Portfolio Recovery Associates question

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Why are they crooks? Because they purchased your unpaid debt? PRA stays with-in the law very close to the edge, I did send them a DV letter with them to stop contacting me until setteled..after about 2 months the account just disappeared, dont try to get in a jumbo mumbo throw down with them...they will just continue reporting and contacting ypou.

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Well, PRA  would like you to THINK that. The CFPB  obviously thought differently when they fined them some 15 million dollars a couple of months ago.

PRA is, in fact, a notorious violator of the law and frequently uses abusive tactics.

[RobertEG]

It is initially stated that their collections are from old cc debts that were charged-off some time ago.

They  thus appear to be an acknowledged and legit debt for which credit report deletion is sought based on errors in their reporting which can be contenstd and corrected in they are in fact  found to be inaccurate.  Deletion of reporting of the collection is not the required remedy for inaccuracies in reporting of information related to the debt.

Errors in reporting can be disputed and corrected, but that does not appear to alter the fact that the debts themselves are legit and unpaid, and thus the reporting of a collection is proper. 

Errors in such items as balance of the debt, dates of various occurences, etc., should be disputed.

If you feel that stating they are a factoring company is inaccurate, then you can file a formal complaint with the CFPB or bring civil action.

However, it is unclear as to how that negates their continued collection on what appears to be a legitmate debt that they acquired, whether or not their acquisition can be termed as "factoring." 

How do any of those possible inaccuracies negate their reporting of attempts to collect on the debt?

[OCIL]

I initially thought these were charged off credit cards I had in College, however after further investigation they claim I have 2 collections with the original debt coming from GE Capital Retail Bank, however I only held 1 account with them through a WalMart card. However the collection accounts don't even match that account, not even close. Account # is different, amount owed is off by a few hundred dollars, and the dates don't come close to matching. Then I have a smaller account through Citi Bank which was a Zales account that had a charge off of over $700 and they say the collection has an original balance of $3xx.00 plus account # doesn't match and dates don't match. I'll see where my complaint goes, as I'm assuming PRA will have to verify the debts as mine and prove it in some way shape or form. I should have done more digging when I first saw these accounts the beginning of this year.

[jsantiago102]

Hello,
I also had 2 accounts with Portfolio Recovery.
After finding this forum, and learning about DV letters, I wrote to them and they deleted them! I am so happy to have found this community. Learned so much. Send them DV letters, chances are they can't validate and have to delete.

[OCIL]

UPDATE:

After filing complaint with CFPB on 10/1 I received my first update to credit report (Equifax) on 10/11 with it stating:

Description: 

• Collection Account Consumer disputes this account information Collection account

Status: 

• At Least 120 Days Or More Than Four Payments Past Due

[KSK1912]

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@OCIL wrote:

UPDATE:

After filing complaint with CFPB on 10/1 I received my first update to credit report (Equifax) on 10/11 with it stating:

Description: 

• Collection Account Consumer disputes this account information Collection account

Status: 

• At Least 120 Days Or More Than Four Payments Past Due

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Ocil do you still have the accounts reporting or were you able to get them deleted?

[OCIL]

They are still reporting but historical data got deleted. However I did receive a letter from them on 1 of my 3 accounts stating that my account is quite old and they will not sue. So I might be able to settle for far less and maybe get it deleted.

[KSK1912]

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@OCIL wrote:
They are still reporting but historical data got deleted. However I did receive a letter from them on 1 of my 3 accounts stating that my account is quite old and they will not sue. So I might be able to settle for far less and maybe get it deleted.

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Mine finally got deleted last month! What a relief. If there is one CA that you do not have an account with, it is them. They will not delete it if you pay in full or if you pay 2 times more than what you owe. They judt don't delete. How old are your accounts and what is the total amount it is showing that you owe? I might be able to help you get them deleted.

[OCIL]

I have 3. 641, 782, and 376. These were charged off in late 2011 (oct/nov) and early 2012 (feb)

[KSK1912]

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@OCIL wrote:
I have 3. 641, 782, and 376. These were charged off in late 2011 (oct/nov) and early 2012 (feb)

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Sending you a pm on how i got mine deleted.