I recently spoke with a woman who had just been sued by Midland Funding LLC for a debt they bought from Citi bank. The amount she is being sued for is a few thousand dollars. She is being sued by a debt collection attorney in her state after collection attempts were first made by Midland Credit Management (MCM). Both Midland Funding and MCM are part of Encore Capital Group, which is one of few publicly traded debt buying companies in America, and one of the largest in the world.
I want to share the facts of her situation because they may help if you are getting collection notices and phone calls from Midland Credit Management, or if you are being sued by Midland Funding. Many of you reading this can prevent escalated collections from Midland in the courts, and anyone already in the courts will want to know how best to navigate things from here.
There will be many a reader just looking for why Midland Funding is appearing on your credit reports. Once you know why Midland is on your credit, many of you will want to know some things you can do to improve your credit.
Be certain to read the updates regarding Midland Funding on your credit reports that I posted at the end of the article. They have set themselves apart from any other debt collection company in the country by developing a consumer friendly credit reporting policy.
Credit card bills that go unpaid are packaged up in large bundles and sold off to bad debt investors in the normal course of lending. A portfolio of debt being bought by companies like Midland Funding could include your account, and thousands of other unpaid credit card bills.
Having your credit card debt bought by a debt buyer like Midland Funding is not unusual. And depending on how the debt collection and debt buying landscape changes in the next year or three, it could become even more common than we see today.
Midland Funding LLC and Midland Credit Management are Different
While Midland Credit and Midland Funding LLC share the same ownership under Encore Capital, each company does something different, and those differences matter to you. Midland Funding is the debt purchasing arm, while MCM will be recognized as the active debt collection agency, similar to how you would view any other debt collector.
Midland Credit Management sent a debt collection letter to the woman I reference above. Receiving a debt collection letter from a collection company you don’t immediately recognize is a normal occurrence. Collection agency letters and phone calls are the 2 primary ways a debt buyer, or the debt collectors they hire, will try to get you to pay.
You have options for handling the collection efforts from Midland Credit. If you are in a position to work out a settlement for less than what is owed on the now purchased account, doing so after the first phone call or collection letter you receive, is something to consider.
Understand that making arrangements to pay a debt buyer the full amount for a debt they bought is not going to go to your original creditor. The debt buyer is not a lender, but an investor. They are risking money to buy up bad debt to turn a profit.
Midland Funding is willing to accept less than the face value of your debt through its debt collection arm Midland Credit Management. How much less will vary. You are welcome to call me at 800-939-8357, ext 2, in order to get help settling with them.
Midland Funding generally shows up on your credit reports. Once on them, you cannot pay Midland to delete the derogatory in the first 2 years they have your account. You can negotiate a lower payoff and Midland Funding will update your credit reports to show the account is resolved and a zero balance owed. This will help you get a home loan through, and benefit you in other ways too.
There is a delay between Midland Funding buying your debt, and them reporting to the credit bureaus. Midland Credit Management will often start off the collection process by sending you a collection notice, or make collection phone calls that you may pick up. In the letter or phone call Midland may offer you the opportunity to settle or set up payments on your account in order to prevent the credit reporting of the collection account from occurring at all. As of the most recent update to this article, you have three months from the date they get your account to take advantage of this offer. If you can afford the money to settle, or set up payments you are confident you can pay each month, there are immediate and long term benefits to doing this. It is not a trick, they actually do this, and may be the only debt collectors making this type of offer.
If you want to settle with Midland Credit Management for less than the balance owed; can afford 50%; and sometimes spread out over 24 months; click the get debt help tab at the top of this page and create your user profile.
You can get help settling with MCM and have a deal done within days (as long as MCM has not already sent your account to a collection law firm). The Network I helped build has many negotiators, and we all charge 15% of savings. No savings, no fee.
Debt Validation Request Letter Sent to Midland Credit Management
The woman I refer to in this article sent Midland Credit a validation request in response to a collection letter MCM sent her. Sending a debt validation letter to a debt collector is your right. If for any reason you question the nature of the debt being collected, requesting validation from a collection agency or debt buyer will accomplish a couple of things:
- Triggers an obligation under federal law on the part of the debt collector.
- A written response from the debt buyer should include the original creditor, the amount owed, and these days, we are seeing some form of documentation to back up their claim (not simply a reference to their own spread sheet of debts they purchased).
- Debt buyers and debt collectors do not always respond to your request for validation, but the response is often sufficient to meet the standard that would allow them to continue to collect (the federal debt validation standard is low enough to trip over, your state law standard may be a little tougher).
- Debt buyers may never respond to a debt validation letter. The account may end up with a different collection agency, or sold off to a different debt buyer (Midland has not been much of a debt reseller of late).
Midland Credit Management did not respond to her validation request to her knowledge.
It is not uncommon for a debt buyer to ignore a validation request. The reason validation of debt requests are ignored by Midland Credit Management, and other debt collectors and debt buyers, is that sometimes no meaningful information was included when the debt was purchased. There are sometimes options to acquire detailed information from the original creditor at an additional cost, but that is not always the case. And you may not appear all that collectable to a debt collector, and they just may not bother if they see a low probability that you will pay anything.
When debt validation requests are ignored, Midland Funding may still send your account to a collection attorney.
Many years ago, I came to the conclusion that sending debt validation requests to a debt collector like Midland Funding, when you already recognize the debt as yours, and your goal is to resolve the debt by settling with the collector for the lowest amount possible, is counterproductive.
Midland Credit Management Sues in Order to Collect
The woman who inspired this post next received a collection letter from a well known and very active debt collection law firm in her state. She sent a new validation request to the attorney debt collector hired by Midland Funding. The collection attorney responded to the validation request with some basic information about the original account including monthly billing statements from Citibank. Shortly after receiving the debt validation response in the mail from the Midland Funding attorney she was served with a lawsuit.
Debt buyers will target accounts they buy for aggressive collection. Midland Funding is part of the largest debt buying collection brand in the nation. Lawsuits to collect can play a big part in how a debt buyer like Midland Funding will look to turn a profit on their investment in defaulted credit card debts.
The debtor, in this case, shared with me that she knew the sister of the process server that showed up at her door to serve the lawsuit. With that connection, a friendly enough conversation took place. The process server shared the fact that she had a list of Midland Funding lawsuits to serve… about two hundred of them. She lives in a county with a small population. Two hundred or so lawsuits on debts bought by Midland Funding is not unremarkable given the amount of people there are in the area.
Midland Credit Pre-Legal Notification Letter
Update February 2023: Like many creditors, Midland Credit will often send a letter telling you of their intent to escalate collections by taking you to court. These mailed notices will typically include the words “Pre-Legal Notification” in larger and bolder letters.
A Pre-Legal notice from Midland Credit should generally not be construed as an empty threat, or just a collection tactic. They are telling you that your file has been selected for collection attorney placement, which is the precursor to a lawsuit being filed to collect. And you can prevent this.
Always open your mail from Midland Credit. If you see a pre legal notice, you typically have time to negotiate a settlement with them for a much better savings than when it goes to the attorney. The main reason I am posting this 2023 update is that I am seeing Midland send out their first collection notice, that they then follow up by sending a pre-legal notice only a few weeks later. There is often more time between their first collection notice and the legal placement letter. But they are accelerating collections with many accounts. And because they give you a timeline to resolve the debt before they take that step, your next move is important if you intend to try to settle the account
Go here to schedule a call with me to talk about settling with Midland. I can often get these accounts settled for fifty percent of the balance or lower, and the settlements can often be paid over a couple years if you need time.
I can help you settle once the account goes legal too, but the deals after attorneys get your account, or an action has been filed in the courts, are not as good, and the process is much more formal.
What to Do About Midland Funding LLC Collecting Your Debt
If you are contacted by Midland funding LLC, or by Midland Credit Management, or some other Encore debt collection brand (Atlantic Credit and Finance, Asset Acceptance), consider the following:
- Are you able to come up with a plan to resolve the debt for half of what is owed? If you can afford to settle with MCM or Midland Funding you can contact them and work toward getting a deal negotiated, a written agreement on the collectors letter head outlining the terms, and pay it off. While it is recommended to negotiate and settle with MCM or Midland Funding in a single lump sum payment whenever possible, you can also look to set up monthly payments that you are confident you can afford and follow through with to completion. Midland Credit Management and Midland Funding both offer different methods to resolve debts they are collecting while giving you time to pay.
- If you are not familiar with the debt they allege you owe, request the debt be validated. Send your request in writing via certified mail. If you do not hear back from them do not assume they went away. I do not recommend this approach if you want to resolve a debt that you know to be yours.
- Be certain you are aware of how long it has been since you last paid on the account and compare that to the SOL (statute of limitations) for being sued on your type of debt in your state. You may learn that you cannot legitimately be sued for the debt as it has passed the SOL. That does not mean the debt can no longer be collected, or that you should ignore it. The account is likely showing up on your credit report. If you have a goal of buying a home, or refinancing an existing home, you may find you are forced to settle collection accounts in order to qualify for a loan later on. And settling later on may come at a higher price. Avoid applying for credit of any nature just prior to negotiating with Midland Credit and other debt collectors (it makes you look more collectable)
Depending on your current financial situation, looking for affordable settlements and paying off debts with Midland Credit Management and Midland Funding will set you up for less stress and the ability to achieve later financial goals.
The woman who inspired this article was someone I worked with a few years ago. She was laid off from work and struggled to find a new job. She could no longer afford to make payments on her credit card debts and was referred to me by her accountant. I worked with her and her husband to develop a plan to settle her unpaid debts, rather than file bankruptcy (they had filed in the 90’s and did not want to go through that again). She was able to knock down her largest 6 credit card balances by settling with her original creditors using money she was able to borrow from a family member. Her husband’s hours were then cut back at his job, and it became impossible for her to follow through with the plan, leaving a couple of her smaller balance accounts unresolved, the Citibank account Midland Credit Management began collecting was one of them.
She did not reach back out to me for feedback on dealing with the Midland Credit Management collection letter she received. Instead, she went to the internet and found what she said was the consistent advice to send a debt validation letter to MCM. She thought the collection account was behind her when she did not hear back from MCM. When she received the attorney collection notice in the mail for the same debt, she simply repeated her debt validation request again. She did not know how, or what, to respond to the collection attorney with, once they mailed back evidence of a debt she already knew she owed. She only contacted me again after she was sued by Midland Funding.
Settling with Midland Funding LLC When Sued
I suggested she connect with a local consumer attorney about her options to handle the lawsuit. After that consultation, she decided to settle the lawsuit from Midland Funding. We got a good deal, to be sure, but she was settling on a total balance that had increased due to attorney costs. We could have settled directly with Midland Credit Management early on, and for a much better savings, and less stress.
There is, often enough, also going to be a difference between the amount you can negotiate and get approved to settle for, when you are dealing with a debt collection attorney. It is not uncommon to see a 20 to 40 percent premium to settle a Midland Funding debt once sued for collection, compared to negotiating before the account lands in court.
If you are just not in any shape financially to follow through with any strategy to resolve the debt with Midland, you may end up with a judgment against you. Judgments can be settled for less down the road, so keep that in mind. But you may want to consider defending against any collection lawsuit too. There are good resources that can help you, but you will want to assess the costs and time involved in any effort to defend collection lawsuits.
What You Can Do to Resolve Debt with Midland
You may be reading this and in a situation where you cannot possibly think of how you can resolve a debt being collected by MCM or Midland Funding LLC. I understand that. The situation is what it is, and sometimes all you can do is wait for things to improve before tackling old debts. However, you may want to at least learn about the options available to you to tackle debts Midland is collecting. You may be surprised by some of the flexibility that is available. You may even be able to avoid being sued later, by taking action today.
If you have received collection notices from an attorney for Midland Funding, or have been sued by an attorney for collection, you will want to contact the attorney directly. You should also consider speaking with an experienced collection defense attorney of your own.
If you are trying to resolve an existing judgment from Midland Funding, you have options for that as well.
There will be additional pressures on Midland Funding, Midland Credit Management, Encore Capital Group, and many other collectors and debt buyers, as a result of new federal regulatory supervision. The CFPB has already had a huge impact on Midland Funding. I will keep the article updated as things develop.
Midland Funding LLC on Your Credit Reports
I am updating this article as of 1/10/17 to include information about Midland Funding credit reporting policy changes that are way ahead of the curve when it comes to providing you the ability to meet your current and future personal credit goals. Be sure to click through and learn more about how Midland Funding will handle credit reporting when it comes to accounts you have with them.
- Midland Funding will not show on your credit reports if you are able to make payment arrangement, or settle with them for less, in the first 180 days after they purchase your account. This is obviously ideal when you can commit to resolving accounts with Midland Funding early on.
- Midland Funding will remove all credit reporting if you pay or settle a debt with them. This is an obvious benefit to those of us who had financial setbacks that lingered longer, and who could not take advantage of the opportunity to keep Midland off our credit reports from the beginning, when they sent their first collection notice.
- I have seen it take up to 60 days for the Midland Credit account to be deleted from your credit reports.
There are many examples of people in the comments below, and who I have spoken with on the phone, who are taking advantage of Midland’s credit reporting policy.
Midland Funding is leading by example with this credit reporting policy.
Updated 2/20/20 – Three additional debt buyers have since followed the example Midland set for credit reporting.
If you would prefer to get help settling your Midland Credit Management debts, let us know by scheduling a phone call using the box below, or the help tab up top. We can help you and typically for a fraction of what most companies charge.
Hi Michael,
I have been sued by Midland and their attys for an old Chase account, for close to 8,000. I never knew about the judgement until my work sent me the garnishment letter. I called the attorneys, and they will not provide me with any information on the account, other than the Chase account number.. This account was closed, I think, in 2009. I thought that in 2009, I made a settlement directly with chase, but do not have paperwork at all from then. In addition to not providing details, , they state that they are unable to settle for any less than the value on the garnishment. Is there anything I can do here, or am I stuck? They have already been garnishing me for several months.
What state are you in?
When did the garnishment start?
Who is the law firm involved with collecting for Midland? Is that the same law firm listed with the court as having first sued you?
How many months is several?
I received a certified letter from Monroe County NY with a judgement execution for $2324 to be paid in full by 1/9/16. If payment is not made to the County interest will start and my wages will be garnished. The interest is $1104!! How can this be legit?? The letter I received from the County is date 12/7/15 and I got it today on 12/26/15!! What can I do?
Call in for a consult about your options. I can be reached at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
Depending on your situation, Midland may not be able to collect anything from you right now.
Michael, I want to thank you for all the insight you provide. Just reading through all the work you put into your responses, there is so much valuable information there that you are sure to be helping many people.
1. I have received a collection notice from Convergent Outsourcing claiming I owe $2,307 ($1,562 Principal + $745 Interest) the current owner is listed as Midland Funding, and the Original Creditor is listed as Providian. I spoke to Convergent and they alerted me that this is in reference to a credit account from 2001. I am 99% positive this isn’t my account, I have never had a credit card with any limit over $300 (sad at my age). The 1% possibility that this is my debt would only be if Providian provided credit services other than credit cards, (I did have an account through Dell back around 1999-2000-ish) but I do not know what company might have provided credit for that purchase. I did tell the representative I would be sending a request for validation, that I did not believe the debt is mine. They did mention it is too old to sue for the debt. If I cannot be sued for the debt, it isn’t on a current credit report, if somehow the validation proves it is mine, can this still be put onto my credit report, thus bringing my score down? How should I proceed?
