Has anyone here had any problems being harassed by a debt collection agency called Portfolio Recovery Associates? On separate occasions, me and my fiancee have been. They have cussed us out, threatened to get us put in jail, take away our homes. They wouldn't accept payments for our debt unless we gave them our full bank account information! After researching them on the net, we were glad we didn't!

Recently I pulled my credit report. The debt they bought for pennies on the dollar is almost 7 years old. Usually unpaid debts have a Statute of Limitations. But those limitations are RESET if a person who owes a debt pays on it. Those evil people from Portfolio Recovery Associates illegally reported to the credit bureaus that I have agreed to have an "installment Account" and that I recently paid them $200!! In lying about that, they could take me to court and sue me for 10 times more than what I originally owed the first creditor.

Please, if anyone has dealt with these people, DO NOT TRUST THEM! If you have any experience with them, please respond here. I'm going to start a class action suit against them ASAP!

thanks for the heads up but why didn't you pay your bills in the first place?

First off, bill collectors have very strict laws that they have to abide by. I can't imagine one "cussing" at you. That is certainly a violation of the fair debt & collection act.

Gotta love that mentality though...ignore your bills & eventually they will go away. God forbid you actually pay money that you owe for goods or services that you received!

Did you think that everyone is a deadbeat like you & would have sympathy for you or what? If you don't want to be harrassed by debt collectors, pay your bills. Pretty simple concept.

Are you people KIDDING ME?! I have a very legitimate story as to why my bill got sent to collections! Shame on you for being so quick to pass judgment on something you know nothing about! Unless you have anything helpful to disclose, go judge somebody else!

This debt occurred because I had my cell phone stolen. The thief traveled the country inflicting roaming charges on my phone (an ex boyfriend). The cell phone company could care less unless I filed criminal charges. I didn't want to do that. Although looking back, I wish I had. Only a short couple of months went by before they sent the bill to collections. There was no way I could afford the minimum balance due!

7 years later : When my fiancee was first contacted by PRA, we tried negotiating a payment plan we could afford (but barely!). The only way that they would accept that payment was if we gave them sensitive bank account info. We told them we'd pay by check, but that wasn't good enough. OBVIOUSLY so they could try to bleed our account dry like they've done to so many people.

This Debt collection agency is a dirty little company, indeed! They have pulled up 25 year old accounts that had been closed/paid off and have harassed people into paying for them. They put false info on credit reports to get people to pay, even if they have never had a debt in their lives!

Don't believe me? I challenge you to Google them!

This is a company who is BLATANTLY breaking the law and compromising these supposed "ACTS" passed by congress to keep consumers safe, and here they are getting away with murder! And here you people are, sitting back anonymously hiding behind your computer desks, trying to turn the table on ME! I'm a VICTIM! What if this happened to your mother or your child?! You'd be caring then! And with the way Karma works, it's bound to happen to you or somebody in this lifetime, so good luck buddy!

What scares me is how they're getting away with this! They have been reported to state AGs, the FTC, and the BBB for YEARS now, and they're still getting away with it! This is a scary thing and needs to be stopped immediately! They are obviously paying the people off who should be putting a stop to them!

So again, if anybody has had any experiences with this company, or the likes. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, AND DON'T LISTEN TO NOBODIES LIKE THESE ABOVE.

If you don't believe me that companies can get away with swearing at people, threatening them, lying, etc. Read further. This is a crooked place in which we live..

Here are some links to support what I'm saying if you've gotten this far. There are over 232 reports on ripoffreport.com ALONE. Here is the link;

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/Company/Portfolio-Recovery.aspx

Other random sites out of the thousands Google pulled up:

http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/portfolio_recovery_associates_cmts.htm

http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273084

http://www.callferret.com/portfolio-recovery-associates.html

http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286537

http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=portfolio+recovery+associates

I'm sorry. I left out some information. They went after him a couple of years ago. Now they're going after me. In explaining my fiancee's experience with them, I was trying to make a point of how they are and how they won't accept an offer to work with them. They want all the money up front at once. They harassed him then, and now they're after me. It's crazy and my eyes and brain hurts from hours of research!

Perhaps you should have explained the situation first. You came across to me like someone trying to advise people on how to get out of paying old bills.

I worked for a collection agency for 5 years so I know a little about it. There are very strict laws to govern where they can call you, when they can call you & what they can say. If they violated any of these, I suggest you contact the state Attorney General. You do have options.

Sorry I jumped to conclusions. Perhaps if you explained the situation a little more to start with... .

I didn't want to give out too much information. I just wanted to know if anyone else here has had problems with Portfolio Recovery Associates illegally harassing them. Because, as you apparently know, just because someone owes a valid debt, does not mean they should be harassed and/or threatened.

Apology accepted.

You are correct. Because someone has a "valid" debt doesn't mean they deserve to be harrassed but I can tell you that from my experience, there are many people that DO deserve to be harrassed. People that put paying off the people that they owe at the bottom of the priority list. It's so easy for some to ignore paying for services rendered already or goods that have already been received. It's easy to forget about them. I know people that continually let their bills fall behind while they spend, spend, spend on themselves! I could tell you many stories from my days at the agency. Yes, some people really do fall on hardships, but there are a lot of deadbeats out there that will keep putting off paying money to the people that they owe while they spend frivelously on themselves. If you ask me, our bankruptcy laws are waaaaay too lenient. They make a mockery out of those of us who work long & hard hours so that we can pay our bills. While it certainly is a good move for some who have just fallen on hard times by no fault of their own, it's also an easy way out for the deadbeats that run up a bunch of bills & then just don't want to tighten their belt & pay their bills so they just get to walk out from under them. That's an insult to the rest of us who pay our bills!

i see your still out there winning freinds with your abuntant insults who cares .my do you talk to your family like that.did you ask before calling this person a deadbeat why they had credit issues?no you just jumped on the like a shark .perhaps they had a health issue and were off work for a extended period of time often companies will really stick it to you when they can making it near impossible for people on limited or fixed incomes .we dont all have your wealth generated from sheep farming and those shadow puppet shows you put on.perhaps this person lot thier job and were unable to find a new job that would allow them to catch up .there are lots of possible reasons they ended up with the problem they have that is not thier fault.but no you just start slinging mud on them right away.keep this up and im sure you will win the who a bigger idiot contest.i can see you would be a bill collector they need people like you.

Thank you! :) My faith in humanity has been partially restored. Where do these cold hearted people come from anyway?

your welcome.my pleasure

You really should read the thread before you make a fool of yourself. LOL

who cares you really should think before you open your mouth

I provided the OP with some helpful advice once he gave us the rest of the story. You, on the other hand, offered up nothing more than your usual, illiterate, juvenile, drivel!

who cares at least i ask a person whats up unlike you jumping the gun and running wild like a rabid dog ready to bite.you have the warmth of a iceberg .