Portfolio Recovery Associates

Portfolio Recovery Associates, often called PRA, buys unpaid consumer accounts and collects them. Its FAQ says it was founded in 1996 (Portfolio Recovery Associates consumer site, opens in a new tab), is a subsidiary of PRA Group, Inc., and is one of the largest debt collectors in the country.

When a bank or card company cannot collect an account, it may sell it. If PRA contacts you, its FAQ explains, the original creditor sold it your account and PRA now owns the debt. It is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

PRA is a real company, and its own FAQ answers the question directly: it calls itself a legitimate debt collection company (Portfolio Recovery Associates consumer site, opens in a new tab). Scammers can still borrow the name. PRA says its genuine emails:

Its record is public: the CFPB called PRA one of the two largest debt buyers (CFPB, opens in a new tab) when it ordered $19 million in relief in 2015, and a federal court entered a $12 million penalty (CFPB, opens in a new tab) in 2023. None of this makes your debt valid or invalid.

Usually because PRA bought an account you once had, often a credit card or a loan that went unpaid and was charged off. The name may be new to you. The first letter should name the original creditor.

If the name is unfamiliar, the validation notice (CFPB, opens in a new tab) is where to start: set the original creditor and the balance it lists beside your own records before paying anything.

PRA's messages carry the notice that they are from a debt collector (Portfolio Recovery Associates consumer site, opens in a new tab), so the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its rule, Regulation F, apply. The CFPB lists debt buyers among the collectors (CFPB, opens in a new tab) these laws cover.

Only once you are sure of three things: it is your debt, the balance is right, and it can still be collected in court. Doing nothing can let the account move toward a lawsuit.

PRA does file collection lawsuits. The CFPB's 2023 case alleged it had sued without the required documents (CFPB, opens in a new tab) and on time-barred debt; those were allegations about past practice, not a finding about your case.

The time limit can decide a case, but you usually have to raise it. In one Kansas appeal, a woman who represented herself argued the limit had run, and the court reversed the judgment for PRA (Kansas Court of Appeals, opens in a new tab).

Often, yes, though PRA's FAQ only says that repayment options vary (Portfolio Recovery Associates consumer site, opens in a new tab) by account. How much less depends on the account, and nothing is certain.

Debt buyers often pay little for accounts: an FTC study found about 4 cents on the dollar (FTC, opens in a new tab) on average. What PRA paid does not set what it will accept from you.

Normally, the CFPB says, an accurate negative item cannot be taken off your report (CFPB, opens in a new tab), and most stay seven years. PRA states its own credit reporting practices (Portfolio Recovery Associates consumer site, opens in a new tab) instead:

If you have $10,000 or more of unsecured debt in total, a PRA account can be enrolled with your other debts. We would ask for validation of the debt first, then negotiate it like any other account. You approve any settlement before a dollar is paid1.

If PRA has already sued you, talk to an attorney or legal aid about the case. We do not give legal advice, and settlement does not stop a lawsuit on its own.