Being Contacted by Portfolio Recovery Associates? Know Your Rights

Who Is Portfolio Recovery Associates?

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is the primary debt-collection subsidiary of PRA Group, Inc., a publicly traded debt buyer. PRA purchases portfolios of charged-off consumer debt — mostly credit card accounts — and then attempts to collect the full balance, often years after the original default, through calls, letters, and lawsuits.

Corporate address: Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC / PRA Group 120–150 Corporate Blvd. Norfolk, VA 23502

Phone numbers: 1-800-772-1413 — customer service toll-free line Calls have also been reported to consumers from 800-654-8818 and other numbers tied to specific accounts

As with other large debt buyers, PRA’s outbound calls can come from numbers beyond its published lines. Ask any caller identifying as PRA to send written validation of the debt before discussing it further.

A “Repeat Offender” in CFPB’s Own Words

Portfolio Recovery Associates has a documented, public enforcement history with the CFPB:

•          2015: PRA entered into a CFPB compliance order concerning its debt collection and litigation practices.

•          March 23, 2023: The CFPB announced it had ordered PRA — describing it as a “repeat offender” — to pay more than $12 million in redress to harmed consumers and a $12 million civil penalty, after finding PRA violated the terms of its 2015 order. The CFPB’s allegations included collecting on debt whose amount or validity was not substantiated, pursuing time-barred debt without required disclosures, filing collection lawsuits without the documentation needed to support them, and failing to properly investigate consumer disputes reported to credit reporting agencies.

This is a rare case where a regulator has formally and repeatedly found the same company violating consumer protection law — not just a company that generates a high complaint volume.

Complaint Volume

The Prado Law Firm’s review of the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database (debt collection complaints, January 2023–present) found Portfolio Recovery Associates among the highest-volume debt collectors in the country by complaint count, consistent with the practices identified in its 2023 CFPB order.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA and TCPA

•          Written validation of the debt, including amount and original creditor, with 30 days to dispute.

•          No calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., no workplace calls once you’ve objected, and no repeated or harassing call patterns.

•          Debt collectors — PRA included, per its own 2023 CFPB order — must give specific disclosures before pursuing debt that is outside the statute of limitations.

•          Collectors must have adequate documentation before filing a lawsuit and must properly investigate disputes reported through credit bureaus.

•          The right to demand in writing that contact stop, and to sue for statutory and actual damages plus attorney’s fees for violations — usually at no cost to you.

What To Do Next

Request debt validation in writing, keep records of every call and letter, and don’t pay or promise to pay until you’ve confirmed the debt is actually yours, correctly calculated, and still legally collectible. If PRA has sued you without adequate documentation, pursued time-barred debt without the required disclosures, or continued contact after you disputed the debt, you may have a claim — particularly in light of PRA’s own admitted history with the CFPB. Contact The Prado Law Firm for a free case review.