep telling me that they have my sister or a relative.
  • 0
    tj
    http://www.prlog.org/11437412-florida-tcpa-cl ... ciates-llc.html

    "Florida TCPA Class Action lawsuit filed against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC

    Turner Law Offices, LLC AND Arcadier & Associates, P.A. announce the filing of a Class Action lawsuit in Florida against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA")

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 14, 2011 – TURNER LAW OFFICES, LLC AND ARCADIER & ASSOCIATES, P.A. ANNOUNCE FILING OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

    ATLANTA, GEORGIA and WEST MELBOURNE, FLORIDA--The law firms of Turner Law Offices, LLC and Arcadier & Associates, P.A. have filed a Class Action lawsuit against Defendant Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC ("PRA") in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of all persons in the State of Florida who, since February 18, 2011, received a non-emergency telephone call from PRA to a cellular telephone through the use of an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice and who did not provide prior express consent for such calls during the transaction that resulted in the debt owed. The action is captioned Karen Harvey et al. v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, and is numbered 6:11-CV-00582.

    According to the Complaint, PRA violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") by using automatic dialing systems and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice to contact cell phone users about purported debts without their prior consent. As described in the Complaint, Ms. Harvey, the named plaintiff in the action, was repeatedly contacted since February 18, 2011 on her cell phone about a purported credit card debt. The plaintiff never consented to those calls, nor did she provide PRA with her telephone number.

    Under the TCPA, PRA could be ordered to pay attorneys' fees, litigation expenses and costs of the lawsuit, and statutory damages of $500 for each negligent violation, and/or $1,500 for each knowing and/or willing violation. According to the Complaint, the potential Class Members are estimated to number in the tens of thousands. Additionally, the complaint alleges collective damages exceeding five million dollars ($5,000,000).
    ..."

    TCPA lawsuits against debt collectors unwilling to properly control their autodialers are becoming a growth area in consumer law.

    Similar class action lawsuits have been filed against MRS Associates and Allied International.

    TCPA allows for $500 to $1500 per call statutory penalties.
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