Portfolio Recovery Faces Lawsuit for Debt Collection Violations

Portfolio Recovery Associates  LLC, a third party debt collection agency that manages defaulted portfolio accounts, has been sued by an Indiana consumer in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuit.

Plaintiff Dawn Reamer has filed this fair debt collection lawsuit alleging that in their business dealings with her Portfolio Recovery violated the fair debt collection law, as well as the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA).

According to the fair debt collection practices lawsuit, Reamer allegedly began to receive phone calls from Portfolio Recovery around March of this year with the intention of collecting on a debt accrued by an individual with an identical last name as the plaintiff’s. However, Reamer claims to not know nor be related to the debtor in question.

Portfolio Recovery allegedly continued to call Reamer using different numbers and employed an automatic telephone dialing (robocall) system to place these multiple calls to the plaintiff’s cell phone number. Reamer claims she never consented to receive these calls from the company and informed Portfolio Recovery that “she [was] not the individual they are attempting to call and collect monies from, but Defendant continues to place collection calls to Plaintiff’s cellular telephone.”

Reamer alleges that Portfolio Recovery called her cell phone about three times every day, making the Indiana woman feel annoyed and harassed.

Reamer brings this fair debt collection lawsuit against Portfolio Recovery seeking statutory damages for each and every alleged debt collection and robocall violation by the debt collection company.

The Portfolio Recovery Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Lawsuit is Reamer v. Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC, Case No. 3:14-cv-1747, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

UPDATE: The Portfolio Recovery Associates TCPA Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!

UPDATE 2: On June 5, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a claim for the Portfolio Recovery Associates TCPA class action settlement started receiving checks in the mail. 

What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1978 to restrict and reproach unfair debt collection practices by creditors and debt collectors. Debt collection as a business is not illegal. However, debt collection companies must follow protocol and respect borrowers’ rights, which the FDCPA laws work to define and protect.

According to the FDCPA, unfair debt collections practices that infringe on the rights of the consumer include:

• Debt collection harassment
• Telephone harassment
• False statement and deceptive practices
• Collection of debts not owed by the consumer
• Collection of expired debts
• Improper reporting of the debtors loan to credit reporting agencies
• Refusing to cease communication even under request
• Improper communication between the lenders and other third parties

Portfolio Associates LLC is not the only debt collection agency or creditor facing potential debt collection lawsuits and FDCPA class action lawsuits from harassed consumers. Many individuals are just discovering their rights under the FDCPA and are starting to pursue litigation against companies for alleged fair debt collection violations.

Join a Free Unfair Debt Collection Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If a lender or debt collector engaged in unfair debt collection practices, you may have a legal claim and could be owed compensation for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

DISCLAIMER: Debt collection itself is not illegal. However, debt collection firms collecting on consumer debts must adhere to the FDCPA. Even though debt attorneys are investigating these companies, their debt collection practices may be legal.