Consumer complaint received 2021-12-09
Company: PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES INC
State: VA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Sued you without properly notifying you of lawsuit

Complaint:
I had a XXXX XXXX credit card through XXXX Bank. In XXXX, there were charges that were made on my XXXXXXXX XXXX card, totaling approximately {$3800.00} that I did not authorize and was not aware of. I had contacted XXXX Bank several times on the issue and they stated that they would investigate the charges. They provided me with details on the charges, stating that the charges were placed using a register printed temporary card, that the purchases were for XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that the charges were done at different XXXX XXXX stores on each occasion. In XXXX, after months of being told that " they were looking into the charges '', I stopped paying on the account as I had now started to accrue massive amounts of interest on the account from the fraudulent charges that I had been disputing. 

XXXX Bank later charged off the account, while it was still in dispute, and sold the account to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX, and when I explained the situation and that I had disputed fraudulent charges with XXXX Bank before the account was closed and sent to collections by XXXX Bank, I was told that the account would be marked as fraudulent charges placed, and it was then later removed from their systems. 

In XXXX of XXXX, XXXX Bank then sold the account to Portfolio Recovery. Portfolio recovery refused to answer any request to validate the debt, especially since it was sold to a prior collection agency whom removed the account from their database after explaining that there was fraudulent charges made on the account. Portfolio continued to mail me information, and when contacted back asking for validation of the debt, refused to send validation. 

After yet another attempt to dispute the account with the credit bureaus due to the fact that the account had fraudulent charges made on it, Portfolio sent back information stating that they had been awarded a judgement on the debt. The problem is that I was never served any paperwork on the judgement hearing at all, and never once knew about the hearing. Portfolio Recovery did not provide a copy of the summons as well in the documentation they mailed regarding the dispute, they only provided an " XXXX of XXXX '', dated on XX/XX/XXXX. Upon looking up the case information, the case was filed on XX/XX/XXXX and hearing date was XX/XX/XXXX. I never was served a summons by a process server or the sheriff 's office on this court case, and until I received this packet on XX/XX/XXXX, had not ever known that there was a judgement taken out. 

Portfolio did not however give a proper summons to the court case, so I was unable to represent myself and explain my side of the case. Instead, I have a judgement that was taken out against me for charges that I had disputed as fraudulent with XXXX Bank on the matter. 

Additionally, Portfolio is still attempting to collect a balance on a XXXX account that I have paid in full that I disputed the balance they are reporting to the credit bureaus. They mailed a packet that I also received on XX/XX/XXXX, that has a bill showing a {$22.00} balance dated XX/XX/XXXX, and a statement that was issued on XX/XX/XXXX, stating that the balance on the account was paid in full.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation