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No shame Just numbers Read the letter Dispute the error Know your rights Build the score Hold the line Live within means Pay yourself first Credit, proudly
No shame Just numbers Read the letter Dispute the error Know your rights Build the score Hold the line Live within means Pay yourself first Credit, proudly
Agency #03

Portfolio Recovery Associates.

Portfolio Recovery Associates is the main U.S. consumer-facing collection brand of PRA Group, a public company focused on acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans.

Why it is on this list

PRA Group is one of the largest global purchasers of nonperforming loans and has a long-running U.S. consumer debt-buying presence.

Common account types
  • Credit card accounts
  • Bank-originated consumer loans
  • Purchased charged-off receivables
Official identity

Verify the collector before using a link or sending payment.

Compare these details against the validation notice, credit report entry, and any payment page before sharing account or bank information.

Legal name
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC
Parent company
PRA Group
Known aliases
PRA Group / PRA
Mailing address
120 Corporate Blvd, Norfolk, VA 23502
Last reviewed
May 20, 2026

If a caller, text, email, or payment site uses different identity details, contact the collector through an official source before responding.

Role clarification

Debt buyer and owner-collector

Who owns the debt changes what documentation, authority, and correction path you should ask for before paying.

Portfolio Recovery Associates is a PRA Group subsidiary, and PRA Group describes its core business as purchasing, collecting, and managing portfolios of nonperforming loans. CFPB identifies Portfolio Recovery Associates as a debt buyer that purchases delinquent or charged-off accounts and then seeks to collect them.

If PRA contacts you, it is generally claiming to collect a purchased account; ask who the current creditor is and who sold or originated the account.

Ask for account-level validation supporting ownership, amount, and enforceability before payment or settlement.

Consumer notes

What to know before responding

  • PRA accounts are often purchased accounts, so validation should connect the original creditor to the current owner.
  • If the debt is old, check both credit-reporting age and lawsuit limitations before discussing payment terms.
Do this first

Verify before paying.

A legitimate collector can still have the wrong person, wrong amount, stale debt, duplicate placement, or incomplete documentation.

  • The collector name, mailing address, phone number, and website against the letter you received.
  • The original creditor, current owner or client, account number, balance, and date of last payment.
  • Whether the debt is inside your state lawsuit limitations period before making a payment or written promise.
  • Whether the account appears on your official credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.
  • The purchase date, original creditor, and whether the account is being reported by PRA or another entity.
  • Whether the account matches the account types commonly associated with Portfolio Recovery Associates: Credit card accounts, Bank-originated consumer loans, Purchased charged-off receivables.