CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC

Behind the 54,759 CFPB complaints on file for this company is a data trail showing how it typically handles credit, billing and collection disputes.

Data updated 2026-08-14

54,759
Total complaints
Among the highest
17,579
Last 12 months
98.7%
Timely response
Above median
57
States affected

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The verdict

54,759 CFPB complaints put Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC at #13 out of 3,843 financial companies ranked by complaint volume. It posts a 98.7% on-time response rate, the 56th percentile among companies with 100+ complaints.

#13
of 3,843 companies by volume
98.7%
on time (56th pctile)
Debt collection
most-complained product
57
states with complaints
B-
PlainCredit Trust Score
69/100
Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC · 3 of 3 dimensions reported

Based on this company's own CFPB response record -- timely response, dispute rate, and relief rate, each benchmarked against every tracked company with 10+ complaints. Not a measure of product quality, pricing, or company size.

Timely Response B- 98.7%
Share of complaints answered within the CFPB response window
Dispute Rate F 21.8%
Share of responses the consumer disputed (lower is better)
Relief Rate A+ 35.8%
Share of complaints closed with monetary or non-monetary relief

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC vs. all companies by on-time response rate

Every company with 100+ CFPB complaints on file (1,335 total)

98.7% Higher than most higher than 56% of 1,335 companies

companies with 100+ CFPB complaints, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more companies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database · 2026-08-14

What changed

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2024 to 2025 complete years

  • Annual CFPB complaint volume moved from 7,613 in 2024 to 16,199 in 2025 (2024 → 2025).

See the full year-over-year release diff

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC timely response rate 98.7%
Industry benchmark

Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.

Reading this profile

Complaints by Product

Debt collection - I do not know 20,074
Debt collection - Credit card debt 16,761
Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports - Credit reporting 6,530
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports - Credit reporting 4,166
Debt collection - Credit card 2,675
Debt collection - Other debt 2,284
Debt collection - Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) 603
Credit card - General-purpose credit card or charge card 229
Debt collection - Medical debt 215
Credit card or prepaid card - General-purpose credit card or charge card 146

Top Issues

1.Attempts to collect debt not owed 15,700
2.Written notification about debt 7,782
3.Incorrect information on your report 5,366
4.Took or threatened to take negative or legal action 5,258
5.Communication tactics 5,111
6.False statements or representation 4,927
7.Improper use of your report 2,492
8.Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed 1,931
9.Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem 1,655
10.Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem 1,315

Complaints by Year

Year Complaints
2013 341
2014 1,183
2015 1,468
2016 1,502
2017 2,205
2018 2,881
2019 2,259
2020 3,160
2021 4,435
2022 3,136
2023 3,667
2024 7,613
2025 16,199
2026year in progress 4,710

Complaints by State (Top 15)

Texas 6,654
Florida 6,588
California 5,987
Georgia 4,089
New York 3,703
Pennsylvania 2,379
Illinois 2,195
New Jersey 1,633
Ohio 1,565
Michigan 1,321
Maryland 1,290
North Carolina 1,265
South Carolina 1,243
Virginia 1,223
Louisiana 1,153

Company Responses

Closed with explanation 33,430
Closed with non-monetary relief 19,583
In progress 1,741
Closed with monetary relief 5

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC Complaint Concentration Profile

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is a high-volume CFPB cohort (54,759 complaints) - enough filings to measure how concentrated the product and issue mix is, not just the headline totals. Across 56 named product lines in the stored breakdown, the leading three (Debt collection, Debt collection, Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports) hold a 79.2% share of product-tagged complaints. The Herfindahl index on that product mix is 0.252 (1.0 = a single product owns every tagged complaint; lower = a broader book).

On the issue side, 15 named issues appear in the top list; the leading three (Attempts to collect debt not owed, Written notification about debt, Incorrect information on your report) cover a 53.5% share of those mentions. That multi-issue footprint is the profile thin-volume companies cannot show - their pages stop at a short bar list because the sample cannot support a concentration read.

Geography tells a similar story: the top three states (Texas, Florida, California) hold a 35.2% share of state-tagged volume across 57 jurisdictions on file. A concentrated state trio can hint at regional servicing stress; a flatter map usually tracks a nationwide book.

Among coded company responses, "Closed with explanation" leads at a 61.0% share among the 54,759 response-tagged complaints (33,430 filings). Read that mix next to the timely-response and relief rates above - both describe process outcomes, not a finding of wrongdoing.

Peak filing year was 2025 (16,199 complaints); the lightest year on file was 2013 (341). From 2024 to 2025, annual volume rose 112.8% (7,613 → 16,199). Year-to-year swings at this volume usually track product launches, servicing changes, and consumer awareness more than a single-event spike.

What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC

The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database has logged 54,759 complaints against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC overall, with 17,579 of those filed in the trailing 12 months. Reports have come from consumers in 57 states and territories, making this a nationwide complaint footprint. "Debt collection" tops the product-level breakdown by a clear margin, marking it as the area of greatest consumer friction. Within that category, the most frequently cited specific issue is "Attempts to collect debt not owed" - a useful starting point for anyone trying to understand what goes wrong most often in the company's consumer interactions.

CFPB-forwarded complaints against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC draw a 98.7% reply rate inside the Bureau's 15-day window. That is at or above benchmark levels, a sign the company handles intake and escalation well. Resolved cases drew a formal consumer-dispute rate of 21.8% - a rough measure of how often the first resolution missed the mark. Among resolved complaints, the consumer-relief closure rate is 35.8%.

How to read complaint counts

Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story: larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration, and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Together, these fields provide context for reading the published CFPB record; they do not establish wrongdoing or resolve an individual dispute.

Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CFPB complaints does Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC have?

54,759 complaints have been filed against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC with the CFPB overall - 17,579 of them in the past year.

Does Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC respond to complaints on time?

CFPB complaints against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC draw a 98.7% timely-response rate inside the expected window. That is a strong response record by CFPB standards.

What product generates the most complaints for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC?

The most complained-about product for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is "Debt collection." You can view the full product breakdown on this page.

What is the most common complaint issue with Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC?

Consumers most often cite "Attempts to collect debt not owed" when complaining about Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC; the full issue list with counts is above.

How do I file a complaint against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC?

You can file a complaint against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.

In how many states have consumers complained about Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC?

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC has drawn CFPB complaints from 57 states and territories. That figure covers the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and smaller CFPB-tracked jurisdictions (Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, military postal codes), so it can run higher than the 52 states/territories with a dedicated page on this site.

Nationwide companies with similar complaint volume or dispute rates

Two CFPB peer sets for Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC: nearest financial companies by total complaint volume and by the share of complaints consumers mark as disputed. These are cross-firm neighborhoods, not the product-category list below.

Also handles Debt collection

Other companies with the same primary CFPB product category on file.

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Data through March 2026