Portfolio Recovery Associates
Keep ignoring my Cease and Desists over zombie debt

In 2007 I got collection letters and calls from Portfolio Recovery Associates about a very old credit card debt from 1998. The debt itself had been off my credit report for a couple of years, and the statute of limitations for debt had long passed. I studied up on the law, and sent a Cease and Desist letter.

That was that, for about six months, when they called again and acted like it was all some whole new account and they acted like they'd never heard of my prior letter. I sent them another one, and they got quiet again.

In fall of '08 I got yet another letter and call from them, and they were starting over, again like they had never even heard of my two prior Cease and Desist letters, and I sent them a third one. Because of unrelated harassing phone calls, I changed my phone number.

So, eventually I get a letter and form in the mail from the bank, a decade after the credit card was opened, and several years after the debt Statute of Limitations expired and after it had dropped off my credit report. This letter stated that the bank was officially discharging the debt, and it had the tax form for me to report this as income. I did some checking, yup, to the IRS it counted as "income" since it was a debt legally disappearing. Had to pay several hundred dollars in taxes on that old debt to the IRS.

Didn't get any calls or letters from them for over two years. Then, in January I had to co-sign for a loan for a relative. Apparently this updated all my info in by credit report. Within a week Portfolio Recovery Associates was calling again, again acting like they'd never heard of my prior letters and insisting I would have to send them another one.

So, now Portfolio Recovery Assocaites is claiming I owe them $5900 for a debt that was maybe a third of that on the original credit card, which I've written them 3 Cease and Desist letters over a course of several years, on a debt that not only has the Statute of Limitations expired and it's off my Credit Report (which I just checked to verify in my annual credit check), but the original creditor even sent me papers saying they had given up on it and the IRS said counted as income since to the IRS I didn't owe the debt anymore.

I paid taxes on it, the original creditor says it's over, I just want Portfolio Recovery Associates to leave me alone forever and actually do what the Cease and Desist says.

Company: Portfolio Recovery Associates
Country: USA
State: Virginia
City: Norfolk
Site: portfoliorecovery.com

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