2. I am looking into purchasing a home with my VA home loan benefit. I know I need a minimum score of 620, and I’m currently around 570 (up 50 points in the past 3 months as I have been cleaning things up). There are two accounts with Enhanced Recovery 1 for T-Mobile, 1 for Sprint totaling $508. First the T-Mobile account is not an account number that I recognize, and on my current credit report there is no data available for the past 2 years (I am considering asking for validation on this account as well; the Sprint account is mine. Long way to get to the question but I have been advised that these accounts are old enough that paying them off will not have much bearing on my score at all. I fully intend to pay these off, but I have a shorter term goal of doing what is necessary to try and raise my score quicker for a home purchase. Should I dispute the T Mobile account? I know that by paying off both (or just Sprint if that’s the only valid account) that I will prevent future credit damages, but could paying off actually work against me in the short term?
Based on what you shared I do not see anyway this old of a collection account could be placed back on your credit reports. If Midland Funding were to somehow show up again for this account it would be in error and an easy fix.
If it were me I would dispute anything I was uncertain about and pay or settle anything I know is mine. Your loan could get hung up if you have ANY unresolved collections on your reports. That will having nothing to do with your score, and it is better to get a lead on the settlements so the updates can season a bit.
I owe Target National Bank $449. Charge off date shows 10/1/2011. This shows on my credit report as TNB – TARGET. Also showing on my credit report for this same debt is Midland Funding for $579. If TNB has turned this over to a collection agency, why are they both showing on my credit report? If I pay the amount owed to one, will they both be removed from the credit report? Who should I contact to pay it? Thanks!
Target shows your charged off collection account in the normal course of credit reporting. Midland Funding is showing up for the Target account after having bought the legal rights to collect your account, and that is normal too. Be sure that Target is showing a zero balance owed them, and that Midland is the only one showing a balance due as of today.
You cannot pay one of them and have anything removed from your credit reports. Target will not remove anything in these situations (unless by accident or oversight), and Midland Funding does not do pay for delete.
You can contact Midland Funding to pay the collection balance off (or settle for less than the balance owed). Once you resolve the account Midland will update the credit bureaus that the account is now a zero balance. That is often the best you can do in these situations, which is fine, because that is often all you need in order to make progress with your financing goals.
Does Midland sell the debts they buy?
In the last few years Midland did not resell much of the debts they bought. As of a couple of weeks ago Midland is prevented from reselling any debts at all due to the consent agreement they entered with the CFPB.
What is your situation?
What a helpful website! I’m reading through all these posts regarding Midland now. I do have a question. I have received a couple of letters from an attorney (I’m in NC) regarding a debt that Midland apparently purchased from Webbank/Fingerhut. The most recent letter states an intent to file a lawsuit in my county. I will probably contact them and see if I meet their hardship forgiveness requirements, so I’m good with that, and if they get a judgment, they get it. I’m in my retirement house and rarely use credit anyway.
When I go to the original creditor’s website, my account is still showing as due and payable there with the demand and option to make a payment on the account online. Is that typical, or legal, if the debt has actually been sold? It is Midland Funding, LLC that has claimed ownership of the debt, It is not their collection arm. By having the debt still on the original creditor’s website AND being pursed by Midland, it appears that two different entities are trying to collect the same debt.
Thanks for any clarification you can offer regarding this.
I would not say it is typical to have the original creditor accept payments after they sell the debt. But you have not really tried to follow through with it, so it could simply be a glitch on the website that would not result in a payment getting through.
Look on your credit report and see if more than Midland Funding is reporting a balance owing as of today? You should only see Midland reporting that, and any other credit entry showing a negative/charged off account, but with a zero balance owed them.
I owed midland 1500.00 . I know its not alot but to a person that has no job its kind of hard.. i had made payment arrangements of 100. A month. Even that became too much. After the second month i called them and told them i was not gonna be able to make any more payments. The only income i had was childsupport for my kids. This morning i woke up to see my whole acct was at $0.00. I had 600 which is my only childsupport income.. My question is can they do that?? Garnish my childsupport??
With a judgment against you debt collectors like Midland Funding have extra ordinary options to collect. This can include a bank account levy for most.
Certain funds on deposit in your bank account can be protected, such as social security, and other sources. Your state may have dollar amounts that are exempt too. You also may meet certain exemptions for bank levy that could see those funds returned to you.
What state are you in?
In November of 2011 my husband lost his job we are in our late fiftys and we are both under employed we had a debt with citi which originally was with Amex we couldn’t make payment today I received a letter from citi saying the debt was sold to midland what can I expect from this notice?
Now that Midland Funding owns the legal rights to collect on your Citibank account you will have to resolve the debt with them if that is consistent with your goals and abilities.
What is your goal with this account? Working with Midland Funding to resolve the debt is not complicated. Do you have other collection accounts besides this one?
Yes we do. I also just worked out an offer in compromise with the irs so our cash flow is really stretched to its limit any advice is welcomed and appreciated
Give me a call for a consult Helen. I can dig more into your situation and recommend some steps to resolve the debt with Midland Funding based on what you share with me.
I can be reached at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
I. Am in New Jersey is their a time difference where you are?
I am in Sandpoint Idaho, which is the northern part that is on pacific time. I can be reached most weekdays until 9 pm eastern.
I requested debt validation for a debt I am unaware of on my credit. They responded with letter stating the debt is correctly mine with attached documents of proof. The proof they sent was not what they reported on my credit report. It had my name with an address in a state I never resided, amount was not what they reported, creditor was not what was Beeing reported, phone number that I never had and clearly another persons debt. I’m confused why they are validation a debt that is not mine and not what they reported on my credit. They apparently got information from another person who had my name and sent that to me as validation but reporting differently than what they sent me by ma
Is this a credit reporting dispute with Midland Funding? Was your dispute sent to Midland or the credit bureaus? Do you have unpaid debts that potentially could have been sold to Midland Funding?
I have feedback but it will vary on the answers to those questions.
I am schedule to appear in court on the 24th being sued by Midland Funding (3rd debt collector)on behalf of Creditone CC (2013).I sent a debt validation letter to both the Attorney and the Court. I haven’t heard anything back; the debt listed is near $1,456.00 which is double the amounted owed. I have attempting to reach out to Attorney office listed and they are sending me over to what I assume is their collection agency. I have called 8 times in past weeks and no spoke to someone but never a returned called. Is this a tactic to stretch it out in hopes I don’t show to court. I am willing to pay the debt off and can do so in a one lump sum payment, but I don’t want to be stuck with the inaccurate amount. Should I consult an attorney in the 11th hour sort of speak?
It is typically a good idea to talk with an experienced debt collection attorney (that represents consumers) when you have been sued.
You can reach an agreement to settle with Midland Funding between now and the 24th. If that were my goal I would keep calling, and without regard to their having enough time to return my message from 30 minutes ago. I would also call the law firm and tell them of your difficulty. The amount you agree to settle for should be consistent with what you can afford, or what you believe is owed.
Having said that, you can also get this settled at the court house on the day of, or challenge the amount they claim is owed.
Thanks for the speedy reply. Finally got through to a case manager and the reduce amount they are requesting is pretty close to what I believe the real totaled owed is. I never intended to not pay the debt but was laid off and now in a better position. The hiccup in this that the case manager states they will not provide a letter to remove from my credit report even though I can settle in a lump sump payment? The case manager told me to reach out to Midland Funding to try and obtain better deal and letter, spoke today and they instructed me that they can’t touch the account it has to be handle by said attorney firm. Should I try and reach out to Creditone or in this late effort just settled account? I notice that Midland never sent any documentation to show proof of any debt, do they have to in this case?
Regards
It is common to have to negotiate and document the deal through the attorney for Midland Funding. You do not stand much of a chance at getting Midland Funding to delete any credit reporting once they have already appeared on your reports. The attorneys collecting for Midland will have nothing to do with credit reporting (unless you are resolving a court judgment).
Contacting Credit One will lead nowhere as the debt is sold.
You cannot send a debt validation to the attorney for Midland Funding, like you would normally send one to a debt collector, after your sued. Once sued, the process for seeking validation of a debt is much more complete, but it is also formalized through the court process (referred to as discovery).
If your goal is resolving the debt with Midland, I would make progress with that at this point.
hi,
I had a judgement placed on a credit card account. It was originally Capital One and then Midland Funding, LLC bought and turned it over to Suttell & Hammer, P.S.
The debt was $10305.31. I paid $1910.00 in installment payments and then had a financial hardship and couldn’t pay anything. My balance should have been $8395.31.
I called Suttell & Hammer, on February 25, 2013 and had a verbal agreement from a legal assistant of the firm. She stated that everything would be the same as long as I made on time payments of $270 a month starting in March of 2013. She also said that the judgement would be withdrawn as long as I didn’t default. I asked for a letter summarizing our chat and it stated that my balance as of
February 25, 2013 was $8734.
The judgement was entered on February 22, 2013 stating that there would be a 12% annum interest on $9284. I received the judgement in the mail a few days after the verbal agreement was made.
Should they honor the verbal agreemt?
Thanks for your time.
Did you sign a stipulation or consent to judgment before you started making the initial payments?
It sounds like the person at the law firm may have been sincere enough, but that their systems had already kicked in after your having missed an agreed upon payment.
Regardless, you have what appears to be a he said she said situation. And if you signed off on the prior stipulated agreement to make installment payments, everything that happened after missing payments is fairly normal.
Should Suttell and Hammer honor the verbal agreement? Probably. Will they? I am highly skeptical. Have you called and asked them to look into the matter? Can they see any notes made by the collector you spoke with prior who said everything would be fine? Do you know the exact day, time, person and phone number you called? It could help them review your file (collection calls are often recorded and archived for a period of time).
Oh, I want to add that I sent Midland a letter and asked them to verify all the info on the account the say is mine. I am waiting to hear from them.
What do you mean by asking Midland Funding to verify all the info on the account is yours?
I received a notice stating I owe $4577 for Synchrony Bank. I never opened an account with Synchrony bank, but I researched to see that Pay Pal was bought by them.
The letter says, unless I pay $$$$ right away, they are sending my account to a lawyer in my state who will sue me.
Won’t the suing lawyer be required to prove I had an account and that he has the right to sue me? This account was mine before I was married and my spouse can’t be required to pay for it. I no longer work so if they sued and won…they would get zilch-nada.
The collection attorney for Midland will have to prove their case if you defend against it. If your case is defended well, or the other side is unable to prove their claims to the satisfaction of the court, you would get a lawsuit dismissed.
I understand coming to the conclusion that once a judgment is in place you can avoid payment, and that your spouse will not be affected, but that is often not the case in my experience. Judgments can be renewed for a very long time in some states. An unresolved judgment could require you and your spouse to live separate financial lives… forever. That is not always a bad thing, but is something that should be pointed out.
Here are some things a judgment against you can lead to:
No joint bank accounts.
Your name kept off property.
Keeping the value of your personal stuff lower than your states exemptions.
It can be a drag on both of you.
What state are you in?
Are you open to the idea, and able to pull together resources, in order to negotiate a reduced lump sum pay off with Midland?
I hired an attorney in Arizona against Midland Funding and somehow lost last year…this includes the appeal in which he stated he has a 100% appeals win rate. Anyways, I just got two separate copies of a subpoena that an attorney has served my personal bank on behalf of Midland Funding.
I have reached out to my prior attorney who told me that if anyone attempts to contact me or collect on this debt to contact him but it has been two days and he has not responded.
I am wondering if they can really get my bank to give them private information.
It is not like I am rich…I make $13.00 an hour and only have a part-time job….what are they going to do with this information and why are they allowed to do this?
Any suggestions as to what my rights are at this point…or what I can/should do in response to this subpoena made to my bank.
Arizona has long been a tough state to defend collection lawsuits.
The attorney for Midland will be able to access any and all information allowed for by state law in order to collect from you. This can sometimes culminate in having you appear for an asset discovery hearing (your essentially under oath answering questions about assets and income).
The information requests are designed to assist in the collection efforts. I would consult with the attorney you have about your rights and options, if any, for dealing with the bank subpoena.
I am curious if you do not mind answering a few questions. It could help later readers.
How much were you sued for?
Did you lose at trial or in motion practice (summary judgment granted)?
What collection law firm handled this for Midland Funding?
HI,
We received in the mail a “Request for Income Information”form from our states department of treasury. They are holding our state income tax refund for a debt. Through some research we found out it may be from a credit card my husband had thru Citi bank .Just a little back ground: We had lost our home due to bad information from Countrywide and Bank of America and reduced income. While fighting for our home our attorney said these companies will not come after us when we talked about bankruptcy. We hadn’t filed and we lost the home 3 1/2 years ago now. We are going paycheck to paycheck and have gone through our savings and 401k trying to save our home.(what a mistake). So now no one has contacted us and this is how we found out about it. We are not totally sure who its from. other than Midland Funding LLC. and it says garnishment on the form as well. Obviously they can do this but how do we know its legit? And they didn’t contact us. So what do we do now? Contact the attorney for midland funding? or let it go through the channels through the state treasury?
Thanks
Give me a call tomorrow Teri. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2. I want to dig into the details and timelines with you some more. It will help if you can print out the docket summary for your case if your court provides free online access.
I appreciate reading all these comments and have a few questions regarding my dealing with MIdland Funding.
I had a Chase cc back from 2007 with the first default date being in March 2009.
I am recently looking to purchase a home and cleaning up my credit. Many of the bad debt should time out early 2016.
Anyways, Midland contacted me about owing them $1800. So I asked for validation. They sent me a validation letter including a final judgment from April 2013 in Texas. This was the first I had ever heard of any lawsuit from them so I check court records online and don’t find anything regarding the cause no listed or my name. I haven’t had any wage garnishment or other legal documents stating risk of liens.
Would this final judgement document be legit even if I can’t find information online about the judgment?
Also, they are stating my last payment date before default was November 2009 which is not correct.
If I do pay the judgment amount would it restart the length the negative information another 7 years on my credit report? I am willing to pay it if the judgment is legit, which is unfortunate because I don’t recall being served or anything, but I don’t want to have the collection account extended another 7 years on my credit report. It shows expiring next year currently.
I wanted to add there is no public record showing on any credit report either.
All the more reason to call the clerk to see what is what.
Call the court that the judgment was issued from in the morning and ask why you cannot see it online, and if they can see the judgment on their end. This could be an error on the courts end, or with Midland Funding.
Reaching a settlement with Midland Funding, and then paying it, will not add any time to how long they will stay on your credit reports.
Thanks for the response.
I will call the JC in the morning.
One question though, if the judgment does check out as real and I pay Midland the judgment amount do I have to worry about it magically showing up on my credit report or public records now or in the future?
Yes you would, but that is no different than the judgment being legitimate and it showing up next month even if you did nothing.
Michael, My husband and I recently decided to purchase a home, prior to contacting a loan officer I pulled our credit reports. My husband’s showed 2 collection accounts, the 1st being an old Chase credit card. Our reports from 3/13 show Chase reporting a last payment date of 6/2008., and charged off with no date, although at that time any payment history prior to that date shows only an *. Chase is no longer reporting on the current report but Midland Funding is with a date placed for collections as 11/21/2013. It shows as a an open account and was just updated on 6/25/2015. It also states estimated month to be removed 11/2015 on Transunion and 9/2015 and 10/15 on Experien and Equafax respectively. The second was a 13 year old cell phone bill reported by New Millennium and it was only showing up on the Transunion report, we have disputed it with Transunion and it has already been removed, at least for now.
