The most reliable way to block calls from Portfolio Recovery is to send them a written cease communication letter by certified mail. Once they receive it, federal law requires them to stop contacting you about the debt, with only a few narrow exceptions.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection While the letter is in transit, you can block their numbers on your phone and through your carrier, and if calls continue after delivery you have federal agencies to complain to and a private right to sue.
Before you send the letter, understand what it does and does not accomplish. It stops the calls. It does not erase the debt, remove it from your credit report, or prevent Portfolio Recovery from filing a lawsuit against you. If the debt is valid and still within your state’s statute of limitations, cutting off contact leaves the underlying account unresolved.
Write and Send the Cease Communication Letter
Keep the letter short. It needs to include your full name and address exactly as they appear on correspondence from Portfolio Recovery, the account number from any letter they have sent you, a clear statement that you are requesting the company cease all further communication with you regarding this account, and your signature and the date.
Portfolio Recovery Associates accepts correspondence at 120 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23502. For compliance matters such as cease communication requests, their website directs consumers to 150 Corporate Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23502.2Portfolio Recovery Associates. PRApay by Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC Confirm the address on their most recent letter to you before mailing, since addresses can change.
Use Certified Mail With Return Receipt
Send the letter through USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested. This creates independent proof that Portfolio Recovery received your letter and the date it was delivered. The signed return receipt (a green postcard or an emailed signature image) is what turns a later violation into a provable one.3USPS. Certified Mail – The Basics
As of January 2026, Certified Mail costs $5.30 per item on top of regular postage. A hard-copy return receipt adds $4.40, and an electronic return receipt costs $2.82. Including First-Class postage, expect to pay roughly $9 to $11 total.4USPS. Notice 123 – Price List Keep a photocopy of the letter, the certified mail receipt, and the signed return receipt together in one place.
The CFPB’s Regulation F clarifies that a cease communication request does not have to be a paper letter; under the federal E-SIGN Act, an email can satisfy the “in writing” requirement of the FDCPA.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1006 – Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F) Certified mail is still the safer choice because delivery is verifiable without relying on the collector’s own records. If you email, save the sent message and any read receipts.
What Happens Once They Receive It
After receiving your letter, Portfolio Recovery must stop contacting you about the debt. The FDCPA allows only three narrow follow-ups: a notice confirming they are stopping collection efforts, a notice that they or the original creditor may take a specific action, or a notice that they intend to take a specific action such as filing a lawsuit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Any call, text, or letter outside those purposes is a potential violation.
Start a call log the day you mail the letter. Record the date, time, phone number, and a short note on what was said for every contact attempt. Combined with your certified mail receipt, that log is the evidence a complaint or lawsuit will rely on.
What the Letter Does Not Do
A cease letter is not a defense against being sued, and it does not reduce the amount owed. Portfolio Recovery can still report the account to credit bureaus, and they can file suit. They are permitted to notify you of that suit even after receiving your letter. If the debt is valid and within the statute of limitations, weigh whether negotiating a settlement serves you better than silence.
Verbal Requests to Stop Calling
You do not have to wait for the letter to land to get partial relief. Under Regulation F, if you tell a collector during a live phone call to stop calling you, they must stop using telephone calls to reach you.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1006 – Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F) A verbal request only blocks the specific method you name; a written letter stops all contact.
Verbal requests are also harder to prove. If you make one, jot down the date, time, the representative’s name, and what you said as soon as the call ends, and follow up with a written cease letter to lock in broader protection.
Block the Numbers on Your Phone and With Your Carrier
Technical blocking gives you immediate relief while the letter is in the mail. On an iPhone, open Settings, then Phone, and turn on Silence Unknown Callers to route unrecognized numbers to voicemail. Android phones offer similar spam filtering in the dialer settings. You can also manually add specific numbers from your call history to your block list.
Most cellular carriers offer network-level filtering that checks incoming calls against databases of reported spam and collection numbers before they reach your phone. Running carrier filtering and phone-level blocking together with your written cease letter creates layered protection: the legal notice forces compliance, and the technical tools catch calls that slip through from unfamiliar numbers.
Call Frequency and Time-of-Day Limits
Federal law already limits when and how often Portfolio Recovery can call, even before any cease letter. Debt collectors cannot contact you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your local time zone.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Calls outside those hours are a violation.
The CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule adds a specific frequency limit: a collector is presumed to be harassing you if they call more than seven times within a seven-day period about a particular debt, or if they call within seven days after having an actual phone conversation with you about that debt.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When and How Often Can a Debt Collector Call Me on the Phone “Presumed” puts the burden on the collector to justify the calls.
Separately, the FDCPA bars conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress, or abuse a person in connection with debt collection, and it specifically lists repeated or continuous calling intended to annoy or harass.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692d – Harassment or Abuse Collectors also cannot use false or misleading statements, such as implying they will keep calling despite your cease request.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692e – False or Misleading Representations
Don’t Restart the Statute of Limitations
Every state limits how long a creditor or collector can sue you over a debt. For credit card debt, that window runs roughly three to ten years depending on the state. Once it expires, the debt is time-barred and cannot be legally sued on.9eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.26 – Collection of Time-Barred Debts
The trap is that in many states, making a partial payment or acknowledging in writing that you owe the debt can restart the clock, giving the collector a fresh window to sue.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can Debt Collectors Collect a Debt Thats Several Years Old This is a reason not to negotiate on the phone with Portfolio Recovery about an old debt. A cease letter removes the conversation where that pressure would happen.
If They Keep Calling After the Letter Arrives
You have two enforcement routes: agency complaints and a private lawsuit.
File Complaints With the CFPB and FTC
The CFPB accepts complaints about debt collectors at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The bureau forwards the complaint to Portfolio Recovery, which generally has 15 days to respond, or up to 60 days in complex cases. You can review the response and provide feedback, and the complaint enters a public database with your personal information removed.11Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Learn How the Complaint Process Works You can also file by phone at (855) 411-2372, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
The FTC collects reports about illegal debt collection at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reports feed the Consumer Sentinel database that law enforcement agencies use to identify patterns and build cases.12Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov Filing with both agencies improves the odds that a pattern of violations gets flagged.
Sue Under the FDCPA and TCPA
If Portfolio Recovery ignores your cease letter, you can sue in federal or state court. The FDCPA allows recovery of actual damages, plus statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit, and the court must award reasonable attorney fees and court costs to a prevailing consumer.13Federal Trade Commission. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Text – Section 813 Because attorney fees shift to the collector, many consumer lawyers take these cases on contingency.
You must file suit within one year of the violation. Your certified mail receipt, return receipt, and call logs are the core of the case. If Portfolio Recovery used an automated dialing system or a prerecorded voice to call your cell phone without consent, you can add Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims to the same lawsuit, with separate damages of $500 per unauthorized call, which a court can increase to $1,500 per call for a willful violation.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Courts weigh the frequency and persistence of the violations, whether they were intentional, and the overall conduct when setting damages.