Consumer complaint received 2019-01-07
Company: PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES INC
State: MO
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: You told them to stop contacting you, but they keep trying

Complaint:
Around XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX, received a call from Portfolio Recovery Associates trying to collect a debt I was not familiar with, Ive never heard of them, dont have a contract with them etc. the man was rude, he was asking about different amounts I could pay, I told him Im on a fixed income, didnt know what he was talking about and he could talk to my lawyer, he said, oh you can afford a lawyer but not pay this debt, my lawyer is a close friend and would not charge me, I hung up because he was saying they would keep calling until I paid. I then received a letter from them in XXXX which showed I allegedly had an account with XXXX and Portfolio bought this account in XX/XX/XXXX, balance of {$2500.00}. They continuously called me, I disputed this, checked my credit reporting agencies, and Portfolio had already put this collection in my credit reports, causing my FICO score to go down, they sent me a letter on XX/XX/XXXX, which stated that they completed their investigation of my dispute and enclosed billing statements, just 2 from XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, they said this proved the validity of the account. On the XXXX billing statement which could be made up, my identity has been stolen 3 times in the past, but it showed a payment made in XX/XX/XXXX, says Pay by Phone Payment-XXXX IL for {$130.00}, first of all any payment Ive made on my current credit cards says XXXX XXXX, never been in XXXX IL, dont know why it would say that and I always make the minimum due, I could never afford that amount, just because my name and address is on this doesnt mean anything to me since my identity was stolen, someone could have opened a card with my information, I did file police reports but dont have copies since its been so long, it was looked into and I didnt have to pay a thing, I reported this to all 3 credit reporting agencies and they put a fraud alert on these reports, Portfolio continued to call me continuously and send the same letter with the same XXXX billing statements, I got the same things on XX/XX/XXXX, I finally filed a complaint with the Attorney Generals office in Missouri, Portfolio even called my father-n-law, asking for me and stating they had a lawsuit against me, this was a few months after my mother-n-law passed away, Portfolio denied this but the number that my father-n-law wrote down for me to call, was one of their many numbers. Portfolio answered the Attorney General and said they were never rude, did not call my father-n-law and stated in view of my complaint, they had determined to refrain from any further collection calls, which they did abide by that, and they said they would refrain also from other communications with me in regard to the account, this letter was dated, XX/XX/XXXX, they have not abided by this, on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, received 2 on that date, XX/XX/XXXX, received 2 on that date, XX/XX/XXXX still received the very same letter and 2 XXXX statements which went against what they told the Attorney General they would do, they told the Attorney General they did send the letters but on the bottom it stated this was not an attempt to collect a debt, they ALL stated that and it was still a form of communication they said they would not do. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX sent me a letter stating the Attorney General contacted them, said I first had a XXXX Account, which I dont even know what that is, said that account was converted to XXXX, said the account was opened in XXXX, due to delinquency, the account was charged off as a bad debt in XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX did not attempt to collect on this debt and was sold to Portfolio Recovery in XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX did not report anything to the reporting agencies, Portfolio had stated in one of their letters they purchased this account in XXXX and sent me a letter to collect, I NEVER received anything from them then, never heard of them until recently, if I didnt respond to the letter in XXXX, why didnt they say anything then? The Attorney General is still looking into this but if Portfolio is saying they bought this account, I need to see a bill of sale, and especially an application or paperwork from XXXX? And XXXX? That shows I applied for these cards with my signature on them, anybody can send a letter, and Ive researched Portfolio Recovery and they have thousands of complaints against them and their practice, more people need to be aware of what they do and how they operate!

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief