By:Â Robert J. Nahoum
THE PROBLEM:
You have just been served was a summons and complaint. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is suing you for an old debt.
WHO IS PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC?:
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is an infamous “debt buyerâ€, buying up portfolios of old debt from banks, credit card companies, hospitals, doctors, cell phone companies and car companies for pennies on the dollar.  In fact, according to Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC since 1996, it “has acquired more than 33 million customer accounts.â€Â By that count, it can be said that roughly one out of every ten Americans has had an account in collection with Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC since 1996.
Debt buyers like Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC buy up delinquent credit account for pennies on the dollar and then try to collect the full amount from consumers, plus interest, penalties, late fees, overdraft fees, attorney’s fees and whatever other kinds of fees they can come up with.
In 2011, it was discovered that in debt collection lawsuits, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC had apparently filed thousands of false affidavits signed by an employee who had been dead for 15 years. Â Even worse, after the revelations had been uncovered, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC continued to use affidavits signed by the dead robo-signer.
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is a public company traded on the NASDAQ: under ticker symbol PRAA. According to Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC,
PRA was named one of Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies in 2013 and 2012. The company also was named to Forbes’ Top 25 Best Small Companies in America in 2012, and has been annually ranked as one of Forbes’ 100 Best Small Companies since 2007.
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC regularly make debt collection phone calls from (800) 772-1413, 800-331-0500, 866.925.7109, (800) 383-8013, and is located at:
120 Corporate Boulevard
Norfolk, VA 23502
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is a notorious violator of federal debt collection laws known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and is sued regularly by consumers for these violations. The FDCPA is a federal law that regulates the collection of consumer debts. It precludes third party debt collectors from using false, misleading, deceptive and harassing debt collection tactics.
THE PROBLEM WITH PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC :
To Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, you the consumer are no more than an entry on a spreadsheet, you are data, you are just one of the more than 33 million accounts they have bought over the years. Unfortunately for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, entries on spreadsheets are not enough to win against you in court.
In a debt collection lawsuit, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC always has the burden to prove that the consumer is responsible for the debt. To meet this burden, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC must prove that: (1) it has the right to sue you; (2) the debt is yours; and (3) you owe the amount for which you were sued. It is never the burden of the consumer to prove that he or she does not owe the debt.
To meet its burden, the proof submitted by the Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC must be based on “personal knowledgeâ€. Personal knowledge means that the person offering the evidence on behalf of Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC must be a witness to the event shown in a particular document. For example, if credit card bills are offered into evidence on behalf of Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, the person offering the evidence must have personal knowledge of how the information in the credit card bill got there, how it is generated and how it is maintained. That person must have personal knowledge of the computer system and how it operates. If this person does not have such personal knowledge, the evidence is “hearsay†and it cannot be used.
Remember, to Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, you are just an entry on a spreadsheet. For this reason, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC routinely lacks the evidence necessary to prove its case and beat you in court.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:
If you’ve been sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC in a debt collection lawsuit, consider hiring a qualified attorney experienced in debt defense. The Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum, P.C. routinely represents consumers in debt collection lawsuits brought by debt buyers like Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC in New York and New Jersey.
As with all of our debt defense cases, The Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum, P.C. analyzes debt collection cases brought by debt buyers like Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC to determine if any violations of the FDCPA have occurred. If so, we recommend to our clients that suit be brought in Federal District Court on behalf of the consumer and against the debt buyer.
If a debt buyer like Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC violates the FDCPA, you can sue it for statutory damages up to $1,000.00 plus actual damages (like pain and suffering) and your attorney’s fees. In FDCPA cases, The Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum, P.C. doesn’t charge our clients a penny out of pocket.
The Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum, P.C
(845) 232-0202
www.nahoumlaw.com
info@nahoumlaw.com