Consumer complaint received 2020-11-14
Company: PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES INC
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |XXXX XXXX, Texas . XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX | ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Consumer Financial Protection Bureau XXXX. XXXX  XXXX XXXX, IA XXXX Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Virginia. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, Pennsylvania. XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX  XXXX XXXX, Ga XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, Texas. XXXX XXXX : Report of Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC Report Date : XX/XX/XXXX _________________________________________________________ Amended Fair Credit Reporting Act Complaint and Statement Disputing accuracy of Information Contained in Consumer Files Furnished by Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC Pursuant to Title 15 of the United States Code, Section 1611i ( B ) ___________________________________________________________ To The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau : Pursuant to Title 6 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ( TCPRC ), section 32.001 ( d ), I, XXXX XXXX XXXX, a resident of the State of Texas of qualified age of majority, hereby declare as follows. 
I. 
Declarant Details 1. That my given and legal name is XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

2. That I was born on XX/XX/XXXX, and thus am qualified age of majority under the laws of and for the State of Texas. 

3. That my Social Security Number, as assigned by the U.S. Social Security Administration, is XXXX. 

4. That I currently reside at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Texas. 

XXXX. 
Subjects of Disputation 5. The subjects of this dispute are as follows : a. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Virginia. XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, Pennsylvania. XXXX c. XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX  XXXX XXXX, Ga XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, Texas. XXXX XXXX. 
Subject Matter of Dispute 6. This statement is submitted pursuant to the terms of 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( b ), which provides in relevant part : If the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, the consumer may file a brief statement setting forth the nature of the dispute.

7. This is an unresolved dispute the nature of which is information contained in my consumer files with XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX consumer reporting agencies ( CRAs ) that I am in default upon a debt owing to Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC ( PRA ) to the sum of {$2300.00}, as reported to said CRAs by PRA on XX/XX/XXXX. 
8. The pretense of PRAs debt allegation is that, in early XXXX, I defaulted upon a XXXX Credit Card Account issued by XXXX, XXXX, as purchased by PRA. 

XXXX Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC 9. PRA is a buyer of charged off debt ( junk debt buyer ). PRA files thousands of collection lawsuits each year against consumers, hiring local collection attorneys to file the lawsuit. PRA relies on witness testimony in a business record affidavit when trying to prove their case. 

10. PRA buys delinquent accounts from other companies and entities. It then uses various tactics to collect the debt from individuals including, but not limited to, harassing individuals with telephone calls and letters before filing lawsuits. PRA pays the creditor a percentage on the dollar for the delinquent account. The creditor benefits by receiving some of the debt that it has charged off as bad debt and believes that it will never collect from the individual. PRA benefits by receiving the account for less than is owed on the account with the intention of collecting the full amount owed from the individual thereby making a profit on the purchase. For this to be profitable PRA, must aggressively pursue collections efforts against each account. 

11. As per the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, during the past three years, 1,311 complaints implicating PRA were closed through the XXXX. Of those complaints, 1,169 complaints were due to billing and/or collection issues. An alert on the XXXX  website refers to a settlement by PRA with the State of New York regarding allegations that the company violated New York laws in its debt collections practices. N.Y. Attorney General XXXX XXXX said, Debt collectors must follow the same rules the rest of us do when bringing lawsuits in this case, suing for debts that were not enforceable in the first place. 

12. PRA often files lawsuits on debts that are too old to collect to scare individuals into paying these debts even though there is no legal obligation on the part of the consumer to repay the debt due to its age. The company has agreed to pay {$470000.00} in penalties. 

13. PRA is also facing more problems as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) investigates the company to determine if it has violated provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act. According to the CFPB, more than 11,000 complaints were filed between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX against various debt collection companies, including PRA. PRA ranked third for having the most complaints. 

14. There is also a class action lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court in California from XXXX. Plaintiffs claim that PRA violated fair debt collection laws by using an autodialed to contact consumers on their cellphones. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act sets forth the actions that a debt collector may not use to collect a debt. 

