Complaint Review: Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC

I got a letter from an attorney claiming to represent Capitol One. He threatened me with all kinds of legal action after demanding $300.00 to settle an account. Funny thing is this. I had never heard of Capitol One and never had an account with them. The lawyer was claiming I got a Capitol One credit card in 2005. Truth is, I actually had moved to another country in 2003. So I thought I would respond anyway just to see what all the fuss was about. In writing, I asked the lawyer to provide me with a photocopy of the actual credit card application showing the date it was opened, the signature, social security number and proof of all items purchased with it. His response was....none. A few years later I received a letter from a different attorney claiming the account had been sold on to him & he was now dealing with it. I heard nothing else for several years.

i continued to live in another country until a few years ago when I moved back to the U. S. They are now sending me letters and are claiming I owe $2,000....a big jump from the $300.00 they first said I owed. The attorney has handed this over to Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. Dealing with them will got you nowhere. All they say is "You owe a debt; how are you going to pay it." They refuse to tell you what the debt is for, when and where it was opened...nothing. I think this company is simply trying to scare people into paying money for something they don't owe.  There are time limitations on their ability to collect if you do owe a debt, but they refuse to honor them...they perfer the scare tactics. I hope people will be wise and demand proof from this company that the debt is yours. Hopefully the government and the IRS will take a close look at this "company" and its practices.