Portfolio Recovery Accused of Sending Non-Compliant Letters

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Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges violations of various provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Two of the plaintiffs say they received collection letters from the defendant that listed an original creditor and noted Portfolio Recovery as the current creditor. The letters allegedly provided the original creditor’s address on a line between the original and current creditors’ names. The suit argues that this placement could lead consumers to believe that payments and requests for validation should be sent to the original creditor’s address instead of Portfolio Recovery’s address, which could delay payments and cause consumers to miss their 30-day dispute period.

Another plaintiff claims she was sent a letter from the defendant that contained “non-interest charges/fees or balance adjustments” and listed the amount as “$0.00.” According to the complaint, this statement implies that Portfolio Recovery is permitted to add extra charges to the alleged debt in the future. By implying that there could be additional fees, the debt collector unlawfully failed to clearly communicate the full amount of the consumer’s debt, the suit argues.

The fourth plaintiff says she received a letter from Portfolio Recovery that provided monthly payment options and allowed her to pay the balance “in full” or accept various settlement offers. The suit argues, however, that if she paid the amounts listed under the full payment options, the total balance paid at the end of the pay periods would be less than the full amount of her alleged debt. The letter supposedly fails to indicate whether the defendant will forgive the remaining balance or attempt to collect it. The suit further claims that the letter unlawfully neglects to clearly inform the plaintiff of the credit consequences she would face if she chose one of the settlement options.