Consumer complaint received 2026-05-28 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
I pulled my credit report and there is a collection sitting on it from Portfolio Recovery Associates for an alleged XXXX XXXX XXXX from a company called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and I have never had any business relationship with Portfolio Recovery in my life. I never signed an agreement with them, never borrowed a dime from them, never received any credit from them. The only reason they are anywhere near my name is because they bought something they claim used to belong to someone else and stuck it on my credit file as if that gives them the right to be there. On XX/XX/XXXX I mailed Portfolio Recovery a written debt validation request asking them to actually prove this. I asked for the original signed agreement bearing my signature, a full itemized accounting from the original creditor showing how the balance was built, the complete chain of title including the bill of sale and every assignment agreement, the full purchase agreement between them and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, proof of their authority to collect in Pennsylvania, and the notice of assignment that I should have received before this ever touched my report. None of that has been produced. What I have from them is a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX saying their disputes department has completed their investigation and they have enclosed documents that establish the validity of the account. The only things actually attached are a handful of old XXXX XXXX billing statements from XXXX and XXXX and a one page seller notification letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that just says the account got sold to them. Old statements and a sale notice are not validation. They never produced a signed agreement, they never produced an accounting ledger from the original creditor, they never produced the actual purchase agreement, and they never produced their collection license. Every single thing I asked for that would actually prove this debt belongs to me and that Portfolio Recovery has the legal right to collect it was left out. On top of refusing to fully validate, the way this account is reporting is full of problems. The Date Opened on XXXX shows XX/XX/XXXX while XXXX shows XX/XX/XXXX for the exact same account. The Date Last Active on XXXX shows XX/XX/XXXX while XXXX shows XX/XX/XXXX for the exact same account. The balance Portfolio Recovery is reporting to the bureaus is {$1500.00} but the balance in their own dispute response letter is {$1500.00} and the seller notification from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX also shows {$1500.00}. So Portfolio Recovery can not even keep the dates and dollar amounts straight across the two bureaus they are reporting to, never mind what they put in writing to me. Both bureaus also show a comment that the dispute is resolved and the customer disagrees, which makes it look like the matter is settled when in reality they never gave me anything close to what I asked for. That is misleading reporting on top of inaccurate reporting. The damage from this is real and it is happening every single time someone pulls my credit. This account is dragging my score down, blocking me from things I need, and pushing the cost of everything else up while Portfolio Recovery sits on my report with paperwork they know does not actually prove what they claim.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief