Improper contact or sharing of information probably best describes what happened. 

I received a call asking for someone who is n't me. I let them know I was not who they were looking for, but I wanted to know how my phone number was on their call list. 

The only response I received was : I 'm sorry, we must have the wrong phone number. To which, I asked, how exactly did my number end up in your system. 

I was escalated to a manager, and again, the only response I received was that if it was a wrong number, they will mark it as such. But they had no explanation for how they received my number. 

The manager tried to feed me some XXXX by telling me that it 's probably just a leftover reference from the old owner of my phone number. I informed him that I 've had my phone number for over a decade, which should put the debt they are trying to recover for beyond the statute of limitations in most states in the US. 

The manager offered to pull up the record and saw that the first time I was called was in XXXX 2015. That pretty much exposes the flimsy explanation the manager provided me in the beginning. 

In addition, a cursory google search shows that Portfolio Recovery Associates has been guilty ( and fined for ) of attempts at recovering debts beyond the statute of limitations in NY. 

I am writing this complaint to say that it looks like Portfolio Recovery Associates may not have changed their behavior and are likely continuing to try and recover debts outside of the legal limits. 

I do not feel their tactics are honest, and I am further in support of reform of the debt recovery industry. People should, without a doubt, pay their debts, but debt recovery agencies need to be held to greater accountability.