Portfolio Associates, Inc. is widely seen as one of the most aggressive debt collection agencies in the country. Using bully tactics and arm twisting, as well as threats of continuous litigation, Portfolio Associates has been seen as a force to be reckoned with - even by those who contend they don't owe the debt claimed.
In Jackson County this week, a Kansas City woman successfully sued the company, arguing she had been harassed, laws had been broken and the debt they were seeking to claim did not belong to her.
When pressed for details in earlier pleadings, Portfolio Associates defied the court and refused to turn over documentation requested, leading to many of their pleadings being denied.
http://kcur.org/...
A Jackson County jury has ordered a debt collection agency to cough up nearly $83 million to a woman it mistakenly pursued to collect a credit card debt of little more than $1,000.
The jury found that Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC, one of the biggest debt buyers in the country, had acted maliciously in suing the woman, Maria Guadalupe Mejia, when the actual holder of the debt was a man with a similar-sounding name.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Joel P. Fahnestock earlier had stricken the company’s pleadings after it failed to comply with requests to hand over information in the case.
Today, as a result, they find themselves in debt to someone else - to the tune of $83M.
For those that follow Portfolio Associates, they have long lingered on Better Business Bureau and Consumer Reports as having fairly seedy practices.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/...
Most recently comments such as:
Portfolio recovery sued me two times and lost each case but it still shows on my credit report. Does anyone know how to remove this?
These bunch of thieves being after me for many many years to collect credit cards debt, calling me day and nite as well their lawyers. I'm 62 years old, my income is very low and I'm still willing to pay them as much as I can. Now they are trying to garnish my income and deprive me from paying my mortgage and other bills.
While the verdict will be of course appealed as to the amount, the verdict may hint at the level of outrage people feel toward companies acting in a predatory manner toward debtors and those who borrow.
http://kcur.org/...
“This company has gained a reputation for take no prisoners, ‘If you mess with us we’re going to take you all the way, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money on this litigation, you’re going to have to go all the way to trial,’” said Gina Chiala, one of Mejia lawyers. “And so, among consumer lawyers, they are known to be very aggressive in litigation and to not stop; even when they’re wrong, they’re just not going to stop.”
A spokesman for the company, Michael McKeon, called the verdict “outlandish” and said it “defied all common sense.”
“On February 6, 2013, my husband came to my place of employment and handed me the lawsuit Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC had served him with at our home. They wanted me to pay them over $1,000. I did not owe this company any money. My husband and I were already struggling just to keep our children fed and the lights on. The lawsuit terrified me. I feared they would take my house and I feared they would arrest me. I was very shocked that they sued me for one year and three months even though I never had the credit card. And after they dismissed the case, they said they might sue me again.