We live in Florida so we have determined that the SOL has expired on both, I have spoken with an attorney to find out what we could do about this as I felt that the debts had been re-aged and he agrees. He wants to file suit but really all we are wanting is to get it removed. He did inform me that while the reporting is 7 years and we should be at the drop off point or close to, that they being Midland can continue to report it indefinitely if there was a possible future loan I.e. Like a mortgage on the horizon exceeding 150,000.00, which there is.
The attorney did say he works on a contingency basis and would recover his fees from the suit if we sued. We are just really unsure of how to proceed, again all we want is to find out how long this can effect our mortgage pursuit. If in fact the 150,000.00 is true and I did look it up and saw the paragraph he referred to, can this really go forever? Let me finish by saying until we found it on the current credit reports we have not ever been contacted by either of these collection agency’s, and while the Chase now Midland was on both of our reports in 2013 it is now only showing on my husbands. Any insight you have would be great as we are so confused!
No it cannot go forever like you are thinking. You should cover your concerns with a senior loan officer or a mortgage broker that has been involved in home loans for many years (10 or more).
If at one time Chase reported your last payment as being in June 2008, and your own records jibe with that, than the drop off dates for Midland Funding showing on your credit reports seem correct. The reporting time is 7 and one half years from the date of last payment (not 7 years even). That would put the drop off date around December of this year. Your saying that the drop off dates a re 1 to 3 months earlier than that. I would just wait that out if I had too. But there is nothing to sue Midland about in my opinion. There does not appear to be a reaging.
Hi. I recently got served papers from Midland Funding sueing me for $650, I know that’s not huge but I know it’s my debt from 2012, it was written off so I thought it was over, I know now that’s not true. Anyways, I offered to settle for $500 in a lump payment and they declined. Said I could make payments and court costs and sheriff’s fee for serving me would be added making it $775. I do not work, I’m a stay at home mom. We are not wealthy by any means. I have a court date in August. What would it take to get these guys to settle and what do I say in court? Thanks for any advice!!!
Small balance debts are harder to settle sometimes. Settling once sued is also not a breeze. When you combine the two you get… where you are.
You will likely open up a better debt negotiation opportunity with Midland if you contest the lawsuit and defend it. You are being sued in small claims court?
Yes, I am being sued in small claims court. I did my answer and appearance online. You say to contest and defend it, but I know the debt is mine, so what does contest mean? Can they take money from our checking if it has my husband’s and my name on it? We rent, don’t own, and get government assistance as far as Iowa Medicaid. I didn’t know if there is nothing they can put a judgement on why they wouldn’t just settle and take the $500.
Generally speaking, defending against a debt collection lawsuit will cause there to be some additional flexibility in the amount you can settle for, or even whether you can negotiate a lower pay off at all.
That will not always be the case. You may have already admitted to the debt, or said or filed something in the case that suggests the attorney for Midland should hold out for every penny, and there is still the issue of this being a low balance account.
You may find you settle this the day of court or just before.
I tried emailing the attorney and it went to his secretary of course and they are staying strong at settling at $615 and not a penny less. So my question is I’m going to go ahead and settle, but what do I do to protect myself. They said this offer is good for 20 days. What do I ask them for in writing to ensure once I’ve paid this $615 it will not come back to bite me and I’ve fulfilled all my duties? Will they notify the court system so I don’t look like a no show if we settle this before? I just want to go by the book. Thanks so much!
Get them to send you the agreement in writing and follow what I outline in this article to look out for.
You do want them to confirm that they will dismiss the action upon receipt of funds. Getting all of this done prior to any hearing date, answer or filing deadline, is normally good enough.
A friend of mine is being sued by Midland Funding for a credit card that she doesn’t own. They continued to harass her non-stop. Is that legal? How can I help her?
I can help you with better feedback if you were more descriptive with what has happened.
I moved to new York over 10 years ago from New Jersey. In this time I have had a judgement filed against me in 2008 by Midland funding on behalf of Providian for a credit card I had in 2001 with a balance of 800.00. I was never served with a motion to appear in court and have only recently been receiving correspondence about this matter at my New York address from Pressler and Pressler by phone, and the last letter I received was from the Court Officer of the New Jersey Civil part stating they could Levy my bank account, wages , assets etc. unless I contact them to make arrangements to pay a balance they say I owe of 2900.00. Any guidance would be appreciated as I woud have made arrangents with the debtor prior if they contacted me at the address I reside at.
Can you come up with money to fund a settlement? If you can, and are motivated to resolve the debt by negotiating a lower pay off, I would target 50% as being realistic. There are reasons accounts will settle for a bit less, or a bit more.
Are there any other debts outstanding that show as unpaid on your credit reports? How many pays on time and current credit reporting entries are there compared to collection accounts?
I could certainly scrounge up some money to shoot for the targeted 50% to negotiate for a lump sum payoff. Currently the Midland funding is the only one on the CR showing as public record. I currently hold 5 credit accounts that have all been paid on time. Should this be negotiated with Midland funding Directly or through the Court Officer who has mailed me the letter? Once again any walkthrough on this process would be appreciated as this matter is a skeleton that has wandered out of the closet.
I have a post up where I cover all of the basics of settling a judgment debts. There is a ton more detail covered in the comments of that page.
You can call Midland Funding to negotiate a lump sum payoff. If they have the account out with an attorney you may find you have to deal with the collection attorney.
My Fifth Third card has been sold to Midland in the amount of $799. I got a settlement offer in the mail of 60%, or $480 or so. From what I’m reading this is a great deal. I didn’t think so at the time. Now I’m concerned that if I show that I’m interested in repaying the debt or settling that the figure will go up.
How can I best use the settlement offer they have already sent me? Can I send them a check for the settlement amount with a letter that states by cashing it they agree to honor the original offer? I desperately want to log in to their website but am afraid that would put up red flags as well.
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
I would not send Midland Credit a check for the amount they offered to settle for if the offer letter they sent you has expired. I would probably call them and tell them it took you this long to round up the money, and even then you needed a little help, and if they mail or fax you a new letter, you can pay it. Get a 10 day to 2 week window for payment if they are mailing the letter to you.
I would call, and not log into the website. Until I hear a good bit of feedback about resolution and documentation coming from individual people when settling using automated tools with debt collectors like Midland Credit, I suggest the phone.
Michael,
I live in SLC, UT. I Johnson Mark, LLC is suing me on behalf of Midland Funding for $6149.10. Within the complaint the paragraphs were misnumbered. It looked like a person had not even looked at it. I filed my response with the West Jordan Court, after an expensive $50 cab ride, since I don’t have a car I live 30 minutes away from that court. I also mailed them a response and have verification that they got it.
In my response I stated that the statute of limitations had passed since the last payment I made to this card was over 6 years ago. I haven’t heard anything about this debt from anyone in about 5 years. I also asked for statements and contract, and calculations of the total I mentioned above. That number doesn’t include the over $600 they want to add as the legal fee.
My question is what happens now?
Do they have a time limit on their side now also to respond?
Do I just keep calling the court to find out if they filed anything else?
What should I be doing until I hear from them?
I filed with the court 4 days ago.
Thanks.
I would encourage you to talk legal strategy with an experienced consumer law attorney (I am not one).
If it were me I would file a motion to dismiss based on the debt being passed the SOL to legitimately use the courts to collect.
Hi, Michael,
I have a joint checking account with my mother, never thought anything of it until now since a lien has been placed on my account. My mom apparently owes almost 20k to Midland and she has no memory of ever receiving any type of notice in the mail. We called them together and they said that this was the first notice and the only solution for lifting the lien was to pay the balance. I keep asking her about what type of debt/card she had but her memory is vague and does not know. I’m unable to pay any of my own bills because of this lien, and when talking to the people this seems to be a very long process. I took my mother to the courthouse today to fill out paperwork for hardship, but she did not meet any of the requirements and could only write a letter which she submitted. What can be done? I really need to access my account to pay my rent, bills, etc. I am head of the household, but just recently started living on my own, so my parents address is still on all of my documents so I don’t think I’ll be able to get the lien lifted off my account that way. Only my salary gets deposited in my account though.
Do a search in your courts records for your moms name and pull a copy of the lawsuit filed by Midland. Post an update with what you learn.
Looks like there was a final judgement on 01/27/10. The motion for writ garnishment began 04/07/15. Defendants motion to dissolve writ garnishment happened today 5/01/15. The debt owed is almost 20k. My mom remains confident that she never received a summons or anything like that.
What state are you in?
Florida.
Michael,
I just wanted to update you with our case. The garnishment was dissolved and everyone received their money back. We weren’t able to get anything solved until the actual court hearing. While the case has been closed, my mom still has to deal with Midland and they can come back and try the same thing again. She’s looking into bankruptcy for this issue. But thank you very much for the help and advice.
Thanks much for posting the outcome Justin. Best to you and your mom moving forward.
I posted the info and question above but havent received a reply. Not sure I did correctly. Its under Mchelle Schwartz posted on april 19th 2015 at 2:30 pm.
I posted a reply to your comment from yesterday. Let me know if you are unable to see that.
Hi Michael, I am a single 61 year old woman who lost her job of 14 years Jan 2014. I lost my apt. as it came w my employment as a residential property manager. I am staying w my Sister and her Husband due to no where to go and no money. I was able to get unemployment for 6 months here in Tn. but that has passed. I have been having health issues ongoing now just before I was let go and have applied for SSD. I am now awaiting a date for a hearing on my case. I am unable to work. I was sued by Midland funding and got my summons last year and attended court as required. The judge wasnt hearing cases so I got a new date. I went and the attorney for them was there and told me he was just there to make sure it was my debt and I could leave. Now I think I should have stayed and spoke w Judge because I cannot pay anything on this debt due to my inability to work. I will be applying for early SS in Nov. I thought I was going to get my day in court to let the judge know this. What can I do? I already did an exemptions form for my car and filed it at City Hall. I own nothing but it as I lost anything of value when I had to move. Not that anything I owned was worth much. I showed him the exemptions form done and he said we are only there to make sure my debt. Is there anyway to still talk w the Judge?
I am not sure what purpose would come from seeing the judge at this point. Not unless you do contest the debt for some reason.
It would be easier now, and before all this occurred, to speak with Midland Funding about how well you are described in Article 3 of their consumer bill of rights.
The information in your comment appears to be a good match for Midland Funding to consider you noncollectable. I would call them and get into the details of that if I were you. I do know that they take those hardship guidelines seriously, and have laid off collection of accounts with other readers of this site.
Post an update with your experience if you do not mind.
Hi, I’ve recently been sued by Midland Funding, and I negotiated on a settlement to pay in order to dismiss the case. Do I still need to file an answer at the court? Thank you for your help!
Did you get the settlement in writing from Midland Funding’s lawyer? Is there an agreement to drop the case? Is your agreement to pay a single lump sum amount by a certain date, and have you paid it?
I received a court summons that I am being sued by Midland funding I wrote their lawyer and called I also sent a letter to the Clerk of the county court .. Midland never answered letter or call I am on SS what do I do . Can I try and settle for less if they answer
How much is Midland suing for? When were you served the summons?
$597.00
The 17th
Okay, thanks. Are you aware of Midland Funding’s forgiveness and hardship guidelines? You can review them here. Compare what they list with your situation. If you fit the description, call them and share that information.
If you do not meet the description, it could make the most sense to negotiate a lower balance pay off with Midland Funding.
Thank you for your quick response. I don’t qualify for legal aid. I’m on my own. As far as admitting I owe the debt, I admit that I did/do owe Credit One Bank for less than the amount that Midland is suing me for. So, do I just ask the judge to have Midland prove that they now own my debt and that I owe it to them now? Are the affidavits and bills of sale that were attached to my original summons enough? Or do they have to have someone from Credit One Bank physically present to testify, or have “Custodian of Records” from Credit One? Sorry, doing just enough research to be dangerous, right? Also, if I don’t hear from them before court, will there be an opportunity at court to attempt settlement, hopefully with mediation so I’m not alone with these sharks? I’m just terrified of having to stand up in front of the judge and saying or not saying something that will lose the case completely for me. I am willing to settle, just don’t want to for the full amount as it doesn’t represent the amount that I would have actually charged, and hoping to for even less, knowing what Midland purchased the debt for.
The affidavit and bill of sale may be enough in some courts, and not in others. You do need to challenge that correctly to have a shot at forcing the issue.
You will have opportunity to bring up settling when at court. I have an article up with a good amount of tips and feedback about settling when sued.
I would generally prefer to settle out of court so that you can avoid a judgment entry. Your being terrified to speak to the judge, who may actually look you point blank in the eye and ask you if this debt was yours, is another reason to try to negotiate a settlement with Midland prior to the court day.
My small claims court date is this Thursday, 3/26 with Midland Funding for a Credit One debt in the amount of $1082. I sent a settlement offer of $300. They only got the letter today, so of course I haven’t heard yet. I intend to show up in court if I don’t hear from them, but my question is what the heck do I do in court. I do not have an attorney, nor can I afford one, figuring it would cost me as much as the $1082 to hire one. I was served a summons with a bunch of affidavits attached, no clue how to read them, but I’m assuming they are all documenting the chain of sale of the debt from Credit One to Midland. Is that all they have to show in court to prove they own it and I owe it to them? Or do they have to have more detailed information i.e. actual statements showing all bills and payments, interest, late fees etc, since I’ve had the account? And do I have to ask the court to have them produce that? Or will the court expect them to have it to prove their claim? The account was charged off by Credit One, still within SOL, I acknowledge the debt, but know the amount is inflated by about $400-$500 in fees or whatever else. My limit was $600 and didn’t actually charge over that amount it’s just been growing due to late fess and interest etc. I just don’t know what will be expected of me when actually in court in front of the judge.
The judge will likely rule in their favor if you admit the debt is yours. You could argue the fees if they cannot be substantiated by anything they bring to court.
With a balance this low, and where you admit the debt, it is indeed better to settle for the best savings you can negotiate with the attorney for Midland Funding. You may need more the 300, and perhaps double that, but you would likely still come out ahead over the costs associated with your own attorney. There are some exceptions to that of course. Low income legal aid offices being one of them. Have you looked into whether you qualify to get help from a legal aid office in your area?
Hi Michael,
I had contacted you previously regarding an incorrect lawsuit filed against my husband by Midland. Spoke to a few lawyers including the one you suggested and it’s too expensive to hire a lawyer for a mess that’s not ours so filed an answer with the court with evidence that it is not my husband’s account. Waiting on that. But in the meantime Midland sent us another letter for a different account also not ours and when we try calling them they don’t pick up. I am guessing they will file another suit. We have put in a complaint with Cfpb also waiting on an answer. We cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent us but is there some way a lawyer could help us for a nominal fee and make them stop coming up with these fraudulent lawsuits.
He has checked all his credit reports and all other records and like I mentioned before even the social isn’t his. We have a new baby and my husband just started a new job we really don’t know how to get rid of them and I don’t think they will respond or take us seriously unless we have some representation Or file some suits against them. Is there a way to make them pay for our cost and hiring a lawyer to deal with this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I would wait for the outcome of the CFPB complaint.
