Complaint Review: Portfolio Recovery Associates

Well let me tell you about this company and the experience that I had wit them. What they do is look for any type of people in a certain area that they feel owes them money whether they do or not. They pray on your fears and hope that you will all contact them before they have to fly someone down from Virginia which is their home base.

I went, and this is what happened/ They get you there at a certain time and when you look at the docket at the entrance to the court (which isn't really big court, its just a judge and some chairs not a jury trial as they would love u to think that it is) and you will see that there will be at least 10-15 others that they hope will buckle and pay the cash right before the judge calls your name. They come and sit with you quietly and try and get you to admit you owe them (please look up your statue of limitations for your state and if you have a check showing your last payment bring that with you for proof that it has been paid right there so they can drop it), then you go to a mediation room where some older retired lawyer sits as the middle man (sometimes he goes on I told them that i DO NOT owe this money... THey said that the last pymt i made was in June 2004 so i told them to prove it. They didnt even have the right address for me, they had an old address and the mediator said to the lawyer, this isn't even the correct address for the defendant and looked up the correct information which i had, and is public record, so the lawyer started saying it was my responsibility to let them know, and i just laughed..

well then they said that we will set a trial date and i said fine lets do this, and we went back in and set the date (it was very casual and gives you a chance to get to know your judge and what your up against should it make it to trial)... so im waiting for them to send any type of reciept of payment for june of 04 and nothing yet BUT got a very interesting email today from the attorneys office asking since they are not located in the state of where im suing from that it would be too COSTLY to send someone to represent and are requesting a phone conference...

now mind u they still haven't sent any type of proof of payment from me any checks or anything, and is asking this of the judge. I will keep u posted, but want to know if anyone out there knows if I can oppose this, and if they don't have to show up why should I, especially if they can't even provide any proof of my last payment and that the statue of limitations has been thrown out, AND that i don't believe that Portfolio is licensed in the state of Florida! Should i write the Judge and ask him if he could throw this out or if I can be also on the phone? Doesn't seem fair, and I am out of a days pay and gas money because of their BS!
Thank you....

Lg fla
South Miami, Florida
U.S.A.