Has anyone here been sued by Portfolio Recovery or tried setting up payment plans with them? They’re really difficult to work with when it comes to setting up payments or even answering questions.
I haven’t been sued, but my payment plan went okay. They showed up on my credit report almost right after I paid off a collection, almost like they somehow knew.
Dane said:
I haven’t been sued, but my payment plan went okay. They showed up on my credit report almost right after I paid off a collection, almost like they somehow knew.
Knew what? I’ve asked them to lower the amount so I could pay $100 a month for 72 months, but they’re insisting on $133. Don’t understand why they can’t budge a little to make it manageable.
@Quinby
Hope you’re able to work something out. I’ve heard some agents are a bit more flexible, but who knows.
Dane said:
I haven’t been sued, but my payment plan went okay. They showed up on my credit report almost right after I paid off a collection, almost like they somehow knew.
What do you mean by ‘almost like they knew?’
Look up some tips on how to handle them. If you show you’re ready to work with them right away, they’ll often push for more. Sometimes it helps to wait them out a bit. Let them start a lawsuit and see if they soften up as they start to rack up legal costs.
I just had a court date with them last month. They filed the paperwork, and I sent in a hardship statement. They reached out by mail with offers, but since I didn’t have a lawyer, I decided to wait for court. I hoped they wouldn’t show since their main law firm was out of state, but they sent a local lawyer. He was actually nice, but he didn’t even have my hardship letter. So, the case was continued, and now I have another court date in January. I’m not sure what they’ll expect from me then, but I can’t pay what they want.
@Tracy
Is it a financial hardship due to disability? If you’re on SSI, they can’t touch that—it’s not garnishable. With SSDI, they can only take from it for certain things like taxes or child support, not credit card debt. Just thought I’d mention it, as a lot of folks on disability don’t realize this.
They’re known for pushing things right to the edge of what’s legal. They crossed the line with me, and my lawyer had a field day with it. Be careful what you say to them, and keep an eye on your rights.
They’re bottom-feeders. Just one of the worst companies to deal with.
Back when I had credit issues, they bought up my debt after I defaulted. They use a lot of scare tactics, like letters saying they’re ‘considering litigation.’ They’ll push hard, calling from all kinds of numbers and times, but I just stayed firm on what I could pay. Eventually, they accepted 50% of the debt and removed it from my credit report after I paid. They’re intense, but they can be negotiated with.
@Merrick
I think I have at least 50 of their numbers blocked by now. No new ones recently, so maybe I finally got them all? 
They know they can’t actually sue me at this point, as the debts are past the statute of limitations, and my income can’t be garnished. They still send letters, though. They even try collecting my late dad’s debt, even though they have his death certificate. No idea why they bother, but they never stop.
Do you actually feel you owe the debt?
Have they actually sued you, or are they just sending threats?
With a little effort, you might be able to get them to drop the lawsuit if they start one. It won’t go away, and they might sell it to another collection company. If that happens, you can repeat the process until the debt gets too old to collect.
Look up your original credit card agreement and see if it has an arbitration clause.
If it does, go to creditinfocenter’s forums on legal issues and arbitration to learn how to use arbitration as a defense. This only really works on companies like Portfolio Recovery since it costs them more to go through with arbitration than they paid for your debt.