Missed call - Called Back. It is Portfolio Recovery Associates. They call me every couple weeks because they have a wrong phone number on someone's account they are trying to collect on and that phone number is mine. I've told them multiple times to remove my number from their system but they continue to call. Tonight I recorded the call, asked for the rep's name, and let them know this is the 3rd time I've asked my number to be removed because I am not associated with the account they are trying to collect on. I told the rep I could report them to the FCC now because this is becoming harassing and I have taken all the right steps to be removed, and she suddenly seemed willing to remove my number. She, while on the phone, asked for my phone number at least three times while she submitted it for removal in each of several systems. She did not have authority to remove it herself.
PRA is indeed a norious bottom-feeder that has been sued in multiple jurisdictions with mixed results. The reason BBB still gives them an A+ rating is that when BBB recieves a complaint, PRA responds to BBB regarding the complaint. It has nothing to do with how "ethical" the company or its practices actually are. They have been calling my number for more than ten years about something I know nothing about. Every time I tell them to send me a copy of the alleged contract, they stop for six months or so and then come back again. They buy-up tens of millions in "unrecoverable" debt portfolios from alarm companies, home rpair services, store credit card companies, banks, etc... and if if the initial amount was paid to the creditor, PRA still considers the debt "theirs" and refuses to stop calling.