What Portfolio Recovery Associates is

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is the company named in the CFPB's enforcement actions and in the CFPB complaint database. The CFPB calls it a major debt buyer. PRA Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRAA) of Norfolk, Virginia, was founded there in 1996, went public in November 2002 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc., and took the name PRA Group, Inc. in October 2014.

PRA Group's 2025 annual report describes its business as "the purchase, collection and management of nonperforming loan portfolios." It collects through "internally staffed call centers and external vendors," and through internal attorneys and outside law firms.

Why PRA may appear on your credit report

PRA buys nonperforming loans and then collects them. If it bought one of your accounts, the company collecting is PRA, and the lender you first owed is a different company. A letter from PRA can also tell you whether PRA owns the account or collects it for another owner.

Public enforcement record

The records below come from the CFPB and PRA Group's own SEC filing. Each item lists what the record says, not a finding about your account.

2015 CFPB consent order

On September 9, 2015, the CFPB issued a consent order against Portfolio Recovery Associates (Docket 2015-CFPB-0023). The CFPB found that PRA bought debts that were "potentially inaccurate, lacking documentation, or unenforceable," made false statements, and robo-signed documents in collection suits.

The order required PRA to stop collecting about $3 million in judgments, to provide $19 million in consumer relief, and to pay an $8 million civil penalty. The CFPB lists the order's status as expired, terminated, or dismissed.

2023 federal court order

On March 23, 2023, the CFPB sued Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (case 2:23-cv-00110). The CFPB alleged that PRA broke the 2015 order and violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the FDCPA, and the FCRA and its Regulation V. The allegations include:

  • misstating the amount or validity of debts
  • suing on time-barred debt
  • slow or inadequate handling of disputes
  • weak policies for the accuracy of what it reports to credit bureaus

The court entered an order on April 13, 2023, requiring at least $12.18 million in consumer redress, a $12 million civil penalty, and injunctive relief. PRA Group's 2025 annual report calls this the "2023 Order" and says PRA is carrying out a compliance plan.

CFPB complaint database

As of October 14, 2026, the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database held 67,421 complaints filed under Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. Of those, 53,604 were about debt collection. The most common issues were "Attempts to collect debt not owed" (21,081), "Written notification about debt" (9,410), and "Took or threatened to take negative or legal action" (7,529). "Incorrect information on your report" accounted for 6,446. A complaint count is not a finding of wrongdoing.

How to check a PRA entry against your own records

  1. Find the validation notice. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692g(a), a debt collector must send a notice within five days after it first contacts you to collect the debt. The notice must say that you may dispute the debt within 30 days of receiving it and that the collector will then obtain verification and mail you a copy. It does not have to send one if its first message already gave this information or if you have paid the debt. A court complaint in a lawsuit does not count as that first contact. Neither does a tax, privacy, or data-breach notice that the law requires.
  2. Check who owns the account. Read PRA's letter for whether PRA owns the account or collects it for another owner, and write down the original creditor.
  3. Compare the details. Check the balance, the account dates, and the original creditor against your own statements, payment receipts, and letters.
  4. Compare all three reports. Check whether the same account appears in the same way at each credit bureau, and note every difference.
  5. Note the contact details. PRA's contact page lists Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, 120 Corporate Blvd, Norfolk, VA 23502, phone 1-800-772-1413, and pracustomercare@portfoliorecovery.com. The page says nothing about disputes or validation.

How to dispute an inaccurate PRA entry

  1. Dispute with PRA in writing within 30 days of the validation notice. On a timely dispute, the collector "shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof," until it obtains verification and mails you a copy. A timely written request for the original creditor's name and address stops collection of the debt until PRA answers it (15 U.S.C. 1692g(b)).
  2. Dispute with each credit bureau that shows the error. The bureau must reinvestigate within 30 days of receiving your dispute, with up to 15 more days in stated cases, and notify PRA within 5 business days. A dispute made after a free annual report has 45 days in all, with no further extension. It must act promptly on an item it finds inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a), 1681j(a)(3)).
  3. Expect a furnisher investigation. Once the bureau notifies PRA, PRA must investigate, report the results, and correct, delete, or block information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)).
  4. Keep copies. Keep every letter you send and every response you receive, with the dates.

The CFPB explains both steps in plain language: what a debt validation notice is and how to dispute an error on your credit report. These rules require an investigation. They do not promise a particular result. For the same rights applied to other companies, see the collection account guides.