Portfolio Recovery Assoc. Another scam operation Norfolk, Virginia
Portfolio Recovery Assoc. keeps calling about an alleged debt that my wife and I owed from 1994. Problem is that at that time she was my ex-wife so "we" couldn't have opened that account together. I have checked my credit report and there is no mention of the company (a master card) that they say i owe an outstanding debt to. I have never even heard of Portfolio Recovery until about a week or so ago. They maintain that they have been trying to contact me numerous times by mail and by phone. Neither is correct. I tried to tell them there was some mistake, but to no avail. They keep calling. As I've seen mentioned in other testimonies, they won't give any specifics about the debt other than the name of the company the card was supposed to have been with.
Don
Middlesboro, Kentucky
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
John
Louisville,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
RE:
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, March 03, 2009
You DO NOT have to pay this debt. This debt is WAY outside the statute of limitations for all 50 states...it is also past the allowable 7-year reporting cycle on credit reports....so they can't place this on your credit file . This is ancient, time-barred debt....because of this, the collection agency is powerless over you....other than trying to scare/annoy you into paying.
Technically, a debt collector can come after you forever for defaulted debt...however, once the statute of limitations is up...they've lost the power to successfully take legal action. Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can send them a "cease communications" letter and that will be all that you need to do. Per this law they must cease collection activity.
Send the collection agency a letter via Certified Mail + Return Receipt stating:
Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, cease all communications with me about this alleged debt.
* DO NOT sign your signature on any document that you mail to a debt collector. It could end up on a forged document that can be used against you. Simply type your full name.
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If the debt collector calls back, tell them that you have officially sent a certified letter to them to cease communications with you per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Don't let them scare/bully you into paying this ancient, time-barred debt with bogus threats of arrest or legal action...they can't do either...they are powerless over you.