V. 
Bases for Statement 15. The bases for this Statement are as follows : a. That I am not indebted to PRA to the sum of {$2300.00} or any other sum. 

b. That I do not hold and have never held a XXXX Credit Card. 

c. That despite repeated request to do so pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1692g, as of this date, PRA has refused to substantiate that I hold or have ever held a XXXX credit card. 

d. That I have never made, or authorized anyone to make on my behalf, an application for credit offered by or through XXXX. 

e. That despite repeated requests to do so pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1692g, as of this date, PRA has refused to substantiate that I made or authorized anyone to make on my behalf an application for credit offered by or through XXXX. I have not even merited the honor of a receipt of its famous business record affidavit. 

f. The foregoing considered that I never received any benefits from a XXXX credit card. 

g. That despite repeated requests to do so pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1692g, as of this date, PRA has refused to substantiate that I ever received any benefits from a XXXX credit card held by me or the circumstances pursuant to which the benefits were received. 

h. I have not even merited the honor of a receipt of its famous business record affidavit. All that the XXXXXXXX, PRA, has offered by way of proof is it is unsubstantiated and unprovable allegation that I owe the debt. 

i. In XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, PRA reported the same debt allegation to XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

j. By letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, I filed with PRA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) a validity challenge to the debt allegations pursuant to pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1692g, Upon review, as further review will reveal, the PRA debt allegation was removed from my XXXX, XXXX  XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX 

k. That the removal of the PRA debt allegations ( s ) from my XXXX XXXX, and XXXX reports has Res Judicata effect. 

XXXX Although a resident of Texas always relevant, on XX/XX/XXXX, PRA, for some inexplicable reason, filed suit against me to recover upon the alleged debt in the XXXX Judicial District Court for the State of Louisiana ( Docket No. XXXX ). 

m. Contrary to 16 C.F. R. 660.4 ( a ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ), the fact that PRA sued me to recover upon the alleged debt was not included in its XX/XX/XXXX report to XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX 

XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, for reasons unexplained, PRA sought and obtained a dismissal of its lawsuit against me to recover upon the alleged debt dismissed its suit against me upon the alleged debt in the XXXX Judicial District Court for the State of Louisiana ( Docket No. XXXX XXXX o. The dismissal sought and obtained by PRA was without prejudice, meaning that it could refile within the statute limitations. 

p. Contrary to 16 C.F. R. 660.4 ( a ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ), the fact that PRA sought and obtained a dismissal of its lawsuit against me in Louisiana to recover upon the alleged debt was not included in its XX/XX/XXXX report to XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. 
q. Upon its own motion, PRA allowed the applicable statute of limitations period in the State of Texas to expire without refiling suit to recover upon the alleged debt., and hence the alleged debt is unenforceable pursuant to Texas expired by limitation of statute, as per Title 2 of the Texas Civil Remedies and Practice Code, Title 2, 16.004 ( 3 ). 

r. By allowing the statute of limitations in Texas to expire without refiling suit to recover upon the alleged debt PRA, under the law of lawsuit abandonment, relinquished and renounced all claims pertaining to the recovery upon the alleged debt, forever barred from resuming or reasserting such claims. 

XXXX Undoubtedly, the Texas Attorney General, and the courts are going to love PRAs explanation as to its legal basis for pursing debt collection enforcement having abandoned its legal claims with respect to enforcement by operation of law. PRA can not sue for enforcement, drop its suit without prejudice, and purposefully allow the statute of limitations to expire with respect to continuing the suit, and then use the credit reporting process to extort me into paying a debt neither proven nor owed. 

t. I can not wait to see the business record affidavit with respect to those presents. 

u. What PRA is attempting to do by contrivance is to offer the fact of its lawsuit as proof of the validity of the alleged debt. 

v. XXXX! And the XXXX knows it. Just another payment extortion scam by the XXXX that is PRA. 