The way consumer attorneys take on debt collection cases at no cost to you, is when their are consumer protection violation laws that allow them to collect their fees from the other side (the debt collectors). The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows for that, as do many state laws. Did you talk about that with any of the attorneys you spoke with?
Depending on the CFPB complaint investigation outcome, you may be able to reference that to get any other collection activity from Midland to stop. How long ago did you file your complaint?
I submitted it on the 8th of this month. I will look into the lawyer s collecting their Fees from the other side. Thank you. I’ll update once I hear more.
I am seeing people get responses and results from the complaint filing process over about a 3 week period. You have a ways to go yet.
The case got dismissed. got a response from Midland acknowledging a case of mistaken identity And that they will take his name out of their database. Hopefully, we never have to hear from them again.
Perfect, and thanks for posting the update. If Midland or other debt collectors contact you in the future you will be better prepared to put a stop to any of it.
I paid a debt Midland purchased and sued me over. I didn’t agree with the amount but didn’t have the money to fight. I paid and have the letter from their attorney’s stating settled in full and closed account. Midland continues to report things to the credit agencies. They report balance changes, updates, etc. Today they changed three things including – paid to a collection account and $0 to a $4,216 balance. I have called their attorney’s office and they state they have nothing to do with it since it is closed and handled. I called Midland and they say they can’t talk to me because I have an attorney. I don’t and told them that. My credit went down 18 points since yesterday because of their false updating. I faxed them a letter again today. I faxed all credit agencies. I don’t know what else to do. These people are driving me nuts.
Is there a judgment for Midland Funding reporting on your credit along with the other trade line?
What was the total balance owed when you settled? What did you pay in total to resolve the debt?
I got notice in the mail to go to court. i was sick that day and called the attorney and the judge’s office to ask for a continuance. I emailed, faxed, and called the attorney and after no answer called the judge. I faxed them a letter asking for a different court date due to illness. I also finally got a clerk on the phone that said it was approved and I would get a new date in the mail. The next thing I got in the mail was a judgment. I called and they said I failed to appear. I was like??? Why would I have gone through all that effort to get continued then no show?? Regardless, I dealt with Midland’s Law Firm, Greene & Cooper and they said I owed $7,405. I paid $3,869.00 to settle in full. I have the letter from them stating it is settled in full. I have called Midland several times today and finally when I just talked to them they told me to call 678-507-0213 (that’s Greene & Cooper). I called and they are confused and said my account is settled and they are not sure why they are wanting me to call them because it is settled and even the judge has signed off on it. I am back with Midland on the phone and been on the phone 40 minutes and transferred 3 times. Just got put on transfer while talking………..to be honest I don’t know what the real balance was because I owed Home Depot $1200 from 2010. I purchased a washer and dryer and before three months a repair man had been to my house for the washer (under warranty) then HOme Depot sent me the parts and said I needed to fix it. I refused to pay for a washer that was under warranty and they refused to make right. $1200! I was told by the attorney’s for Midland that they showed I owed $7,450.00 but Midland never once reported that amount to credit…always $7,650 or higher numbers up to $8008. The rep that just put me on hold said my original balance was $4,216. WHICH I have never been told. The account has only EVER reported on my credit as collections not as a judgment.
I am worried that a judgment will be reported as a result of one being entered in the court. I would check with the court to see what the status for your case is.
Let me know how it goes today with the phone calls. It sure sounds like they have your file screwed up in their system. It will get worked out one way or the other.
When you feel you have done your best to work things out with them directly (it may take more than a day), and you have not gotten this all corrected, it may be time to escalate your concerns into complaints.
Hi Michael,
I was hoping to get some feedback on an upcoming summons I received about 2 weeks ago from MCM about a us bank cc i had in 2007. They are suing for a judgement, int/court costs, fees. I am unable to afford an attorney and at the moment i can’t afford to settle for a lump sum. The court date is set for this Mon and the paperwork says i also have to file an answer within 30 days. (I assumed when I go to court that that will be my answer, but am unsure.) I started doing research and part of that was to get my credit report so that I have the date of my last payment. (Aug 2008) I live in TN now and looked up the SOL for credit card debt and it said 6 years. Now I’m wondering if that means its expired or if I’ve read the information wrong. My goals are to slowly pay off my debts and I’ve managed to pay a few accounts over the years but this one is by far the largest at 8100.00 and I am no longer working so coming up with any respectable amount is completely out of the question. This debt happened years before I married and am worried it might hurt him in some way. The house is in his name only and our cars are paid off and 10 years old. I don’t own anything else. My husband doesnt seem to concerned about it saying “you cant get blood from a stone.” We cant make ends meet as it is but I will at least show up for court. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance.
When was it that you last made a payment to anyone on the account?
Hi Michael,
In 6/2014, i settled a tmobile bill of $252 with MCM for $150 but Experian is still showing unpaid. I contacted Tmobile and was told i still owed $252. I paid it in full as 2/2015 to Tmobile over the phone with debit card. And now MCM is not willing to delete this of credit report and wanting me to get a refund from Tmobile. All i really care is to get it off my credit report.
I want to be sure I understand what happened with your account.
Tmobile sold your unpaid bill to a debt collector.
You settled the bill with Midland Credit Management (MCM) last year.
Was the Experian credit report showing Tmobile reporting you as still having a 252 dollar balance owed, or was MCM on there with a balance still owed, having not correctly updated any reporting with Experian?
You did not have much of a shot at deleting the collection from your credit reports. That is just not common. But you should expect that your credit reports would be updated to show you resolved the debt,and nothing further is owed.
I would be a bit bent that Tmobile took the money at all. If they sold the debt, they had no legal rights to collect. MCM is right to suggest you get a refund. Please post an update with that happens with that.
Hi Michael,
I had contacted you a couple of weeks ago about a fraudulent debt that my husband is being sued for, and you had mentioned that you could get me information for some lawyers with free consultation fee. We are currently in Hudson County in New Jersey. The lawyers representing Midland are Forster Garbus and Garbus.
Would really appreciate your help. Also how can we prevent them from selling this fake debt to someone else? I believe this debt belonged to the last person who had our current landline number as his creditors for other debts call frequently. I hope there is an easy way to clear this.
I received a letter from Midland In August of 2014 about a debt. I knew that the debt was mine so I immediately set up arrangements to pay. The letter stated that if I set up a payment plan by certain date and make all payments as agreed, debt will not be reported to credit bureaus. I have done that. Fast forward to January 2015 – debt showing on all reports. What can I do???
Call Midland and let them know that you took advantage of their offer to work out payments to keep them from reporting anything to the credit bureaus. They should be able to research your file and confirm, and then remove any reporting that should not have happened.
I think Midland hit a home run with their program to create less of a sting on the credit reports of folks who are already hit hard.
Let me know what happens.
Hi, I just received a pre-legal notice from Midland Credit Management, they are saying if I don’t pay them they will send me to an attorney. Reading the comments I realize this is a very likely possibility. I owe $3,900. I’m in a tough economic situation. My husband is a teacher and I stay home with the kids. We have 4 and I’m currently pregnant. I have explained to them I just can’t pay them, this is the only debt I have and I’ve considered declaring bankruptcy but it seems silly for such a low amount of debt. There is a possibility we could sell our house in the next months which is only under my husband’s name. If that happens I could offer to settle for 50%. But what if they sue me first? I don’t have any income. Can they come after my husband’s income? We are in the state of Virginia. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.
Gabriela
Is your home already on the market? If not, and unless you were ready to put it on the market anyway, I would not do that because of a Midland collection account. And bankruptcy should be taken off the table if just over a 4k collection balance. Assume the cost of filing chapter 7 all told is 1500 dollars, and that you could settle with Midland Credit Management for 2k. That would look like you filed over the 500 dollar difference.
How much can you pull together to offer as a settlement if you had a month or two to work with?
Hi thanks for replying. It’s not in the market yet but we are looking into selling to pay off my husband’s credit cards because we are going overseas in September of this year. We live paycheck to paycheck so getting any kind of money together it’s pretty much impossible. When we file our taxes this year I could see how much our return will be and maybe $1000 could go to midland…the thing is we usually save our return because my husband does not get paid for 2 months during the summer. So you think they’ll still sue me even though I don’t have any income?
I see lawsuits filed against people who will never be able to pay… ever. A realistic settlement with MCM now makes the most sense if you do not want to deal with being sued. Once sued, you could be looking at roughly the same cost to respond and put on a good defense using an experienced consumer law attorney that does this kind of work regularly. Defending does not come with any guarantees, so using a purely cost basis, settling with MCM makes the most sense.
If you can pull together 1500 dollars, I think you can get there, or close to it. Once sued, settling is still an option, but often at a premium over what may be possible had collections not reached the court.
Hi Michael,
My husband received a lawsuit notice from Midland today. I don’t know if this has happened to other people but he believes they have a rubbish case. First of all the social security number is not his. He has never had a Sears Citibank credit card and none of this is listed on his credit report.
Any suggestions in how to get rid of this quickly. Would help to know if it has happened to other people. We are in Hudson County in New Jersey.
Mixed files and mistakes do indeed happen in debt collection. I would contact Midland’s attorney in NJ that is suing and let them know the facts. If they do not respond to the issue and correct this, my next stop would be filing complaints with the CFPB and contacting an experienced debt defense attorney for a no cost consult about your options for taking this to another level.
Let me know what the attorney for Midland says and lets go from there.
Midland picked up a debt from a Chase VISA in 2012 that had defaulted in Feb 2010. I have never heard from Midland by phone or by letter. I am aware only from my credit report. I don’t have the original credit agreement, but I understand Chase agreements specifically call out that Deleware law governs their terms. My home state SOL is 6 years. In Deleware, the law is 3 years on oral agreements and 6 years on written. It seems to be in general agreement that credit card agreements (electronically signed) are considered an oral agreement. I guess because I didn’t affix my written signature to anything but that’s just a guess.
I have some concern that the only reason I haven’t heard from Midland is because at the time I had a different address and phone number, and so someday a judgement could come as a real surprise. Of course, I don’t really want to call them up and say “here I am! Come get me!” Can I breathe easy that 3 years has passed? Or do I need to worry for another year (6 years total) in regards to a lawsuit?
Your comment would be appreciated very much.
The jurisdiction you can effectively use for limiting access to the courts would not be decided until you are in the courts challenging the applicable SOL.
Look for Midland Funding cases in your local court that have the SOL jurisdiction argument and see how the court ruled. You could also call an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state to see what they have experienced when/if raising that argument.
You may also want to alleviate any concern about being sued without your knowledge by searching for your name in the courts that would cover your prior address. Post an update if you got sued there.
I will follow up with the information gathering you suggest. Thank you for sticking with this thread for years and offering all the advice to those of us who have no idea what we’re doing.
I received a toll free call today that I didn’t answer (was sleeping). I always Google those. Who was it? Midland Funding!!! I’m not psychic though. I’ve been working on improving my credit. I saw their soft pull on my report. I knew they were watching.
I found the research you suggested to be difficult. I thought these would be public records. It seems they are semi-public. They are published by a website you have to pay for. Only abstracts are free. But the civil court does post a schedule, and this coming week, I found that Midland Funding has brought two cases in my city’s civil court, and I found that in both of those cases, the defendant is being represented by the same attorney, whose office is right in my neighborhood. The attorney’s website offers a free consultation so I am going to take them up on that. I will post here if I can get any good information on who wins with dueling SOLs. It’s very confusing to the layman.
On a funny note: Midland is represented by an attorney named SLAMOWITZ. That’s the kind of hard hitting name I’d expect.
I figured out how to search court records in my jurisdiction. It was right on the court’s website, hidden in plain sight. I just didn’t understand the language at first. No cases against me. But I did see that they are filling about a dozen lawsuits a day in my area, and it’s not even a big city. Most go undefended, which makes me sad for those people.
Midland called today and I answered. The person who called offered a settlement at 60% if I took care of it right now. Incidentally, the 60% settlement = the original card limit, so it’s not much of a deal. It just cuts out a few years of tack on fees and interest after default. I stated that I would need it to be in writing so he should mail me and I will get back to him. He immediately became hostile. He said he had already sent me a letter with the offer 2 weeks ago (which coincides with those calls I received that I didn’t answer and there was no message).. But he hasn’t sent a letter. I verified he had the correct address (which was my original fear that he didn’t). He became angry and insisted that I was lying about not receiving the letter. I told him I was ending the call. If he wanted to discuss this matter further, I would need a letter specifically stating what the debt is and what the settlement offer is.
He is clearly in India. He gave me his name and number so I could call back after receiving the letter. He gave me the whitest name you’ve ever heard. I understand people in Indian call centers fabricating an Americanized first name to be more relatible. Many of us go by a nickname that is not on our birth certificates. But who in a legitimate business also fabricates their last name? It’s hard to deal straight up with people who aren’t straight up with you. But I’m trying to be patient.
I do intend to respond with a validation letter. I do see from my review of court cases that the local attorney I had identified has not only fought Midland many times, but has done so specifically in matters involving Chase, although I was unable to see anything more than that those cases were “disposed”. I had not contacted him yet thinking I was putting the cart before the horse since I hadn’t actually received anything indicating there would be a lawsuit yet… but maybe I better talk to somebody before I send the validation letter. Many templates I’ve found online sound threatening, threatening FDCPA lawsuits right away over any slip up on their part. I’m not looking to be threatening, just to fully exercise my rights. I do believe the SOL is up on this. But I don’t want to have to argue that in court if I don’t have to. I would rather have them come to that realization first. I found a good non-threatening letter on the consumerfinance.gov site. But again, I think I’ll take the local attorney’s free consultation first.
Oh, and I did contact Chase by phone, and they gave me an address to write to in order to request a copy of the cardholder agreement for the related account, and I have done so. Hopefully they will reply. From everything I’ve seen online, it’s standard issue for Chase to include in their agreements that Delaware law applies, and they specifically say “regardless of where the cardholder lives or where the card is used”. Delaware law calls out 3 years for the SOL, shorter than my home state of New York’s 6 year SOL. I don’t see how Midland could fight that. So I’m wondering if they don’t want to send me a letter, because they will be legally bound to acknowledge the expired SOL. I’m not sure if the same legal requirement exists over the phone. We shall see.
Oddly enough, debt collectors right here in the states are allowed a fabricated name.
I would talk with the local consumer law attorney first too.
That’s crazy to be able to make up a name. I do feel like there are lots of consumer protections on the books right now, but that seems like a basic miss. Full disclosure though, my name is not really “Curious” 🙂
I just got off the phone with my local consumer law attorney. He agrees with my stance on the SOL, and stated that if they do sue me, he would defend my case at no charge and would recover his fees from Midland based on them bringing an out of SOL lawsuit. He stated that in New York, between the originating state (Delaware) and the state of residence, the shorter SOL trumps. We talked about the contents of my validation letter and he gave me the go ahead to send it, and told me to fax him everything I get back and he would review it.
So I’m feeling really good today knowing that I’ve got somebody in my corner so I cannot be bullied. The attorney gave me props for all the research I had done before contacting him, which I could not have done without the kindness of people like you putting their advice online. Thanks again Michael, for the advice you give that helps us feel comfortable and know where to start. I appreciate it very much.
Here’s a curiosity question about how Midland assesses interest. I was curious that midland was charging me an interest rate so much less than the interest rate on the defaulted card they were collecting on. I’m assuming there is a reason that doesn’t involve being nice, since the FDCRA permits debt collectors to charge the same interest that the original creditor charged. So why wouldn’t Midland take advantage of that rule?
