topic Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account in Rebuilding Your Credit

Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 16:52:36 GMT

Hello all,

I had an account with "Bill me later" AKA Paypal Credit. This account did not report to the credit bureaus. Which led me to forget about the account since it was not on my credit report. Synchrony ended up taking over these accounts. The account has not been reported by them (yet) not sure if it will. I ended up getting a letter in the mail from Portfolio Recovery Associates saying that they bought my account and the debt is owed to them. Debt is $980. Should I try emailing theri dispute email address to try to dispute the debt since it is before 30 days? Or am I better off paying it off? I am a 22 y/o, rebuilding my credit, it is currently at 680. I am getting married in 2 months and really do not need a hit like this on my report. I checked Experain today and there is no collection account yet. Any help is appreciated. Please let me know if more information is needed. Thanks in advance.

Portfolio Recovery Associates

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 22:21:19 GMT

Things happened and I completely forgot about that account for a while as it was not on my credit report... I got a letter in the mail that says the account was bought and then got another letter in the mail from Portfolio Recovery Associates saying they bought my account and I need to start paying them. I owe $980. Should I dispute the debt in hopes that they cannot validate the debt? Please help!!

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:45:12 GMT

Worth a shot, but PRA can still verify the debt with their paperwork. It doesn't need to be on your credit report.

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:52:58 GMT

If Syncrony starts reporting the account will it report all of the missed payments and the delinquent account? I am not sure if I am just better off to try to dispute the debt or just start paying and hope that when I am done paying it will be taken off my credit report. I am really not sure how all of this works. Any help is appreciated. I am in the process of building my credit back up. I am 23 y/o and it is at 680, I also am getting married in September and don't need a huge hit like this if they start reporting.

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Gonzozap — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 16:00:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Things happened and I completely forgot about that account for a while as it was not on my credit report... I got a letter in the mail that says the account was bought and then got another letter in the mail from Portfolio Recovery Associates saying they bought my account and I need to start paying them. I owe $980. Should I dispute the debt in hopes that they cannot validate the debt? Please help!!

I can tell you I beat PRA in court twice, without a lawyer - and the debts were valid. Many others have also. PRA is a major skank bottom-feeder. Their paperwork is usually poor and easily defeated in court. But you have to be willing to hang in there and fight back and watch everything they do, keep copies of everything, track all possible FDCPA violations, etc. The letter they sent to you might even have a FDCPA violation.

PRA recently settled a major lawsuit. They may have improved their game, but these debt buyers are hard-pressed to NOT do what comes so easily for them - that being, collecting debts while violating the law. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-the-two-largest-debt-buyers-for-using-deceptive-tactics-to-collect-bad-debts/

Good luck.

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

dynamicvb — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 17:36:55 GMT

Sounds like the debt is valid. I would pay it with the stipulation they would not report the collection. One for that amount would kill your 680

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

calyx — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 17:51:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello all,

I had an account with "Bill me later" AKA Paypal Credit. This account did not report to the credit bureaus. Which led me to forget about the account since it was not on my credit report. Synchrony ended up taking over these accounts. The account has not been reported by them (yet) not sure if it will. I ended up getting a letter in the mail from Portfolio Recovery Associates saying that they bought my account and the debt is owed to them. Debt is $980. Should I try emailing theri dispute email address to try to dispute the debt since it is before 30 days? Or am I better off paying it off? I am a 22 y/o, rebuilding my credit, it is currently at 680. I am getting married in 2 months and really do not need a hit like this on my report. I checked Experain today and there is no collection account yet. Any help is appreciated. Please let me know if more information is needed. Thanks in advance.

What do you mean "before 30 days?"
If your payment is not 30 days late (and it sounds like it's way late from your previous statement of "forgetting" the tradeline), then they shouldn't be sending it to collections.

Otherwise, it sounds like this debt is yours. I would pay it before they report it and it tanks your score.

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:11:30 GMT

Do I have to pay it all in one lump sum for the hope of them not reporting it or do you think I would be able to do a payment plan with them?

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Remedios — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:14:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Do I have to pay it all in one lump sum for the hope of them not reporting it or do you think I would be able to do a payment plan with them?

Hi and welcome to the forums

You can make a payment plan or attempt to settle for less as they will delete after it's paid off per information on their website

They just want money, they dont care if you make payments or not.

Sometimes lump sum is a better deal for you when settling in terms of raw amount

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

M_Smart007 — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:17:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello all,

I had an account with "Bill me later" AKA Paypal Credit. This account did not report to the credit bureaus. Which led me to forget about the account since it was not on my credit report. Synchrony ended up taking over these accounts. The account has not been reported by them (yet) not sure if it will. I ended up getting a letter in the mail from Portfolio Recovery Associates saying that they bought my account and the debt is owed to them. Debt is $980. Should I try emailing theri dispute email address to try to dispute the debt since it is before 30 days? Or am I better off paying it off? I am a 22 y/o, rebuilding my credit, it is currently at 680. I am getting married in 2 months and really do not need a hit like this on my report. I checked Experain today and there is no collection account yet. Any help is appreciated. Please let me know if more information is needed. Thanks in advance.

Hi marisarose18 and welcome to the forums!

I once dealt with Portfolio Recovery 26 Years Ago (if it is in fact the same company)

if The Debt was sold from BML, I highly doubt Synchrony will have anything to do with it.

Collection Agencies Buy Old Debt for Pennies on The Dollar. I negotiated with Them for less than 25% of what I owed.

