PRA Group controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2024
North Carolina default-judgment class-action settlement
PRA paid $5.5 million to settle allegations that it violated North Carolina debt-collection law by obtaining default judgments without sufficient evidence substantiating the debts claimed.
2023
Enforcement action over continuing collection and reporting practices
PRA was fined $24 million after regulators alleged that unlawful debt-collection and consumer-reporting conduct continued after the 2015 enforcement action.
2019
PRA Group subsidiary reaches Massachusetts settlement
Settlement
PRA Group announced that its subsidiary Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC reached a settlement with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, ending an investigation lasting more than four years. PRA denied that its practices violated state or federal law and denied targeting vulnerable customers.
Company response
Denial — PRA Group
We deny that PRA's practices violate Massachusetts or federal law, along with any notion that we targeted vulnerable customers.
Source excerpt
We deny that PRA's practices violate Massachusetts or federal law, along with any notion that we targeted vulnerable customers.
PRA Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRAA), a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans, today announced that its subsidiary, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, reached a settlement with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, ending a more than four-year investigation.
2015
Mejia malicious-prosecution litigation
A jury ordered Portfolio Recovery Associates to pay punitive damages in a case involving the pursuit of a consumer over a disputed credit-card debt. The company also faced a separate penalty related to alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
2015
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action
The CFPB ordered PRA to pay an $8 million penalty and provide $19 million in consumer refunds. The agency cited alleged deception and intimidation, inaccurate debt information, documentation failures, unsupported court filings, default-judgment practices, and collection of debts outside applicable limitation periods.
2014
New York Attorney General settlement over collection lawsuits
New York authorities alleged that PRA repeatedly brought improper debt-collection actions against consumers, including actions that resulted in uncontested default judgments. The settlement required the company to abandon certain claims, change collection practices, and pay a civil fine.