Midland is incorporated in Delaware. I noted that the maximum interest rate on a loan in Delaware is 5% + the Federal Reserve Discount Rate which is currently 0.75%. Some reverse mathematical engineering reveals that 5.75% is the rate that Midland is in fact charging my account.
Chase, the original creditor, states in it’s credit agreement that it is based on the laws of Delaware, yet they were charging me a much higher rate. For reasons I don’t fully understand, that appears to be because credit cards are exempt, something to do with the fact that a credit card is used all over not just in Delaware.
Does all of this mean that Midland is not able to ever charge interest on collections greater than 5% + FRDR? Or is this because both Midland and the card are governed by Delaware law? Or is there some other reason? Is the debt that Midland is collecting no longer considered a credit card debt even though it was a credit card debt when purchased?
I was just curious. It’s all very confusing, but I’m learning a lot.
If the math you did fit the Delaware state cap interest rate scenario perfectly, it would seem to be the answer. The why of it is not something I can answer or expound upon, and I would agree that it is an oddity.
Credit card interest rates in general are largely a function of a 70’s Supreme Court Decision, Smiley v Citi.
I cannot think of a way the credit card debt would become anything other than a defaulted credit card debt after it is sold to a debt buyer like Midland Funding.
Edit: The Marquette decision also from the 70’s, was part of a one-two punch to the gut of consumer wallets.
I follow my credit reports (at least two of them) on Credit Karma, which updates for me every Saturday. This Saturday, I received a notice that a collection had been removed from my Transunion report, “Midland Funding”. Odd. I never even sent a validation letter. I thought maybe it was just an error in how they present the data. I have a captial one card, and sometimes I’ll get a msg that “CAP ONE” is being removed but “CAPITAL ONE” is being added. So I pulled my reports from all three bureaus directly. No mention of Midland Funding. I had previously been on two reports. Also, the original creditor, Chase, was also removed from Transuion. 2.5 years before they would naturally time off. No idea why.
My credit score only went up 1 little point. I guess because this is 5 years old now, it didn’t mean much by the model that Credit Karma uses. I’m dying to know why it was removed, but I’m not going to poke the sleeping bear. I’ll just keep monitoring and see if it stays this way.
Question for Curious and Micheal… I was just served suit papers at an old address that i used to open the credit card. i was sent them to the new address from the person living in the old address. i currently reside in DE. I just called Midland and they are calling me back after they consult the attorney since they filed the suit in NJ and I reside in DE. What does the SOL really mean> the account was opened in 2009 but the last purchase was 2010 and last payment was 2013. So what does the statute go by? Any help is appreciated. Im not sure if they will work with me to settle?
The SOL to file a legitimate lawsuit will typically go by the date you last made a payment, so 2013. Delaware has a 3 year SOL, and would be the shortest of the states you mention.
Midland will typically work with you to settle a debt or set up payments. Can you pull together half of what is owed?
Nobody so far tried to clarify the involvement of the IRS with Midland LLC. If you settle your debt
with a negotiated amount MIDLAND LLC or MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT will send you a letter or a form to file with your tax. This form assumes that debt collector had settled the debt for a certain amount., say $X. The amount he bought the package of debt in individual case may be $F. The form considers $C, which is $X-$F as your income. In my case the IRS sent me a collection notice for C which is $1,490. I have to pay a total of $608 on that considered income, I am on a payment plan. Is this debt legit or the IRS is fully accepting the version of Midland LLC or
Midland Credit Management? Can somebody clarify this to me?
You can be taxed on the amount of debt forgiven if it is in excess of 600 dollars. How Midland handled this is normal. Depending on the circumstances, and whether your debts total to more than your assets at the time of settlement, you could avoid the tax on forgiven debt.
Just a quick question, how do I go about having a judgement on my credit reversed? I have a letter from the court stating the debt was voluntarily dismissed from the original debtor. Portfolio Recovery placed the judgement.
When and why did PRA dismiss the judgment they got?
Have you looked at the court record and double checked to see that it has been updated?
You will want to send a dispute to the credit reporting agencies about the judgment being dismissed, but before I go into more detail about that, it will help to know the answers to those two questions.
I kind of have 2 things here going on. back in 2008 my boyfriend lost his house to foreclouser. he had a 1st and 2nd on the home. Havent heard anything since then on it. He also has a Chase credit card of 4,700 he stopped paying. he had some really bad times and was raising his child with autism alone. His last payment on the CC was 8/2010. In reading info on SOL its 4 yrs in California. Is this true? he has Midland credit calling and not leaving any messages, and something has shown on his credit report for $25,000 which we cant tell the original creditor is. Can they sue since its passed the 4 yrs? Any help would be great
If his records are accurate he is likely passed the SOL to be sued by Midland in California. Has Midland sent any collection notices in the mail?
What are the goals for the old debts?
We havent received anything from them at all, he noticed 2 times they called him but never left a message. in reality his goal is to not pay anything with is cost of caring for his autisic son. the mother pays him nothing in support. His records of dates are correct since we have records of his last statements, it helps that i keep very thing sometimes.
Once the statute of limitations to sue has passed, and the intent at the time is to never resolve the account(s), there is little risk in picking up one of Midland’s collection phone calls and letting them know that you are aware the SOL is passed, and that you have no intention of ever paying, and request that they cease all further communications. They generally will quit with the calls from that time forward.
It is helpful to send the request to cease all communication in writing using certified return receipt mail.
I recommend folks be certain they do not want to somehow later come back and improve their credit, or get approved for a new home loan, etc., before doing anything with a cease communication request. This concern typically only applies to the period of time (often 7.5 years) that the collection accounts will stay on your credit reports.
Michael,
I received a court summons from Midland Funding. I’d only ever received one phone call from them, but I did ask that they cease phone communications with me, and only contact me via USPS. Shortly after that phone call I’d mailed them a dv request, which was quite obviously ignored. The paper that I got from the court says that it is from BankX account xxxxxxxxxxx1234. First I was pretty certain that I’d already paid off the balance on this card, second the account numbers that I have on file do not match those on the court summons. Can I bring what little documentation I have and ask the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice? Also part of my documentation says that I have a balance available of $773 out of my $1700 credit limit available (so my credit limit was $1700) but I’m being sued for $2053.00 + costs. I’m on SSSI so they can’t really garnish my wages.
Thanks,
L
Did you send your debt validation request to Midland using certified mail return receipt, or registered mail?
The amount they are suing for beyond any reference to an original default balance is not all that inflated, and is likely due to late penalties and default interest. Both are common with default revolving consumer accounts like credit cards.
You can challenge Midland on their documentation, and how they arrived at the amount they are suing for. But you should run this all by an attorney of your own. Just showing up with unmatched account numbers, reference to a prior debt validation request, and asking the court to help you arrive at how the balance increased by a few hundred dollars, while intuitively should yield results, often will not.
Courts are full of procedures and protocols. Following those will be the most productive.
In the end, it sounds like there is little they can do to get you to pay, even with a judgment. That said, check out this post, and the many comments, to see what exemptions from collectors may apply to you in your state: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/social-security-pension-state-exemption-debt-collector-garnishment/
Good morning,
I had a collection with T-Mobile. Midland purchased the debt and it sat on my report for a couple of years. I had a hand full of collections on the reports as well. I am shopping for a home and was advised i needed to repair my credit ASAP. I contacted all of the collection agencies to settle the debts and remove them. They have all been paid or settled as agreed and have been removed except for one, MIDLAND. I have contacted their office multiple times to have it removed and no success. I contacted the San Diego BBB and no success. Finally, I disputed with all of the bureaus and no success. It is reported as a paid collection and Midland requested to have “Consumer disputes” in the comments. Is there anything I can do to have this removed from my reports or just let it hang? I am very frustrated because i paid/settled a debt on their settlement offer and they will not remove it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Rick
Not knowing what your other debts were about, or who they were with, it is hard to say otherwise, but getting collection accounts removed from your credit reports in return for payment is not common.
If Midland reporting a paid collection on your credit reports is accurate, it is likely not going anywhere. But now that Midland is showing as settled or paid, it can allow for mortgage financing to go through.
Are your credit scores higher than 620?
I am not sure what to think of midland credit mgmt right now. I have had issues with credit cards off and on for years and about a year ago, i finally hit the wall due to job issues and was unable to pay any of them. as a result, all the credit cards i had are currently in collections. i tried to pay what little i could to them while trying to build my money up, but in mid november i received a pre-legal notification for 1 of these cards (capital one) from MCM. the amount was $7354. there was no way i could settle for even 40-50% of that right now, so I called them and of course they were rude but they did say if i could pay a $254 down payment, then i could make $100 monthly payments. At first i was skeptical and declined. Then i sent an email to the Iowa attorney general office to see if this would be a good idea. They didn’t respond quickly enough, so in the end i decided to go ahead with the down payment and the payment plan. It seemed like things had worked out.
On December 20 i received a letter from the iowa attorney general, it was a copy of a letter they had sent to MCM about my concerns. That same day I made a $100 payment to MCM thru my bank’s bill pay. On christmas day i checked my bank account and it showed that the payment had gone thru on the 22nd. I thought, great. But then on December 26, i checked MCM’S website to make sure my balance was correct, and it said that my balance info was unavailable. I thought that was odd, so i called them. The lady who i could barely understand (big shock) said that my account was “under review”, and that i would receive something in writing within a few days. I haven’t gotten it yet but i am worried as to what it might be.
Now i am really worried, is this the end for me??? i can pay them a $100 a month, and have already proven that. are they mad because i sent a letter to the state attorney general just trying to see if they are legitimate??? if so, then this is just silly. i honestly am so confused, i am not sure what to do. any suggestions???
Debt collectors like Midland Credit are not going to get mad because you sent something to your state AG. They are not looking to make things tougher on you for that. But they will likely have internal policies and procedures for how to handle complaints sent to them from state and federal regulators. And that could be why your file is under review. This can create a hiccup, or it may be nothing at all once their internal stuff runs its course.
What was it that you read or understood that mad you question whether Midland Credit is a legitimate debt collector?
I have a pending lawsuit from Midland Credit for old credit card debt to Citibank. The response is due by December 12th, but I am not sure how to respond. I am paying Citibank still, have proof of that what should I respond to Midland with?
Can you share more details about this account? It is not very common to continue paying your original creditor, only to have that account sold off to a debt buyer like Midland Credit.
Were you paying Citibank less than the required minimum for a period of time? If so, for how long?
Did you stop making payments to Citibank for a period of time? If so, for how long, and when?
Do you still receive regular billing statements from Citibank?
Hi Michael
I got credit card debt of 130000 on several cards, last time I made payments on these cards were in October and nov of 2008 since then I haven’t use my credit at all, my credit report is showing midland has 2 collection and lvnv has 2 collection. There is no judgement on my credit report, recently van Ru starts calling me they leave message but won’t disclose what account they are calling about. I live in Alabama statue of limitation is 6 years in Alabama most of the negative accounts will do away by May and July of 2015 on my credit reports. Can any of these company sue me successfully since statue of limitations had passed.
Thank you
Hi M. Nice to hear from you again. We had exchanged comments on this, and other pages of the site nearly 2 years ago now. It is good to see you are on the back side of much of this now, and ready to rebuild after the accounts drop from your credit reports.
If any collector tries to sue you for debts passed the SOL in your state to do so, post an update about that, and lets go from there. You can beat back those collection efforts fairly simply.
These days, collection agencies like Midland Funding and Van Ru, are unlikely to pursue you in court for debts they know are passed the SOL.
Hello Michael
I received a letter from Scott Parnell attorney notice of intent to sue. so I called them and is disputed that account I told them I need the statement and credit card agreemt last that account was paid in nov of 2008. I asked them what’s the statue of limitations to sue for this kinda debt and she told me it’s between 15 to 20 years. I told her in state of Alabama the statue of limitations on credit card debt is 3 years and on written contract is 6 years so both of them had passed. She told me to consult an attorney about that. But she is sending me the statements for that account. It’s a belk department store charge card. I thought they are not supposed to lie about that statue of limitations which in this case she did.
Do I need to be worried about this? Can they successfully sue me? Are dept stores card fall under different statue of limitation?.
Thank you
Those store credit cards are subject to the same SOL to legitimately sue. Not all debt collectors play it straight. But it is too bad one working for a law firm will twist the truth or blatantly respond with false information.
You would only need to be worried if they fallow through with the suit. Keep good notes of what happened when you talked with the woman from the Parnell collection attorney office, and of any additional communications.
Husband just got served papers yesterday on credit one debt that was evidently bought out by Midland Funding. We have been traveling with my job and not at our permanent residence for the past couple of years. He has not been receiving notices or calls as we were not available. So the question is whether we can call Midland and try to settle now that he has been served. He draws SS and is over 70. Can not pay balance of almost $2100. He has around $450.00 cash in hand. What do you advise? Will he still have to go to court?
You can settle with Midland now and avoid court. I do not see too many settlements with Midland Funding that are less than 25 percent, especially once a collection suit is filed. 50% or higher is more realistic in this situation.
He will need to be able to communicate a financial hardship well, and the limited social security income. Who is the attorney collection firm working for Midland? What state are you in?
My husband has an old Citi Bank credit card that was sold off back in 2008 (I think his last use was sometime earlier that year) and because we are looking at buying a home we are trying to figure out the best way to handle it. It’s way past the statute of limitations but I’m not 100% sure when it will disappear off his credit report. Even then, I’ve been told it can come up later with them putting a lien on our future house if we don’t settle it somehow now. We’re in Utah. Any advice? I’ve never had to deal with a debt collector before so I’m not sure where to start. They’ve raised the original amount significantly, of course, and if it were up to me we’d settle the initial $2,000 debt (now nearly $8,000 after all the added fees) for significantly less, since I’m certain they paid far less than $1,000 for it.
First things first, what are you seeing on your credit reports? Do you see an entry from Citibank at all? Is it only a debt collector reporting? Since this page is dedicated to Midland Funding and MCM, is it Midland that has the account?
What is your current time frame for your goal of buying a home?
Sorry, I should have been more specific. Yes, the debt is on his credit report through Midland Funding. It no longer shows Citi Bank. It doesn’t say when the original debt occurred so I’m not sure when his credit report will be free and clear. The letters they have occasionally sent do say that they can’t sue us for this debt though.
We’re hoping to purchase a house in late December or early January.
If Citi bank is no longer on there, and as late in the credit reporting cycle you already are, it may be because it has already aged off. Some options to consider:
1. Send written disputes to the credit bureaus requesting the Midland account be taken off as it is too old to remain.
2. Settle with Midland for an greatly reduced amount. I have seen really good settlements get done this far down the road, and when there is no threat of being sued legitimately. Just do not let on that you have a credit and finance goal in the near future. They will hold out for more.
You have time to try the first approach. If you do that, send your dispute certified mail return receipt. You can send a copy of the dispute to Midland as well. Just realize you are signalling to Midland that you care about your credit, and if you do circle back to settle with them, it may/may not affect the amount they agree to accept as payment in full.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your prompt response! I actually thought that it might be the case that the debt should be off already since Citi Bank wasn’t on the report anymore, but it’s honestly the first credit issue I’ve ever encountered so I wasn’t 100% certain if the original debt should be on there or not. I’ve passed your response on to my husband since the debt is in his name, and he’ll be figuring out which option will work best for us.
Thank you again for helping me understand the situation clearly!
Went to court but no court? clerk of court said that the judge would grant a judgement at 1:30 PM unless I contested it. I did just that. It buys me time before a judgement though I realize they can still throw a lein on my house. Im hopeful we can come to a fair resolution as originally they said I could pay $500- Will keep in touch here.
Hi Michael. I just happened to be looking through past tax info. tonight and never realized until now that back in 2002 I had a debt of 1300. with Providian credit card company which was discharged in a Ch. 7 bankruptcy. In 2003, this company transferred over to Aspire. I was sued my Midland Funding in 2007 for an Aspire account which I never had for 1389. I have a court order stating that this was paid in full with the exception of 411.00. A few months later, I received a garnishment letter for my taxes for 580.00 and then again in the year of 2009 for 411.00. I am still looking for the rest of the docs and it is a bit sketchy due to my divorce at the time but, are the statute of limitations in my favor here to sue? These people are incredulous, and how do they get away with this??
You need to run this whole scenario by an experience consumer law attorney. After so many years, it can be difficult to unwind stuff like this, but the attorney can help you understand what is possible.
As far as the SOL for FDCPA violations, it is typically going to run 1 year, so not in your favor.
Hi I found your site and am hoping to avoid a Lein on my house from Midland Funding.
My lawsuit letter states I owe $4,925.44 plus interest and attorneys fees and other relief the court deems proper. I called a HUD Certified consumer credit counseling company in my state of Wisconsin and they told me based on the facts i could give that they cannot garnish my wages because Im on Food Stamps but if my job situation changes they can come after me at a later date or put a Lein on my house. I have very -very little money to put towards a settlement ($500-$600 max) and cannot get into a payment plan situation. My court date is in 15 days and wondered if you could briefly guide me on how best to approach this. I did see about the Letter and did make payments for 12 months on a re-payment plan to citi bank card but then I was still in financial hell at the end of the 12 months and made only 1 or 2 payments and the interest skyrocketed with late payment fees etc and I could no longer keep up.
I plan on going to court – not being a no show but can’t really afford a lawyer? can you guide me at all?
With your already qualifying for SNAP, it is likelier you would qualify for legal aid assistance. While you may not be able to pay for an attorneys help outright, you may not need to. So I would start with locating and consulting with a low income legal aid office nearest you.
Next, I would call and talk to Midland Funding. Your situation may qualify for a settlement as low as you are suggesting you can do. Be up front about the financial setbacks, and that you are receiving public assistance, etc. They do some consumer friendly stuff on files that qualify that is unlike anything other debt collectors do.
Let me know what happens with those efforts, and lets go from there.
Spoke with Dan last night and made him an offer. Went over a fairly complete current financial history and itemization of my expenses and income. I did pitch an offer of $ 600-700 which was rejected. It sounds like they will leave this an open end judgement . I did tell him that if a tree hadn’t fallen on my house last month I could go much higher but have to pay out a deductible. Told him that I did not want payments because if I default on those I will be back in the same situation. He was nice and quite professional. I go to court on Tuesday. Will post anything new.
Hi, Mr. Bovee.
I have been fighting a MF lawsuit over two years. I do agree with your advice in trying to help people settle, for two reasons. One is that no matter what MF paid for the account, it was assigned. Two, most people cannot wade through, or have the time to prepare the mountains of paperwork. In my case now 12″ high. I lost my first trial a year ago in JC. I appealed to SC and won, however reversed and remanded back to JC. Most peope don’t know JC judges or pro tems, do not have to be attys, or if they are they may not specialize in civil law. The judge in my 1st trial took three months to decide who should win. There is a saying that the person who represents themself has a fool for a client.
My second trial was last week and the judge allowed a witness from MCM to testify telephonically
After a 3 1/2 hour trial he ruled for the Plaintiff Midland Funding. The appeal court found that an affiant from MCM could not testify to Midland Fundings records. The telephonic witness was that same affiant.
So, I am debating appealing again or filing a motion to vacate based on inconsistancies with the superior court decision. However, should I prevail in the appeal again guess where it will go back to.
The judge assigned to my case had a profile and a picture of a dead horse in the desert with a caption that read Justice in Arizona looks like this!!!! The Plaintiff motioned for a new judge and it was granted. Anyone reading this may want to settle OR get a lawyer!!
Thanks for sharing your experience Pam.
What was the amount Midland Funding sued you for?
Before atty fees and interest aound 8400.00. The judge noted at trial 2 they had the wrong amt according to statements and reduced it by 500.00. I argued extensively about the trustworthiness of the records. to no avail. As I today I have received the final judgment from the Plaintiff, as they had no paperwork for the judge to sign.
Don – I want to be sure I understand what you said in your comment. My first read is one of a guy pissed that he paid Midland Credit any amount of money to resolve a debt. I read it again, and am wondering if you are calling me “amazingly stupid”.
I refer people to experienced debt collection defense attorneys every day, and for the very same reason you speak to – Debt collection lawsuits are beatable. There are things to weigh in that decision to defend collection suits, but it can make a great deal of sense to defend, even for the simple fact of delaying the outcome, let alone getting the suit dismissed, or a more affordable settlement. I speak to that on this page many times.
I am also not sure if you are paraphrasing all of these thousands of accounts you have read about where consumer rights have been violated, or if you are saying you experienced all of those violations personally. But if you experienced just one of them, I would highly recommend talking to an attorney in your state who regularly pursues FDCPA violations. I can help you locate one if you like. Most take this type of case on at no cost to you, expecting their fees to be covered by the other side. Post the name of a nearby larger city, and I can email you contact details for any I know of.
You seem to have taken what CRN is primarily about out of context. I started CRN to help people resolve debt. Though CRN stopped taking on paying consumer clients directly over a year ago, I still maintain the educational attributes and mission I started the site with. I do indeed help people see there way free of collections and other financial jams on a daily basis. Often enough, settling debt is the quickest way for folks to reach their goals. And in my experience, most people want to resolve debts they at one time could not afford. I suppose that could be what you are referring to as lining the pockets of debt buyers. But Don, a debt buyer purchasing your debt does not make it any less valid. It can create opportunities for people to navigate the collection process creatively, and I talk about that throughout the site. But my suggesting people settle debts they legitimately owe, and when that solution fits their goals and abilities, well… I see little reason to cast aspersions at me for that.
I delete some posts that take shots at me. Yours does, but I am responding to it and am going to leave it up. If I ever do get around to creating the page where folks can flame and fume unedited, I may move your comment over there.
I would like to thank you for reading and participating on the site Don, but perhaps it is time for you to take that participation somewhere else.
Hello Mr. Bovee,
I reside in CA. I have a 3 year old debt with Sears Card (Citibank). The amount owed back in 2011 when I made my last payment was $1674. Also back in 2011, presumably before the debt was sold to MIDLANDS, I received an offer from Citibank to settle the account for $800. I never accepted the offer.
I recently received a “Pre-legal” notice from MIDLANDS requesting payment in the amount of $2066 (Which includes the interest accrued on top of the original $1674). I contacted MIDLANDS directly and advised them that because of financial hardships, I was unable to pay that amount. I then offered to make a lump sum payment in the amount of $800, which they refused. I followed that offer up with a lump sum payment in the amount of $1033 (50% of the new balance), which they refused again. It didn’t seem like they were really willing to negotiate with me on this.
Any advice or suggestions on how I can go about getting this debt settled for less than what I owe? I really want to get this settled for 50% of the original balance and I also want to avoid being hauled into court for this.
I really appreciate any help you can give.
Thanks
Are you talking with a collection firm working for Midland Funding (the one who sent you a pre legal notice), or with Midland Funding directly?
What Midland will settle a debt for will often depend on how collectable they think you are. Midland, and other debt buyers and collectors, use sophisticate modeling to assign a score to you (nothing to do with your credit score). The more collectable you are on that scale, the higher the deal they want (less savings to you).
Are you paying other bills on time? If so, what bills that are being kept current show on your credit reports?
Are there other collection accounts on your credit reports? If so, how many? If there are resolved collections (paid or settled), how many of those, and when were they updated to show they were taken care of?
Hi. I have a question. I used to have a month to month contract with T-Mobile. My daughter wanted her own phone with a different company so I called and requested her to be dropped. It took over 2 months for them to remove my daughter from my account and talking to several supervisors to delete the overcharges. Everybody that I talked to admitted that all my calls/requests were in their notes. After several months and continuing problems with them, I notified them I wished to terminate my service. I talked to several people, paid up all the charges, etc., before they transferred me to their “Retain” dept. I advised that guy I wanted to terminate service, we were paid up, and etc. During the 20+ minute conversation with him, I advised him repeatedly to terminate service. He said he can’t until he completes his checklist (he was trying to make me take a different plan). I refused and ended up hanging up on him. That was over two and a half years ago. I recently checked my credit report and I have a collection from MIDLAND FUNDING for $320. I can only assume that T-Mobile didn’t terminate my service for a number of months and finally turned it over to them when I didn’t pay. I was never contacted by T-Mobile nor from Midland Funding. I know my conversation with T-Mobile has to be in my old acct. notes requesting to terminate service (hopefully). I feel that T-Mobile did me wrong. I paid my balance and notified them to terminate service like a good citizen would. Now I got this to deal with. Any suggestions?
What state are you in?
Hi. Thank you Mr. Bovee for any assistance. I now live in Maryland. This occurred in Washington State. Thanks again.
If it were me in your shoes I would contact Midland directly, and in writing, disputing the debt as paid. Lay out all of the details, now is not a time for vagueness. If you remember approximate dates for when you talked with TMobile to cancel, reference them; If you have exact payment amounts from bank records, and the dates of those payments, point them out.
Copy TMobile with your letter. Let Midland Credit know you copied TMobile, and that Tmobile will be able to verify the facts you state in your dispute.
I would Send letters to both Midland and TMobile certified mail return receipt requested. Save a copy of each letter and the green cards you get back in your records.
Also, I would reference the credit reporting should be removed, as the debt is not legitimate. You are contacting them both as a courtesy, but depending on the outcome of your dispute, will then dispute with the credit reporting agencies directly, and finally with the CFPB.
Keep me posted on your progress.
Thank You!!! I’ll keep you in the loop. 🙂
Hi Mr. Bovee.
Here’s the latest… I took your advice and contacted Midland F… last night and explained to the Customer Service Rep (CSR) my situation. He was very nice throughout the conversation. He said he needed my acct # (I didn’t have/know it since they never have contacted me and it’s been years since I had T-Mobile). He then asked for my SSN which I didn’t feel comfortable with that since my information has been stolen twice over the last 10-15 years. I’m very careful. We ended up parting peacefully. I called again this morning and got a lady. When I explained my situation again, and that I didn’t have an acct # and was reluctant to give her my SSN, she started screaming at me over the phone, “cause she can’t do her job without it”. I told her that she didn’t have to yell at me but she continued too so which I disconnected the call. (yea, I hung up on her). I then called T-Mobile and explained my situation to them. I talked to 2 CSR’s, with no help. I requested to talk to their Retain (they call it their Loyalty) department. The first one was of no help. The second Loyalty Dept. person I got was helpful. She told me what was in the account and all the notes. Evidently I requested my account to be terminated SEVERAL times in 2010. I also was informed that the reason it wasn’t closed was that on their checklist, they have to inform the customer that the phone number will be reissued. They also have to inform the customer that any additional charges will incur a bill. There was a few other things but it didn’t mean much to me as a player so I didn’t care to retain the information. So…my account wasn’t terminated cause they feel they didn’t inform me that my number will be reissued??? What is going on??? Also, they continued to charge me for 5 more months before suspending the account. I also informed them that no one ever attempted to contact me. Anyway, after discussing this with the second Loyalty dept. rep. for over half an hour, she said that she couldn’t do anything for me since it was already bought by Midland. I requested to talk to her supervisor which she transferred me to. I again had to explain my situation to him. We discussed my situation, and the notes on my acct. for over another half an hour, and at the conclusion, he agreed to submit a dispute to Midland for me. He said that Midland should be calling me within a week. He didn’t give me warm fuzzies about what Midland will do since they own my account and he didn’t know what they will do; which, I find, kind of upsetting. I felt I did what any reasonable customer would do, I informed them multiple times to close the account, according to their records.
One other thing, my account with T-Mobile was suspended in 2010. One Credit Report company shows that the beginning of this suspension occurred in 2010. On another one, it showed Midland reporting it as suspended since 2012, while a third showed Midland reporting it suspended since about 6 months ago. Now I’m not an expert but why, and or how, does Midland’s date keep changing? Are they moving the start date so it never expires? I don’t understand.
Again, thanks for any help. Hopefully Midland will see the dispute from T-Mobile and either lower the amount or terminate the collection process all together. From other comments on the Internet, various sites, Midland seems to be bullies when it comes to collecting debts (just from what I’ve found on the Internet) and aren’t sympathetic about the facts. And from my interaction with a CSR today, I tend to believe the comments.
Thanks again.
Oh, one thing, I reread my comments, and in the sentence where it says “it didn’t mean much to me as a player”… Let me clarify, I’m not playing T-Mobile nor Midland. What I was referring to was that the extra information didn’t appear to me to be relevant, so I didn’t care to retain the information. I’m not a player, just think that T-Mobile did me wrong, as well as not notifying me or corresponding with me. I’ve never had this much of a hassle just to terminate an account before; other then with AOL, and they have a bad reputation, or did have a few years ago.
No worries. We sometimes cannot imagine what the hell we would need to retain something for, like a receipt, or a detail of events. If we tried to be prepared for everything, we would be prepared for nothing.
So, ummm… you have never tried to quit a cable company?
Hi.
Thanks again for all your counsel. As far as canceling from a cable company, no. I never subscribed. As far as AOL, I was sent to some company training for several months in the south. When I got my hotel room, AOL was advertizing that I could sign up for Internet services and try it free for a month, so I did. I did confirm with them that I just wanted to try it. Just before a month was up, I called to cancel my subscription and got a royal run around. I canceled cause I decided to use the local public library’s computers instead and save some money. After talking to them for about a twenty minutes or so, and getting no where, I informed them that I was going to cancel the Credit Card; to which the CSR got mad and threaten to sue/go after me. It was around this time that AOL made the news that if anyone would try to cancel, they would put the customer on hold for a long time in the hopes they would disconnect. One person, on the news, said they were on hold for 25 minutes or so, and then got transferred to another dept where they were again placed on hold for a long period of time. In addition, a previous employee of AOL stated that, that was AOLs standard practice in the hopes that the customer would just hang up and continue service. (All if my memory is correct, been years ago). Because of my past experiences and information I find on the Internet, I usually buy and use disposable, preloaded Credit Cards when I can, and pay for months of service in advance. It costs me a bit, for fees and all, but it gives me peace in case I have any problems with companies. In addition to having my information stolen twice years ago.
Thanks again for your assistance.
I am not sure about Midlands credit reporting being different from one bureau to the next either. I would take a minute to focus on the issue, but only if all this does not shake out like it appears it should with TMobile recalling the account somehow, or Midland Funding dropping their efforts to collect and removing the credit report entries entirely.
All debt collectors could use some sensitivity training in my opinion. If you want to escalate your concerns about the collector at Midland that you spoke with, there is probably a way to do that, but if I were thinking of doing that, I would wait until after resolution.
