Portfolio Recovery Associates Hit with Class Action Alleging Debt Collection Law Violations

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Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is facing a proposed class action filed over an allegedly misleading debt collection letter it sent to a New York consumer. The reverse side of the letter, according to the complaint, contained a “Disputes Correspondence Address” and provided two phone numbers the plaintiff could call regarding “payment arrangements” or “quality of service.” The lawsuit argues that the language of the defendant’s letter implied that disputes must be submitted in writing, when, according to federal law, they can also be voiced over the phone. 

To further obscure the plaintiff’s dispute rights, the defendant also provided on the front of the letter a different address to which it instructed the recipient to send “[a]ll future payments and correspondence for this account,” the case claims. This additional address, the suit argues, would confuse the unsophisticated consumer and could cause him or her to send a dispute to the wrong address.