Silly question about Portfolio

[Anonymous]

I have one lingering collection, Portfolio Recovery of course....it has been over 4 years and therefore past the SOL in my state. I have written several PFD letters and each is treated as if I am disputing and I have received confirming info in response.

My questions: given the fact that they clearly have paid pennies on the dollar for this debt, why are they so difficult to deal with when people are trying to resolve these debt? Is it because of the class action against them? I am genuinely curious about this; it seems like there are many of us who are trying to give them money; yet they complicate the process. They are a publicly traded company so at what point do they start worrying about bottom line a little more? In light of their longstanding reputation its apparent they don’t care, but it almsot seems like they would rather harass people and complicate a process that doesn’t need to be so complicated.

I would think they would jump at the opportunity to turn a profit from a former deadbeat like me once I start offering them $$$ AFTER the SOL limits their recourse.

(Sorry. Rant over. I just really want this last derog Gone and not sure what else I can do).

[Anonymous]

I don't have an answer to your questions but I do have a collection account with PRA that is due to come off at the end of next year.  What I noticed recently is they've been pulling soft inquiries on my credit report, lots of it.  Seems like once a week the last time I check.  They also have been updateing the collection weekly to all CRAs.  I think since my collection no longer under the SOL, they want to make my life miserable until I pay them.  The problem is that they diddn't repsond to my PFD so I'm playing along couple more months then try the PFD again.  If they want to get paid in full, then agree to remove it.  If not, it's gonna be off my report next year anyway. 

[bourgogne]

I just had a experience with them this week via a friend I helped.  I got a charge-off removed based on a family related fraud/id theft sort of thing. long story.  the co came off the 3b overnight on mon, on tue I contacted pra and requested they disolve their collection.  they wanted a notarized ftd fraud doc and once that was emailed an exec called me back and the collection was off the 3b the next morning.  the initial letter they sent on the matter was one of the most professional I have encountered in business.  they are just by the book, no pfd, all they will normally offer is to update to a paid status.  I found them professional to deal with but I get if you want to pfd then it sucks.  I once had a $16K debt with calvary...they turned down $16K numerous times for a delete.  crazy huh.  pra's gross is 1B+, they could care less about helping someones rebuild, but my impression is if one is on solid ground with a legit claim they will be professional about it.

[RobertEG]

While they may only pay pennies on the dollar to purchase bad debts, they are very risky in terms of repayment.

Most will never be paid, and thus they will prudently hold out for as much as possible on those debts where the consumer is considering payment.

If they settled for only a small amount above what they paid, they would not make an overall profit.

Stated differently, they must rely upon the fact that they will recover nothing on most collections, and thus must receive a substantial amount on those they are able to collect.

[Anonymous]

RobertEG,

Seems like you know a lot about the law when it comes to dealing with collection and credit reporting issues.  I have a quick question.  I believe CRAs advise CA to not do PFD, or at least that's my understanding from reading others comments.  Now my question is how does that law only enforce to certain CA and not others.  Some CAs will do PFD and some will not budge.  I understand that CA takes risk on losing money if the account is not paid, then why not just accept pfd if the debtee is offering to pay to have it removed from the CR.  I'm trying to understand the business model of these CA.

[RobertEG]

Yes, the CRAs have a joint policy, as stated in their common credit reporting manual, the "Credit Reporting REsorce Guide," that instructs furnishers (creditors and debt collectors) not to delete derogatory reporting based on consumer payment of the debt.

That is a CRA business policy, and is not a requirment of any statute or regulation.

The CRAs have a primary business of selling credit reports.  Those reports have more benefit to others if they are both accurate and complete.

Deletion of credit history information is not in the business interest of the CRAs, and thus they have a policy that information is not to be deleted in exchange for consumer payment of the debt.

It is not a violation of any statute or regulation for creditors or debt collectors to delete as either a good-will jesture or as a PFD.

However, it does violate the terms of their business agreement with the CRAs, and grant of GW or PFD deletions could lead to possible termination of their credit reporting agreements with the CRAs.  Thus, even those creditors or debt collectors that do grant such deletions normally will not put their agreement in writing.