XXXX By continuing to include the information of my alleged indebtedness to PRA, as reported by PRA on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX and XXXX  are in violation of 15 U.S.C. XXXX ( a ) ( XXXX ) ( B ) ( i ) ( ii ) for the reinsertion of previously deleted items of false, inaccurate, and unverified information uncertified for accuracy furnished by PRA. 

x. By continuing to include the information of my alleged indebtedness to PRA, XXXX, XXXX  and XXXX  are in violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) for the inclusion in my consumer files information as pertains to the PRA debt allegation that they know, knew, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, is a canard, as substantiated by PRA 's own actions, and for allowing PRA to use the FCRA credit reporting mechanisms to harass and extort me into paying, by its own admission as a matter of law, a debt neither owed or due by inflicting damage to my FICO score which it did, resulting in a {$12000.00} credit line decrease by XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

y. By continuing to include the information of my alleged indebtedness to PRA, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX  are liable for any damages sustained by me as a result of their negligence in the inclusion in my consumer files information as pertains to the PRA debt allegation that they know, knew, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, is a canard, as substantiated by PRAs own actions, and for allowing PRA to use the FCRA credit reporting mechanisms to harass and extort me into paying, by its own admission as a matter of law, a debt neither owed or due by inflicting damage to my FICO score. 

VI Suggestions for XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX  16. The foregoing considered, and further considering their liability issues, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX, may want to consider reinvestigation of this matter, as the reporting of the alleged Junk debt by the junkie PRA on XX/XX/XXXX, has become an ANNUAL event. A perusal of their files will reveal previous instances of the same report levied by PRA as in the instant case. 

17. It is a habit that the junkie needs to break and now. 

18. The foregoing considered, and further considering their liability exposure in the instant scenario ( yes, by their reporting of the bogus information provided by PRA, I have experienced credit line decrease to the sum of {$12000.00} by XXXX XXXX XXXX ), XXXX XXXX and XXXX  may want to consider a posting on their website and making available to users of consumer information the settlement by PRA with the State of New York regarding allegations that the company violated New York laws in its debt collections practices in that State. 

19. If they choose to reinvestigate, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX, may want to require PRA to establish that at the time the application for credit with XXXX was allegedly made by me, and moreover, the times I allegedly received benefits from said credit card, that : a. I was not a resident of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Texas XXXX XXXX XXXX b. I was not a patient at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Texas ( XXXX ) 20. If they choose to reinvestigate this matter, XXXX XXXX and XXXX, may want to suggest to PRA that it refrain from the utilization of autodial robocalls to contact me for the purposes of harassing me into paying a debt neither proven nor due. 

21. If they choose to reinvestigate this matter, that XXXX XXXX and XXXX  may want to consider an explanation from PRA as to why it abandoned its lawsuit against me to recover upon the alleged debt, renouncing all claims thereto as a matter of law, and the legal justification for utilizing the credit reporting mechanisms of the FCRA to enforce collection compliance of a debt renounced. 

XXXX. If they so choose to reinvestigate this matterXXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX  XXXX XXXX may want to : a. Initiate a SUSPENSION of collection activities with respect to the alleged debt, pending final disposition upon re-investigation. 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ) b. Deleting from my consumer files the bogus information of my alleged indebtedness to PRA as reported to them by PRA on XX/XX/XXXX. 
c. Cease and desist from reinserting into my consumer files the previously deleted items of information regarding my alleged indebtedness to PRA as reported to them by PRA on XX/XX/XXXX. 

23. Of course, these are merely suggestions. 

VII Notice to Evaluators of Creditworthiness based on Information furnished by PRA. 

24. There are no secrets as to PRA about what it is, about what it does, about how it operates, or the abhorrent tactics it employs to extort consumers to pay debts not due and that, as in the instant scenario, it has no intention of proving owed. Thus, whosoever evaluates my creditworthiness based on information in my consumer files furnished by PRA does so at their own legal peril. 

VIII. 
DECLARATION DECLARATION MADE, EXECUTED AND SIGNED under penalty of perjury on this the XXXX day of XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Texas. 



XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation