Cavalry Portfolio Services Debt Collection

A collection notice or lawsuit from Cavalry Portfolio Services — or its debt-owning entity, Cavalry SPV — doesn't have to be the last word. Cavalry is a national debt buyer that purchases charged-off debts and collects on them through calls, letters, credit reporting, and lawsuits. When Cavalry pursues a debt that isn't yours, can't be documented, or is too old to enforce, you have real protections. At The Kim Law Firm, we help people across the country push back against Cavalry under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Who is Cavalry Portfolio Services?

Cavalry Portfolio Services is the collection operation for Cavalry SPV, an entity that buys portfolios of defaulted consumer debts for a fraction of their face value. Like other debt buyers, Cavalry then tries to collect the full balance — often years after the original creditor charged the account off, and often with limited records of the underlying debt. That gap between what Cavalry claims and what it can actually prove is where consumers most often have leverage.

Is Cavalry Portfolio Services legit, or a scam

Cavalry Portfolio Services is a real collection agency, not a scam. It collects for Cavalry SPV I and Cavalry SPV II, which buy charged-off credit card accounts from banks, so the name on your credit report may read Cavalry SPV while the letters come from Cavalry Portfolio Services.

That answer settles less than people expect, because the question behind it is usually a different one: is this particular debt real, and is Cavalry allowed to do what it is doing about it. A legitimate company can still report an account that is not yours, chase a balance you already paid, pursue a debt it cannot document, or contact you in ways the FDCPA prohibits. Legitimate is not the same as correct.

Scam callers do impersonate real collectors. Treat a call as fraud, whatever name it gives, if the caller demands payment by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency, threatens arrest, refuses to name the original creditor, or will not put the debt in writing. A genuine collector has to send you written validation of the debt at or within five days of its first contact, and you are entitled to ask for it.

How do I stop Cavalry Portfolio Services from calling me

The FDCPA lets you tell any debt collector in writing to stop contacting you. Once it has your letter it must stop, except to confirm that it received the request or to tell you it is taking a specific step such as filing suit. Send the request by mail, keep a copy, and keep proof of delivery. Short of a full stop, you can also say that a time or place is inconvenient, or that your employer does not allow these calls at work, and the contact has to move or end.

Stopping the calls does not remove the account from your credit report and it does not stop a lawsuit. If the entry is wrong, the dispute and the credit reporting are the parts that decide the outcome, and they are handled separately from the phone.

Cavalry Portfolio Services sued me. What do I do

Do not ignore the papers. Ignoring them lets Cavalry take a default judgment without ever proving its case, and a judgment is what opens the door to wage garnishment and bank levies. You usually have a short window to file a written answer, often twenty to thirty days depending on your state and court, and that deadline runs from service rather than from the date on the complaint.

Answer, and make Cavalry prove what it has alleged: that it owns this account, that the balance is right, and that the debt is yours. Because these portfolios are bought in bulk with limited records, that documentation is often thin. Check your state statute of limitations as well, since suing on a time-barred debt can itself violate the FDCPA. And if the same account was reported inaccurately to the credit bureaus, you may have claims of your own rather than only a defense.

How to contact Cavalry Portfolio Services

If Cavalry Portfolio Services is contacting you about a debt or reporting one on your credit file, you can reach the company directly to dispute the debt or request validation:

• Mailing address: Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 500 Summit Lake Drive, Suite 400, Valhalla, NY 10595
• Phone: 1-800-501-0909
• Online: cavalryportfolioservices.com

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can send a written dispute or validation request within 30 days of first contact, and the collector must pause collection until it validates the debt. If it is also reporting the account to the credit bureaus, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires accurate reporting and a reasonable investigation of any dispute. Keep copies of everything you send.

Cavalry Portfolio Services in the courts

Cavalry Portfolio Services and its debt-buying affiliate Cavalry SPV are frequently litigated under federal consumer-protection law. In Gomez v. Cavalry SPV I, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressed a consumer’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims against the company (2020), and Cavalry has separately resolved a class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act over its automated collection calls. If Cavalry is collecting a debt that is not yours, is past the statute of limitations, or is being reported inaccurately, you may have claims under the FDCPA and the FCRA. Sources: Gomez v. Cavalry SPV (7th Cir.) and Cavalry TCPA class action settlement.

Common Cavalry problems we see

• A debt that isn't yours, was already paid, or resulted from identity theft
• A lawsuit from Cavalry SPV on a debt Cavalry can't fully document
• Collection on a debt past the statute of limitations
• Excessive or harassing phone calls
• Collection letters that don't clearly identify who actually owns the debt
• Inaccurate reporting of the Cavalry account on your credit report

How it hurts you

Cavalry's pressure often arrives by phone — repeated calls, sometimes to your workplace or family — alongside a court summons and a fresh negative mark on your credit file. The relentless contact wears people down until they pay just to make the phone stop ringing, even on a debt Cavalry has never actually proven is theirs to collect. Knowing your rights flips that pressure around and puts the burden back on Cavalry.

Cavalry's track record with regulators

Cavalry's collection practices have drawn action from state regulators — a useful signal for anyone facing it now.

In 2016, the West Virginia Attorney General reached a settlement in which Cavalry agreed to stop collecting $19.7 million in debt from 2,847 West Virginia consumers, pay $350,000 to the state, and delete the affected accounts from consumers' credit reports, after allegations that it collected without a required state license and used abusive practices — including harassing consumers with excessive calls and failing to identify who actually owned the account in its letters.

That same year, Arizona regulators fined Cavalry $175,000 in connection with being unresponsive when consumers asked it to prove a debt, and for reporting debts on credit files without the documentation to back them up. When a collector has been made to answer for exactly the conduct you're experiencing, it's worth taking your own situation seriously.

Your rights under the FDCPA and FCRA

You have enforceable protections against Cavalry. Under the FDCPA, Cavalry cannot harass you, misrepresent the debt, or sue on a time-barred debt, and it must validate the debt if you dispute it in writing. Under the FCRA, an inaccurate Cavalry entry that you dispute must be investigated and corrected or deleted. When Cavalry violates these rules and you're harmed, you can recover FDCPA statutory damages up to $1,000, your actual damages, credit-reporting damages, and attorney's fees — so we can take the case with nothing out of your pocket.

What to do if Cavalry contacts or sues you

1. Keep a running log of Cavalry's calls and letters — dates, times, who contacted you, and what was said; a pattern of excessive or misleading contact can itself be a violation.
2. Ask Cavalry, in writing, to prove it owns the debt and has the legal right to collect it, and hold onto a copy of your request.
3. Hold off on paying or acknowledging the balance — even a partial payment can revive a debt that was already too old to enforce.
4. If a Cavalry SPV summons arrives, calendar the response deadline the same day and answer it — a missed deadline hands Cavalry a default judgment.
5. Review your credit reports for the Cavalry entry, dispute it if the balance, dates, or ownership look wrong, and bring everything to an FDCPA/FCRA attorney.

If Cavalry can't prove the debt is yours, or crossed the line collecting it, that's where your case begins — and where we come in.

Is the Cavalry Portfolio Services account on your credit report even yours?

Before you pay anything, ask whether the account is accurate — and whether it is even yours. Debt buyers like Cavalry Portfolio Services purchase old accounts in bulk, and the information they report is frequently wrong, which is where your strongest rights lie.

• It isn’t your debt (identity theft). If the original account was opened in your name by someone else, a Cavalry Portfolio Services entry can be a sign of identity theft.
• It’s someone else’s account on your file (a mixed credit report). If the debt belongs to another person with a similar name or Social Security number, you may have a mixed credit file.
• The details are wrong. An incorrect balance, wrong dates, a duplicate, or a re-aged account are all credit reporting errors you can challenge — and recover damages for.

Each is a potential Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violation that can require the item to be corrected or deleted and entitle you to damages — often at no cost to you.

How The Kim Law Firm helps

Our first focus is your credit report: if Cavalry Portfolio Services is reporting a debt that is not yours, belongs to someone else, or is inaccurate, we pursue the credit bureaus and Cavalry Portfolio Services under the FCRA to get it corrected or deleted — and to recover damages. We help with credit reporting errors, identity theft, and mixed credit files.

From Philadelphia, we make Cavalry prove its claims. We defend Cavalry SPV lawsuits, force validation, challenge inaccurate credit reporting, and pursue damages for illegal collection. With Cavalry's regulatory history in view, we know where to press. You pay nothing unless we win.

Dealing with a different debt collector? We also handle Portfolio Recovery Associates, Midland Credit Management, and LVNV Funding — and you can see the full list on our furnisher & debt collector resource page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cavalry Portfolio Services the same as Cavalry SPV?

They're related: Cavalry SPV owns the purchased debt, and Cavalry Portfolio Services collects it. You may see either name on letters, credit reports, or a lawsuit.

Can Cavalry sue me on an old debt?

Cavalry SPV does file lawsuits, but suing on a debt past your state's statute of limitations can violate the FDCPA. If you're served, respond by the deadline regardless — ignoring it can lead to a default judgment.

How do I get Cavalry off my credit report?

Dispute the entry in writing with the credit bureaus and with Cavalry. If it can't verify the account, the FCRA requires it to be corrected or deleted. If an inaccurate entry stays after a valid dispute, you may have a claim.

Do I have to pay Cavalry Portfolio Services?

Only if the debt is truly yours and enforceable. If Cavalry can't document it or it's too old to sue on, you may owe nothing — don't pay or admit the debt until you know where you stand.

What does it cost to fight Cavalry?

Nothing up front. The FDCPA and FCRA shift attorney's fees to the collector when it breaks the law, so your review is free and you pay only if we recover for you.

Where we practice, and what to do if you are somewhere else

The Kim Law Firm is licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and that is where we handle matters directly.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal statute. It applies the same way in every state, it is enforced in federal court, and the rules a collector has to follow do not change when you cross a state line. So the answer to "does this apply to me in Ohio" is yes — but the answer to "can you represent me in Ohio" depends on the case and on where it would be filed.

If you are outside Pennsylvania and New Jersey, contact us anyway. Some matters can be handled from here. Some are better sent to a consumer lawyer admitted where you are, and we will tell you that plainly rather than let a deadline run while you wait. Either way you will get an answer, and the review costs nothing.

The one thing that does not wait is the clock, and under this statute it is short. An FDCPA claim generally must be brought within one year of the date the violation occurred, not one year from the day you found out about it. If the calls or the letter you are asking about were last year, that clock may already be most of the way run.