You should take notes of all that has transpired to date, with names of people you spoke with, the numbers you called, or they called you from, and the precise time of day too. You may want to use all of that later on, but let’s hope you do not have to. If you do not hear from anyone in the time you were set up to expect, post an update and lets go from there.
Hello Mr. Bovee.
Here’s the latest update. Been a while so I may get things wrong (I don’t have a computer at home so I have to use a public one) but I’ll try and get things accurate. I never received a call from Midland Funding so I called them. After they verified who I was, then came the “Sue” talk, but if you don’t want to get sued, you can pay “this amount”, which was only a little less then the total amount. After refusing to pay I explained my situation with the customer rep. and informed him that T-Mobile had contacted his company with a dispute and it should be in the system. The rep. informed me that there was no record in the system that T-Mobile had contacted them. The Rep did say, however, that to dispute this charge I would need something in writing from T-Mobile. Since I had no other choice I ended the call and phoned T-Mobile. After talking to the first, front line Customer Rep at T-Mobile I requested to talk to their Retain Dept. They again said that there was nothing that they could do so I requested to talk to the Retain Dept. Supervisor. I got lucky (or so I thought) and talked to the one I talked to a short time ago and explained that according to Midland Funding, they never received any correspondence from T-Mobile. I also informed him that in order for me to dispute the fraudulent charge, I would need a copy of the notes on my account. The Retain Dept. Supervisor then said that the only way I could get a copy of the notes was to get an attorney, have a judge sign off on the subpoena, and submit it to T-Mobile’s Legal dept. I asked him for help, I explained that I’m trying to work with Midland Funding and T-Mobile but I need some help since I’m going back and forth between both companies. He further explained that he did receive a reply from Midland Funding on the 12th of Sep. (he submitted the original dispute, with the notes, on the 10th). He also said that he doesn’t know of any way to send me a copy of the notes. I informed him that at the very least he could do a “copy and paste” or “screen capture” since most systems use the operating system to do that, aside from the specialized software that they use. He agreed that I was correct but he still couldn’t send me a copy. He then said that he will try something else but wouldn’t go into detail. He also asked for my contact phone number, which I gave him. I also stated that he should have it on his display. He reluctantly stated that it was, he just wanted to verify. He stated that he will give me a call within 24 hours. (As of this date/time I have not received a call). I then called Midland Funding again. I again got the same line from the Front Line Customer rep who said I could settle the account if I pay said amount. They also rechecked the account records and verified that no correspondence was ever received from T-Mobile. At this point I requested to speak with a supervisor. They transferred me to their customer dispute dept. I explained to that person my situation, not being able to get copies of the notes from T-Mobile, and that a T-Mobile rep submitted a dispute on the 10th of Sep. and that they, T-Mobile did, in fact, receive a response from Midland funding on the 12th. During the discussion, they did give me some interesting details. First, the front line customer reps do not have access to any additional details on the account, other then the information needed to verify the caller identity, the original bill information to include the pay off amount, and also the settlement amount offered. That’s it. Furthermore, the dispute rep informed me that it was interesting to them that T-Mobile contacted Midland Funding and that it’s wasn’t in the account records since they know for a fact that Midland Funding talks to T-Mobile on a daily basis. This, I thought was especially interesting. They also suggested that the only way to clear this up was to submit a form from the Federal Trade commission on identity theft, its a six page report, and it has to be submitted and notarized. I responded that is wasn’t identity theft but a wrongful charge. They said on the page six of the form was a section for fraudulent charges. They also said that it is very, very rare that T-Mobile will buy back an account, they said they have seen it done but it’s a rare. I thanked them and disconnected. I then called T-Mobile back, at Midland Funding’s suggestion, to find out what information was in the response that T-Mobile received from Midland Funding on the 12th. When I got the initial Customer Rep at T-Mobile, they explained that the only thing they can do is refer me back to Midland Funding since they purchased the account. I then explained my situation to them and the trouble I was having and requested to talk to their Retain Dept. After about 5 minutes on hold, the initial Rep informed me that he was unable to transfer me to the Retain dept. cause they were refusing my calls. I was also given the impression that I couldn’t even talk their supervisor. I asked the rep for any assistance they could help. They informed me that they were directed to only tell me to talk to Midland Funding about the account since they own the account. At my begging, the customer rep. did give me some additional information on the account. Evidently my recent calls were NOT in their documents/notes. They were either there and deleted or were never annotated to begin with. Furthermore, there was NO documentation in the system that I contacted the supervisor in the Retain dept. and no follow-up notes that said he was again going to contact Midland Funding. At this point I don’t know what’s in the records or not. In addition, according to the Customer Rep. there was never an attempt from T-Mobile to contact me regarding the bill, no correspondence was ever sent out, and no rejected or undeliverable mail was ever returned; nothing after my initial calls to terminate service back in 2010.
To recap, T-Mobile is now refusing to communicate with me. After identifying me, the only thing I get is to talk to Midland Funding. That’s it. And there is a lack of documentation or notes in their system that I even recently contacted them. They also lied to me about re-contacting Midland Funding on my behalf, according to their notes, or lack thereof. The only thing in the system, that I know of, is that I called them repeatedly to terminate service back in 2010, and that there was no attempt for them to communicate with me to pay the bill, after my calls to terminate service. As to Midland Funding, I either have to get a Lawyer (at what cost), have a judge sign off on a subpoena, and submit that to T-Mobiles Legal dept. with no guarantee that I’ll even get a copy of the notes, whatever good that will do since my recent communications with them is not in the system and at this point I am not even certain what’s even in the notes.
I guess my only options are to pay the bill or settlement amount; or to find out what the statutes of limitations are on collections in my state. Or, the fact that I recently moved and haven’t forwarded my mail yet with the Post Office, but that isn’t much of an option since I have bills to pay/forward. The Customer Dispute Dept. Rep at Midland Funding did say that if I didn’t do anything, this attempt to collect a charge will stay on my Credit Report for at least seven years; or, from my impression, that they may come after me to collect on this account.
I apologize for it being lengthy, but…… I guess T-Mobile fraudulently, screwed me over due to their bad business practices; and Midland Funding wants to collect. WTF!
Have a good day.
🙁
JD, this sucks! I am so happy to not be you in this process. I am not being mean here. I am expressing my amazement at your patience.
I would file the FTC forms Midland told you to. I would spell out the circumstance in the fraud charges. Get that to Midland so that part of there system kicks in.
Are you up to connecting with me off line? I would like to develop a story about your experience with T Mobile, which is timed well on the heals of a related story about the perils of trying to cancel cable service. If you are up to it, send an email to the address you get these comment notifications from.
It was deemed fact through their unanswered admissions that the account was never mine. That was one of my statements against them.
I am not certain you are correct in that, or at least I have not seen similar circumstances lead directly to credit report removal. Have you talked with the consumer law attorney you are now working with about this concern, and if so, what was his feedback?
I reserved the right to Countersue for any and all violations as they became applicable and available in my response and now I have a Professional fighting for me and Midland Funding LLC, Encore Capital Group or Midland Credit Management will pay all my legal fees.
I defeated Midland Funding LLC with Prejudice in court as anyone can and should do. How do I get them to stop reporting this debt on my Credit Report? I have already proven in a court of Law it is not my debt.
Nicely done Brad, though I would say that not everyone can do that, not by a long shot.
Unfortunately, victory in a court action does not always translate to credit reporting success. I may have some action steps to suggest from here. Can you post a brief outline of how this shook out in court?
1. Answer the Complaint and deny everything.
2. Respond to their Interogatories and Admissions with denial.
3. State to your recollection you’ve never had an account with them and demand strict proof. Ask for a signed contract with a Motion to Produce. They sent me a bunch of generic documents and a Robosigned affidavit which I made a motion to strike as hearsay but was not admitted or received into evidence yet. (They don’t ever have any evidence)
4. Send your own request for interrogatories and admissions they failed to answer.
5. I then sent a Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice because all admissions were deemed admitted and true and my Motion to dismiss was sustained. I’m now pursuing my Counterclaims via Tregg Lunn Law in Lincoln, NE.
I cited case law of similar cases and stated that attorney Generals in 5 states had sued Midland for FDCPA and FCRA violations.
So the case was dismissed, rather than a judge ruling the account was never yours. Perhaps your counterclaim will result in Midland’s credit report removal.
What good is going to court if the information used to win your case is not applied in your favor?
From what I can tell, it was… you got the dismissal. My guess is that much of your motion practice and discovery did not focus on the credit reporting aspects, and that the courts decision did not contemplate that in the least.
I was very thorough with my paperwork and am waiting to talk to Midland as they are now violating the FCRA and my Attorney is organizing a Class Action Lawsuit.
Asset acceptance bought my debt from wells fargo charged off at $904 in 2012. they are currently charging interest and I want to know if this is legal? what can I do about it? I tried to contact wells fargo to see if it was part of my original agreement but they don’t want to answer me with out me giving my ssn or account number. do you think asset acceptance being apart of mcm will take legal action for debt verification? what would disputing the amount with the credit bureau do? Also do you think trying to settle the rest of my debt for 33% (lump sum) of the original price is reasonable? will trying to settle cause the dc to try and seek more money and or legal action would you advise trying to settle for up to what amount? I read online a tip where they said to explain to the dc that you have several debts and you would like to settle for x amount of money and if not then I would use the money towards another debt
J – Why not give Wells your social security number and credit card account number? They already have the information.
Your agreement with Wells Fargo is likely similar to most credit card contracts that allows for default interest to continue to accrue. If settling the debt is your goal, do not get hung up on the interest during the negotiations. Just target the amount you can afford. I generally target 40% settlements in the situation you briefly describe, but that number could go up or down depending on financial hardships, or how collectable you look to the debt collector.
I can better answer your remaining questions if I knew what your goal for this account is? Are you wanting to settle? Do you have other debts that show on your credit report as unpaid?
the reason i didn’t want to give wells fargo my ssn is because i didn’t want them to come after me aggressively seeing as they have ties to mcm and encore. last thing i need is to get served.
That would not have caused any additional collections aggression in my experience.
I have 3 other accounts in collection t mobile 483(mcm), bill me later 1551(arn), and pc richards 779(pro.rec.), i would like to settle all including asset acceptance . i have direct loans in good standing that all i can afford to pay and it my only open positive account. all my other positive accounts were closed because i refused to use them. Im currently going back to school and will be placing my direct loans into in school deferment status. how can i settle all accounts for the lowest possible.
Use the tips outlined in this article to negotiate settlements with the debt collectors: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/settling-charged-off-credit-card-debts-with-collection-company/.
You can use the search box up top to get details about any of the debt collectors you are dealing with. The comments section will often have action steps and additional tips, or things to consider. Post any questions and concerns in the comments on each page. Generally speaking, I would target settlements at between 40% and 50% for all of the debt collectors you are dealing with. Now knowing that you will not be working, and in school full time, I would target even a bit lower.
If you can access the money to settle all of these at around the same time, I recommend it. Collectors like MCM and the rest will see your settlements get updated to your credit reports after a short time. This may/may not cause you to appear more collectable to them (where they hold out for more money), but if you can prevent that from happening by negotiating them all at roughly the same time (where your deals are done, and payments set to transact around the same time).
ive been following you and you state to always call to settle, are there tips out there for how to speak on the phone with the debt collectors? and i just want to thank you so much for helping us all!
do you perform a service where i can pay you and you can try to settle on my behalf? if so how much?
Those tips are found in the comments of the post I linked to above. I suppose I should do a video on the topic, maybe even with some role playing. Thanks for the suggestion!
I am currently not offering paid debt settlement negotiations like CRN has been doing for the last 10 years, but some of the guys in the Network do. Call 800-939-8357 for a consult. All of those specialists charge 15% of savings for direct negotiations. They do not take all files. They offer one on one coaching and training to settle your debts yourself too.
what do you mean they do not take all files?
There are plenty of people who want to do settlement, but can be seen to be far more suitable to other debt relief alternatives. I have turned away customers who settlement is not right for, or who have some unrealistic expectations.
Yes whatever you have, we appreciate it.
Thanks so much.
We are in the Owings Mills area of Maryland. She isn’t sued yet, but I get a feeling it will happen based upon what I’ve read on this board. Any lawyer recommendations is greatly appreciated.
I sent an email with contact details to an attorney nearby with the experience you would want. There was another in the area, but he listed his organization as being with the state of Maryland. I can send that along too if you like. Maryland does care a good deal about debt collection issues with residents of their state.
Hello,
In your opinion, do you ever hear that Midland sues in a court of law using the substantive method? Or is it generally procedural? We live in Maryland. My wife’s debt is outside of the SOL timeframe for Maryland, which is 3 years.
Thank you.
Is your wife dealing with a collection attorney for Midland Funding in Maryland now? What type of collection activity is there?
With the SOL in Maryland passed, what concerns remain for how a collection attorney will proceed in court?
Your best resource will be contacting an experienced debt collection consumer law attorney in Maryland, and on preferably familiar with the courts in your area. What is the name of a nearby larger city?
Michael, I am being sued by Midland and received my summons to appear on 8 Sept. I contacted the office and arranged for a payment plan. I will be making my first payment before the 8th of Sept. I’m not sure what will happen next. Do I need to appear on the 8th and provide the court with my payment plan? I’m not disputing the debt just trying to get this behind me and am not sure what else to do or what will happen.
Did you receive, or are you expecting Midland Funding’s attorney to send documentation of the payment arrangement you made?
Yes from my understanding they would send something as a reminder when my payment is due. I have a reference number concerning the payment arrangements. I’m hoping they will send something before the court date.
I would not leave stuff like this to hope. Call them and nail down the fact that they are sending documentation that outlines what you have agreed to. Put some notes down on paper with who you talked to and when (look at phone logs if by cell and go so far as to nail down the hour and minute of calls). If it were me, and if I did not have anything in writing before the court date, I would show up.
Thank you I will give them a call. Once I have all of my documentation do you think it would still be a good idea to go to court? Would I still have the judgement against me?
Thanks again for all of your help.
Post a comment when the docs are in your hand about whether you are signing a consent to judgement with Midland Funding, or any similar verbiage like a “stipulation to judgment”, and lets go from there.
I tried to post the other day but I was having issues with my phone but I apologize if this is a duplicate.
I have recently started to receive calls from MCM. I assume this is from a capital one debt that was purchased from portfolio recovery(as they have stopped calling me). The Debt was for approx 1500.00 and had already fallen off of my credit. It has been at least 10 years since my last payment. I accrued the debt when I lived in NY but now live in SC. I am outside the SOL in both states. My question is Can MCM make this debt reappear on my credit report? Also even though I am outside the SOL could they still sue hoping I wouldn’t respond? The paperwork I was getting from portfolio said “due to the age of your debt we can not take you to court”. I believe this is what you referred to as a “Zombie” but I am just worried that this will reappear to do me further harm. I have read that MCM has used unethical tactics in the past and was wondering what your feeling was in regards to them creating trouble for me.
It is a bit odd to me that Midland Credit Management would be collecting on a debt once collected on by Portfolio Recovery Associates. PRA is not known for reselling debts they buy, and in fact said as much in a media piece last year.
If Midland Credit does not appear on your credit reports now, I would not expect them to show up. If an entry were to appear (other than a soft inquiry), it would likely be from a mistake, and not bad collection practices. Today’s collection environment requires hyper regulatory and compliance awareness. Big collection companies like MCM and PRA will care more about getting collections right, than how to squeeze any life from a zombie debt.
Post an update if something happens with your credit and lets go from there.
