(731) 215-8010

just calls and no one on the other line

If you are receiving calls from 731-215-8010, then you are being contacted by a debt collector. Here is the info on them...

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc.,
120 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, Virginia 23502, USA.
757-519-9300
731-215-8010
888-772-7326

So if you get one or more calls from them, here is what you do. DO NOT allow them to harass you and know your rights.

1. Call them and find out about why they are calling you! By law they have to give you specific info such as the name of the original creditor and this is highly important to you which I'll explain in a moment! Tell them you are recording the call, and if you have a way to actually record the call, do so! A word of caution though, they might hang up on you or give you the transfering run-around at which some point you may be disconnected. This happens because the Rep you are speaking with doesn't want to end up in court or at the end of a civil suit for doing their job, even if their practices are illegal!
2. BE CALM COOL AND COLLECTED! When you act in such a manner, it tells them you know what you are doing and have no fear! Do Not allow them to control the conversation! You ask the questions and Do Not Bicker with them. Stay calm and collected!
3. You have the name of the company listed above. Make sure you get the FULL name of the person(s) you speak to.
4. Again, ask them who is the originally creditor, which by law they have to give you!
5. At this point you should have who the original creditor is and a date. The date represents when the debt was listed as a "Write/Charge Off" with the original creditor. By law (which varies from state to state) there is a "Statute of Limitations" of how long a person or business has to sue you for the debt.
Use this link to check what the law is in your state BEFORE calling Portfolio Recovery Associates. http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limitations.html
6.Now, let say you actually have a debt of $10K with Bank of America credit card and you haven't paid on that debt for 2 years. At NO Point tell them anything regarding paying anything! If you do, then this WILL restart the statute of limitations clock all over again! You don't want that! So be clear in saying that "YOU WILL NOT PAY ANYTHING on that account or debt! Again if you actually owe $10K to Bank of America credit card and you have stopped paying it and made no payments for 2 years, and the statute of limitation in your state is 6 years, all you have to do is wait another 4 years! But if you have not paid anything in 2 years and you tell them you will pay even anything, then this restarts the clock and instead of them only having say 6 years in this example, they now have 8! The two that you have not paid, plus 6 more because you just gave them a sob story of how hard you have hard it and you will pay something! Do Not Make That Mistake!
7. The debt may not actually be yours and you Do Not want to pay someone else's debt! Google your name and see how many names come up. This is called "Scavenger Debt Collecting" The Debt Collector will do a name search and lets say there is 56 people named Jonh Doe. They will attempt to contact each one and claim that the debt is theirs. So if they bully and scare 40 of those 56 into thinking the debt is theirs and by not paying they will end up in court or their credit will be wrecked, the debt collector has just made a cool $400K! Fight for your rights!
8. Simply tell them that you will send them a "Cease and Desist" letter by certified mail.You will have to actually do this, even if the debt is NOT yours! I will provide a simple one that you can cut and paste and use.

(Date)
(Debt Collector name & address)

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.

Sincerely,

(Name)

(Account No.)

9. Spend a few bucks if need be and CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT! You can get a copy of it free once a year from the three credit bureaus. Look at it once you get it. Is the original creditor of Bank of America showing an account that they charged off for $10k two years ago? If so, great! It's highly doubtful that at this point they will come after you and sue you. But they can within the statute of limitations. The important thing here is to notice if you have the original creditor (Bank of America) showing your old account being charged off. If so, and you followed my instructions and you also see an account on your credit report for $10,500 from Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. it is most likely the same debt. A debt collector like Portfolio Recovery Associates will assign a new account number to this debt and normally tack on some money, then post it to your credit report. Why? Because under federal law you Cannot have two accounts for the same debt!!!

I see a lot of people post on sites like this and just say change your number or don't answer. That is the worst thing you can do! Again, you just went the past two years of not paying this debt and now Portfolio Recovery bought the account of pennies on the dollar, tacked $500 to it and posted it to your credit report under a new account number. So now but not answering those calls and sending them a cease and desist letter, you have two accounts on your credit report for the same debt!

10. So if this is the case, what do you do? Good question! Once you do what I am telling you (free of charge), Do Not mess with the Debt Collector any more! Get the info you need and then you are going to contact the three credit bureaus and state that Portfolio Recovery is showing a different account for the same debt of $10 from Bank of America. You are also going to go to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website... www.ftc.gov and file a complaint. You can also file complaints with your Attorney General in your state, the BBB, Angie's List, Secretary of State, and a few others. By law, once you contact the three credit bureaus about this, (which you need to do in writting and send certified mail) they will have 30 days to investigate the matter. It may even take a couple of attempts. But keep records of everything including dates, who you contacted, who you spoke with (full names here people), and a brief description of your intent, or what the nature of tha call/contact was about. In about 45 days you should get word on what the credit bureaus came up with. But meantime, you file complaints with the other agencies I listed. After you get word, then check your credit report again, even if you have to pay for it to ensure info was updated or corrected. In this case, the removal of the Portfolio Recovery Associates account that is basically the same debt as the Bank of America debt you stopped paying on.
12. Finally, after you noted the statute of limitations for your state and you have waited that time, simply contact the credit bureaus again with all of your records and ask them to remove all the negative info from your credit report in assoication to that account.

Yeah, it is a pain in the butt sometimes, but what is on your credit report can cost you big time in higher interest, insurance, or even getting turned down for a job!

So don't just ignore those phone calls from debt collectors. Answer them and put them in their place!

â– You can now get your credit report for free online at annualcreditreport.com. Trouble with getting your reports online? See the Free By 50 blog for a step-by-step explanation of the process.
â– A credit score must be purchased separately and is a number between 300 and 850 that evaluates your risk as a borrower. There are several ways to obtain a free credit score, however it will be a bureau-calculated number -- not be the official Fair Isaac (FICO) score.
â– To improve your credit score quickly, always pay your bills on time and pay down the total amount you owe.
â– There are three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - and they don't share information. So even if you correct an error on one credit report, you will have to do the same on the other two.
â– You have the right under federal law to challenge items on your credit report. The credit bureau then has 30 days to decide whether that item should be removed.
â– If a credit bureau refuses to correct a mistake, you can sue.
â– Get copies of all three credit reports six months before you apply for a home

Just a third party buyer of alledged debts!, scum!.

Purchase an inexpensive call blocker and PRA disappears!

7312158010 these people will call from unknown numbers with bogus accounts they constantly call and hang up