How long do I have to respond to a lawsuit from Portfolio Recovery Associates in Georgia?

Thirty days from the day you were served, in Magistrate, State and Superior Court. If you miss it, the court can enter a default judgment; in Georgia the default can be opened as of right for fifteen more days on payment of costs. Read the summons for the exact date.

Does Portfolio Recovery Associates have to prove it owns my debt?

Yes. A plaintiff suing on a purchased or assigned account must prove it owns that specific account, through the chain of sale and the account records, and must prove the amount. These are the first things an answer and discovery test.

What does a Georgia lawyer cost for a lawsuit from Portfolio Recovery Associates?

FairCounsel charges one flat fee, quoted before you pay and based on the amount claimed. There is no hourly bill. If the case qualifies for a counterclaim under the consumer protection laws, you may recover the fee.

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Sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates in Georgia?

Portfolio Recovery Associates is a debt buyer based in Norfolk, VA that sues consumers in Georgia courts. It also appears on court papers and account statements as PRA, PRA Group, Inc., PRA Receivables Management.

Served with a lawsuit from Portfolio Recovery Associates?

In Georgia you have 30 days from the day you were served to file a written answer. Miss it and the plaintiff can take a default judgment without a hearing. A Georgia lawyer reads the complaint, writes the answer, and makes the plaintiff prove it owns the debt and can prove the amount. One flat fee, quoted before you pay.

See if we can help Work out my deadline or call (321) 294-9540

Who Portfolio Recovery Associates is

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC is the U.S. debt-buying subsidiary of PRA Group, Inc. of Norfolk, Virginia (Nasdaq: PRAA), which the CFPB described in 2015 as one of the two largest debt buyers in the country. It buys charged-off credit card and other consumer accounts and sues to collect them in its own name. In September 2015 the CFPB ordered it to refund $19 million, stop collecting more than $3 million in debts and pay an $8 million penalty over collecting unsubstantiated debts, suing without intending to prove them, filing robo-signed affidavits and making settlement offers on time-barred debts without disclosure. In April 2023 a federal court entered a further order requiring more than $12 million in consumer redress and a $12 million penalty for violating the 2015 order, including suing on debts outside the statute of limitations and mishandling credit reporting disputes. The company did not admit wrongdoing.

A debt buyer purchases old accounts in bulk from banks, card issuers and other buyers, often for a few cents on the dollar, and then sues to collect the full balance. To win it has to prove it owns your specific account and can prove the amount, which means producing the chain of sale and the account records. Many cannot.

What Georgia consumers have complained about

From the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public Consumer Complaint Database, complaints from Georgia matching “Portfolio Recovery Associates” (filed under Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC).

5,101 complaints from Georgia consumers

Most common issues

Attempts to collect debt not owed35%
Took or threatened to take negative or legal action12%
Written notification about debt11%
Incorrect information on your report10%
False statements or representation9%

How the company responded

Closed with explanation56%
Closed with non-monetary relief42%
In progress1%

A complaint is one consumer’s account and has not been verified by the CFPB or by us. Read the complaints on the CFPB’s site &nearr;

Law firms that file for Portfolio Recovery Associates in Georgia

The firm’s name is on the last page of the complaint, above the bar number. From Georgia collection cases we have seen.

We have not yet recorded which firms file for this plaintiff in Georgia.

Particulars

Type: Debt buyer
Address: 120 Corporate BlvdNorfolk, VA 23502
Phone: (800) 772-1413
Website: www.portfoliorecovery.com (Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC) / https://www.pragroup.com (parent, PRA Group, Inc.)

From the company’s own publications and the Georgia Secretary of State. The registered agent is where legal papers for the company are served in Georgia.

Public actions and news about Portfolio Recovery Associates

Regulator actions, court decisions and reporting, each linked to its source.

What happens if you do nothing

If no written response is filed by the deadline, the court can enter a default judgment without a hearing. That judgment is the plaintiff's license to collect.

The full amount, and then some. A default judgment is for everything the plaintiff asked for: the balance, interest, court costs, and often the plaintiff's attorney's fees. Interest keeps running on the judgment until it is paid.
Wages garnished. With a judgment, the plaintiff can take up to 25% of your take-home pay straight from your employer, and a Georgia garnishment can keep going for years.
Bank account frozen. A bank garnishment freezes what is in your account and hands it to the plaintiff, sometimes before you know it has happened.
A lien on your home. The judgment is recorded on the county execution docket and indexed statewide. It becomes a lien on any real estate you own, and it has to be paid off to sell or refinance.
A public record that follows you. Civil judgments no longer appear on the three major credit reports, but the debt behind the lawsuit can still be reported as a collection, and the judgment itself shows up in the public-record and tenant, employment, and mortgage screening reports that landlords, employers, and lenders run. Lenders commonly require a judgment to be paid before they will approve a loan.
Your counterclaim goes unraised. Debt lawsuits often carry collector violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Raised as a defense or counterclaim, they can force a settlement and can make the other side pay your attorney's fees. Default, and none of that is ever put in front of the court: the plaintiff collects and you never get to ask.
It lasts. A Georgia judgment is good for seven years and can be renewed, so it can follow you long after the lawsuit itself is forgotten.

Common questions

How long do I have to respond to a lawsuit from Portfolio Recovery Associates in Georgia?: Thirty days from the day you were served, in Magistrate, State and Superior Court. If you miss it, the court can enter a default judgment; in Georgia the default can be opened as of right for fifteen more days on payment of costs. Read the summons for the exact date.
Does Portfolio Recovery Associates have to prove it owns my debt?: Yes. A plaintiff suing on a purchased or assigned account must prove it owns that specific account, through the chain of sale and the account records, and must prove the amount. These are the first things an answer and discovery test.
What does a Georgia lawyer cost for a lawsuit from Portfolio Recovery Associates?: FairCounsel charges one flat fee, quoted before you pay and based on the amount claimed. There is no hourly bill. If the case qualifies for a counterclaim under the consumer protection laws, you may recover the fee.

More in our guide to your rights when sued over a debt in Georgia.

See if we can help

FairCounsel · Christopher McClurg, a lawyer licensed in Georgia. We handle Georgia lawsuits only.

This page is an advertisement and general information, not legal advice. It is compiled from public records and the sources linked on it, and the company named here did not take part in writing it. Reading it or sending us information does not make us your lawyers; an attorney-client relationship begins only with a signed written agreement. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome. If you represent the company named and believe something here is wrong, write to cmcclurgesq@gmail.com and we will review it.

Last updated October 22, 2026 · Privacy · Terms