The Negotiation was for a Paid For Deletion, even though it was not Reporting (yet) They agreed to Settle, if i paid a one Time payment.

But, The Deal I made was, I wanted a Letter in Writing That Stated; if I paid the Debt, it would be considered PAID IN FULL,

and They would No Longer Attempt to Collect anything and would NOT report it to The Credit Bureau(s)

once I had The Letter, I paid The Settlement Amount. and it was Case Closed.

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:29:49 GMT

Thank you for the reply! Should I call them to try to negotiate or do you think I would get the same result live chatting on their website?

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Remedios — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:31:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for the reply! Should I call them to try to negotiate or do you think I would get the same result live chatting on their website?

I think call is better, but if you do not like talking on the phone, you could give chat a try first.

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:31:58 GMT

It really all depends. Since I believe PRA actually buys the debt for pennies on the dollar, the account is now theirs. SInce they're now hounding you, then that means you've been charged off for quite some time now, several months at least. So possibly Synchrony has never owned your account. You might have charged off under Paypal and closed and PRA purchased the bad debt before Synchrony bought Paypal's accounts. They wouldn't buy closed accounts. So most likely it wouldn't report under synchrony. However, the collection will still report as a fresh collection.

You should dispute the debt, if that doesn't work you should settle the debt, you might have to pay 75% of it, they usually don't drop down lower until the debt is a bit older.

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:42:06 GMT

I saw this when researching

"The easiest way to remove a collection from your credit report is to make Portfolio Recovery prove that the debt is yours.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to request that a company attempting to collect on a debt validate that the debt is indeed yours.

The good news is that since you’re not dealing with the original creditor, but rather Portfolio Recovery who bought the debt, it’s more likely that they will be unable to validate the debt. This is because the information they have about the debt might not be accurate or complete.

The downside is that you only have 30 days from the first time they contacted you to demand that they validate the debt. If it’s been beyond 30 days, it will be more difficult to use this method."

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Remedios — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:54:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I saw this when researching

"The easiest way to remove a collection from your credit report is to make Portfolio Recovery prove that the debt is yours.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to request that a company attempting to collect on a debt validate that the debt is indeed yours.
The good news is that since you’re not dealing with the original creditor, but rather Portfolio Recovery who bought the debt, it’s more likely that they will be unable to validate the debt. This is because the information they have about the debt might not be accurate or complete.
The downside is that you only have 30 days from the first time they contacted you to demand that they validate the debt. If it’s been beyond 30 days, it will be more difficult to use this method."

The worst way to deal with collection is to dispute valid info.

It will come back as verified, so your score will tank even further. You are lucky your collection is with the agency that will actually delete.

I would do more research,because that's a terrible advice but you're free to do whatever you think is right for you

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Gonzozap — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:58:10 GMT

@marisarose18 - We all can agree to disagree, but I would never rush to settle any debt UNLESS they agree to pay for delete - and that is rare. Start out with an official dispute via certifed mail.

Do some homework first. A settled debt is slightly better than unpaid, but it will be on your credit for 7 years. And some creditors considered settled to be worse because you didn't pay what you owed.

One FDCPA violation will cover the amount you owe. Once they know they have clearly violated the FDCPA, they will quickly want to fade away. If there's a clear violation and you get a lawyer, PRA will have to pay all your legal fees.

Here are a couple more informative articles. Keep in mind that debt collection is a science just like the art of getting credit and keeping high scores.

https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2206&context=fac_pubs

https://www.neweconomynyc.org/your-rights-under-the-fdcpa-disputing-the-debt/

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:59:23 GMT

Thank you for the response, I am glad I posted in here to get assistance. I'm not saying that is what I am going to do. I haven't had to deal with anything like this before so I am trying to get as much information as possible before trying to figure out how to go about it.

Re: Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my account

calyx — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:03:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I saw this when researching

"The easiest way to remove a collection from your credit report is to make Portfolio Recovery prove that the debt is yours.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to request that a company attempting to collect on a debt validate that the debt is indeed yours.
The good news is that since you’re not dealing with the original creditor, but rather Portfolio Recovery who bought the debt, it’s more likely that they will be unable to validate the debt. This is because the information they have about the debt might not be accurate or complete.
The downside is that you only have 30 days from the first time they contacted you to demand that they validate the debt. If it’s been beyond 30 days, it will be more difficult to use this method."

Ah! Yes, Debt Validation request within 30 days of getting your Dunning letter (What they sent you).

Debt validation doesn't work the way a lot of people seem to think it does. You can send them a DV letter, but they don't have to send a "complete" notice to you, and they will probably just validate the debt. Which will give them more time to report it to the CRAs (The good news is that PRA does do PFDs, so it could be worse). If this debt is yours, it will be easier to pay it off before it reports. I second Remedios's recommendation to call them to see if you can settle for less and just pay it (either in whole or with a payment plan).

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:04:04 GMT

This is directly from their website:

"Your account will be considered paid-in-full or paid-in-full for less than the full balance after your final payment is successfully posted. Within approximately 30 days of your final payment successfully posting, we will request the credit reporting agencies delete the PRA tradeline related to your account from your credit bureau report."

They say that is the case for all accounts.

Re: Anybody else get an email about Paypal changing terms

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:08:37 GMT

I can tell you I did settle with them last year for 50%, and the collection was fully deleted a month later. I didn't even ask them to pay for delete. I thought I just got lucky, perhaps that's their policy now?