Hi Michael! I’m currently in the process of purchasing our first home and I have a debt of $3737 with Midland Funding. I have not been sued or been in direct contact with them but I would like to apply for an FHA loan and I worry that this may affect the process. What do you recommend, please help!
In today’s home lending markets, and with FHA underwriting standards, I would be surprised if your loan approval was not affected by an unpaid collection account.
If your goal is to settle the debt with Midland, and get your credit report updated with that fact, you will want to call and negotiate a deal with them. Do not mention anything about trying to get a home loan, or even anything about credit reporting necessarily. Just that you feel on tough finances and are trying to bounce back, but can only afford xxxx.xx amount if they would be willing to accept that, you would be willing to pull together the money. You can get more details about negotiating and settling with debt collectors here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/settling-charged-off-credit-card-debts-with-collection-company/
Generally, realistic targets for settling with Midland will be between 40 and 60 percent. If no one is actively trying to collect on this, and you need some time to pull together the money to offer as settlement, wait until you have the money.
When was it that you last paid the original creditor that Midland got the account from?
What state are you in?
Michael! I’m happy to report that the alleged debt from Midland under my name had little to no effect on my home loan. Thankfully I was approved and now we are days away from receiving the keys to our home.
That is awesome Diane!
If you would not mind, can you post another reply with what, if anything, you did to resolve this on your credit report, or with Midland? And if nothing, what your interest rate on the loan is, and your down payment? It will help other readers dealing with similar concerns now and later.
My pleasure! During our pre-qualification/approval process the loan processor questioned the Midland debt and asked what it was about. I truthfully answer that I had no clue about it and they had never reached out to me to collect. The loan processor contacted them to verify the debt amount and that was all the contact that was made. Keep in mind that just this year alone I’ve been pre-approved by three different lenders without a problem. My credit scores are between 702 – 760 and my husbands are the same. We have all our debts with the exception of our two car loans paid off and I believe this was the reason that our process with all lenders went smoothly. My interest rate is at a 4.4% on a 30 year fixed with a 5% down payment of $16.745 on a $334,900 loan amount.
Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with Midland; perhaps in the future we will need to if the debt is indeed ours but it didn’t affect our loan approval.
Great informative post about Midland Funding. I would only add that if Midland Funding has filed a lawsuit against you, the consumer’s best remedy is to hire a lawyer that focuses in debt collection defense. My firm does this in Oklahoma. You can easily find A list of attorneys in your area through the National Association of consumer advocates website: http://www.naca.net
Our firm has been 100% successful in getting every lawsuit that has been filed by Midland against our clients dismissed without our clients having to pay Midland anything. Most consumer lawyers charge a reasonable flat rate, and may even be able to obtain money back for the consumer if they have discovered in FDCPA violation. It’s absolutely critical to have an attorney representing you if you have been sued; Midland definitely has an attorney representing it.
We’ve written a couple of short blog posts regarding our success with Midland Funding. I hope that you’ll check it out: https://paramountlaw.net/midland-funding-llc-dismisses-2 and https://paramountlaw.net/midland-funding-llc-dismisses
Thanks for posting your comment Victor. How have your debt defense efforts fared in Oklahoma when Portfolio Recovery, or Cach LLC is suing? Are you getting good results when the original creditor sues (Discover, American Express, Capital One)?
People should know that just because you are being pursued in or out of court does not mean Midland or any other DC will win even if you had the card they are suing about. The Plaintiff has to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that they own the debt, that the debt is correct and it is still within the SOL.
There is law they have to follow to prove each of the above three points and if they can’t, then they lose. Now, one has to do some research on and off the internet and have the time to not only research and draw up their defense but have the gall to go to court. Which by the way, isn’t as intimidating as many would like one to believe.(Though it is but not as much.) And of course if one doesn’t have the time then that is a factor to consider.
The other point is whether someone is Judgement proof. There is a federal law which inhibits any collector or court from touching many kinds of payment from the government. This includes, SSI, Disability,Welfare etc.. and the law extends to regular income up to I think it’s now 250.00 per week and certain assets.
Your state may add to this. Massachusetts protects any collection from income of either 400.00 or 85% of ones income plus allowances for rent and utilities. One can make over 600 per weeks in Mass and it still be untouchable. Plus 2500.00 in the bank, 7500 wholesale value of one vehicle, one computer and one tv. Plus 15,000 for furniture and a wildcard of 5000.00 to put towards anything not covered.
But one has to state in court after losing they are implementing this and not make a written agreement with the creditor because once you do this you’re SOOL.
I understand the purpose of this website is to help people expedite out of a collection hassle so one can move on and get it out of their lives. But one should know there are rights available and other options. Plus, remember, we really don’t know who Mr. Bovee is.
I appreciate your comment Jack. I do cover everything you mention on the site, and much of it in the comments of this page. Who I am is the owner of this web site. And there is no shortage of information about me professionally, or personally, on this and other sites.
michael,….my wife stopped paying a credit card bill when she lost her job due to health problems. she paid monthly for years until about 6 months ago approx. until then she paid with her income so i knew nothing about any past due problems and she felt guilty and didn’t want to tell me. this debt was in her name only. a few weeks ago, a man showed up at my home asking me to sign and acknowledge a summons for debt, so i signed it. my wife wasn ‘t home and i forgot to ask her about it later. my wife didn’t go to court, but we expected to negotiate to pay them the next time they contacted us. we have never experienced this before and didn’t have a clue how to address this.
i discovered to my horror 2 days ago that my checking acct. is frozen based on a court order for this debt. the checking acct is in my name and my wifes’ name, so i never expected that they could freeze the acct. with my name on it and i’m not named for the debt. this checking acct was established a few months prior to my retirement, only because my pension fund requires direct deposit so an acct has to be established and we had no acct. at the time. each month my pension goes into the acct and we spend it down as we go. my pension is a municipal employee pension through imrf, and illinois state law exempts my pension from any collection attempts.
the problem is the 600.00 in the acct is frozen and my next check will go directly into that frozen acct. tomorrow. the pension rep. said it was too late for them to stop the direct deposit this month but agreed to mail the check directly to me for 3 months, until i can settle this issue. we have no money for medicine, food, utilities etc other than this pension. my bank gave me the name of midland funding and an attorneys’ name/number also. i called the number thinking it was midland i was calling but now i see that it’s the attys. phone number. i called twice asking them questions and spoke with 2 young ( sounded young) people that didn’t seem like they would be in an attorney’s office. the first young man told me to call him specifically if i call again. the next person admitted they will negotiate but not necessarily, she said it dependedon who the debt was from originally(credit card) and what that company dictated as their policy. i assume she was fibbing because i’ve not heard of that before and the original company has no invollement since they sold this debt. i didn’t give her my name so she answered my questions as a general inquiry. the first call to them i had to tell them the case # so they know which case it is.
i’ve learned that i should file a motion for a hearing to explain to the judge that my pension is affected by the court order to freeze the acct, hoping he will lift and reverse the order. i want to call to offer 50% of the 3800.00 debt but since they know about and have gotten this acct frozen i am thinking they may demand full payment knowing i need the acct released. also, even if i get the court to reverse the order, it will take time and i can’t go without food for that long nor my medicine. my question is; do you think they would accept 50% lump sum under these specifics and agree to assist voluntarily to gain a release when they are informed by me about the exempt pension law? i would like them to realize the court will reverse and accept a lump sum and request them to acknowledge the pension exemption in one phone call to simplify and expediate the acct. release. the only caviate( did i use that word?) is the account has to show no other monies deposited so as to give the court pause because the acct then would not be exclusively pension funded. i read that a mixture of activity rather than just pension fund, makes it more difficult to get the court to reverse the order. there is other activity, but the activity is , for example, a tax return check deposited because it can’t be cashed until it is ‘cleared’ and we have no other acct so the refund would end up being expensive toilet tissue. there are other deposits from little things but the vast majority is pension funds.
i don’t have the 50% lump sum either(because they froze my acct so i can’t access it) but hopefully can borrow enough from family and/or a tin can and a sad face. so, should i call them tomorrow to offer 50%, informing them the pension exemption details and hope they will accept my idea? i know i still must go to court to reverse the order and request that the acct be protected frpom possible future collections(i don’t anticipate any).
I do believe your financial situation would be one that Midland Funding will recognize as a hardship, and would settle with you. The person you spoke to about what Midland will settle for being affected by different sets of facts is accurate in my experience. And unless you own properties, and are paying other credit cards on time all the time, all of which can be gleaned from your credit reports, your set of facts shared so far supports a favorable settlement due to a fixed income. But the judgment is against your wife. Does she work now, or have any source of income? Is she paying other creditors on time?
I would move forward with the court request, then talk to the attorney for Midland after that is in motion.
Hello Michael, Need your advise about MCM, almost 2 month ago, I was planning to purchase a house, the Realtor told me the first step was to check my credit report, in there, I founded out there were 2 suspicious account that I never open, One, with Chase who was charge off( OC) and other one with MCM with OC (Chase) for the same account, The Realtor told me to contact Chase, after transfer me to several Dept. finally I was transfer to Fraud account because I find out that this account was Identity deft, After aprox. a month of investigation Chase called me and told me that they found I’m not responsible for the account and they reported to the 3 agencies. I started to dispute this account with MCM and they told me they need a letter from Chase an a Police report and I send it to them with all the info. requested. Today for my surprise I called (MCM) and they told me that: This account was sent back to the original creditor, Is that true? pls advise if this a tactic MCM is using to extend the pain, and what should I do?. I will appreciate your respond. Thank you
From what you shared, it sounds like Midland Credit did what they were supposed to do, send a bogus debt back to where it came from. I would want to make sure that part of that protocol they are following includes MCM being removed from your credit report. These kind of things can take some time, so give it a few weeks, but verify that is the direction this is going.
Be sure to keep good notes about all conversations, and all documents surrounding the issue. If you have to provide that to loan underwriting later (if it should come to that), it will be better that you are organized now.
Hello Michael, Thank you for your prompt respond, so from what you are telling me this debt was never bought by MCM? and always owned by Chase?, when I spoke with the the Manager account in MCM she told me that My account is not longer in the system; I also have a letter from Chase that stated: ” I’m not responsible o debt and they sended 3 credits Bureau for deletion, But I still have my doubt even thou I’m keeping good track of these calls, certify letters,etc, because what if instead of transfer the account to the OC, they will sell this account to another collection agency, to extend this process. This company is so shady, that I don’t truth them.
Gigi – MCM would have bought the account from Chase in order for you to have them appear on your credit report, or to try to collect from you at all. MCM placing the account back to the original creditor, must be part of the contractual protocols between a seller and a buyer. It may even be the preferred method for how to manage something like this that regulators prefer.
I am saying what you have shared appears to be actions that are favorable to you and your goals. If an identity theft victim had an account resold, like in an instance such as yours, it would be a mistake. Deliberate stuff like you are concerned about just does not happen with large banks, and debt buyers like MCM. Not in today’s highly charge regulatory environment. If you do experience additional collections efforts on this Chase/MCM deal, post an update and lets go from there. But for now, it seems things are progressing like they should.
Micheal,
Back again with a quick question – I posted a couple months back about Midland serving me and looking to settle. That is still my eventual goal – but their initial offer was too high given their case. As such I am (for awhile at least) moving forward with the court process pro per (the amount is only 1100.00 so an attorney wasn’t cost feasible).
So far I have been doing pretty well – have answered, and provided initial disclosure. They have also provided what they CALL disclosure – though it was just the same affidavit from the Midland employee as was included in the original complaint with no original creditor information or assignment information included.
SO, I then sent them a discovery request to produce the documentation required to show this debt was in fact mine and they had a right to sue me for said debt. (I have NOT asked for a request for admissions or interrogatories yet – was going to do that based upon what documents they provided – if any).
As we are approaching the 40 day requirement for them to answer my request I started re-reading my request to them so as to draft a final request letter to them, prior to filing a motion to compel. (Remember, my actual goal here is to get them to dismiss and/or accept a much reduced settlement as the really DONT have legally sufficient documentation here…).
ANYWAY, my question to you is this – when I filled out my Request For Documents to them (in pleading format and mailed it to them CMRR), I accidentally referenced a couple of Arizona Justice Court RCP rules that were part of a DRAFT version (AZ recently updated and simplified their JC RCP). Those draft rules included the requirement for language to be included that in the FINAL RCP versions was slightly different, and the actual Rule # I cited in the request was not correct.
Since my INTENT is implied here, unless Midland’s atty’s OBJECT to my request (which they have not – nor have they sent and discovery requests OF me to date), do they still need to comply within the 40 days provided? Or does the mere fact the document was not technically correct mean they can just ignore and I need to send a revised request and the time to respond starts all over again.
THANKS!!
If it were me, I would not start over.
I received notification of a suit from Midland – I contacted the attorney and settled for a percentage of the suit and paid them in full. They cashed the check but have not dismissed the case and are still sending me court documents – what do I do?
If it were me, I would call the attorney for Midland, and Midland Funding directly, and ask what gives.
Are the most recent documents you received anything to do with a motion for dismissal?
No they were discovery documents. I have called and left countless messages and still they do not reply. I have contact an attorney and they believe I have a suit because I have the settlement in writing.
You can call Midland Funding at 800-265-8825 and give the basic info for the account and then immediately ask to speak with a supervisor. Whatever number you are calling should reach someone live, not an answering machine.
I just received a summons from Midland Funding. I had the Citibank listed on my credit, along with the Midland. I had submitted a PFD to Midland, about a month ago, and I guess this is how Midland Funding responded? This is an $800 debt and I offered to settle for $200, because I see that Midland buys debt for $2.50 for $100 debt? Then I see that in Oklahoma, this SOL is 3 years, but I opened the account when I lived in Michigan (SOL is 6 years). My concern to pay this was that I understand the debt updates/starts over the day you even pay a small amount towards the debt, and remains on your credit longer? The last payment to Citibank was 3/18/11 and write off was 6/26/11. I was served on 6/16/14.
As a side note: my indebtedness has not been because I don’t want to pay….I came back to Oklahoma in 2009, but I worked for 100% commission and sales were held because of the small company’s Medicare non-compliance. I got another stable job, but then I had serious personal issues – illness/death of both of my parents, my child getting pregnant, siblings having a transplant (one donor & one recipient), my other child having legal battles and then my ex-spouse suing me because I moved out of state – which we hadn’t lived in the same state, since our divorce in OK in 1996.
Thank you for any advice you can give.
I meant to mention that this Court Judgement was dated 6/16, but received it on 6/20 (yesterday).
Thanks again!
Elle – Were you just sued by Midland Funding, or was this something that has been in the courts for a while?
Yes, I am just being sued by Midland Funding, dated 6/16/14.
Elle – Sending a pay for delete letter as your opening move to settle a debt is bad advice for many circumstances. It is often best to just pick up the phone and talk to Midland about what you can afford first.
Getting hung up on what collectors buy up unpaid debts for is not productive. It is what it is. Targeting your offers to settle with a company like Midland should first focus on what you can afford, then focus on what they tend to accept, and that’s often between 40% and 60%, and when the situation suggests that is what they should do. Some accounts settle for less, and some higher. Your letter offering pay for delete may have caused them to manually review your file. The result of that may be that you look more collectable.
If it were me, and I could afford 50% or more to settle the debt, and that is the direction I wanted to take rather than deal with the court process, I would call and negotiate. Focusing on all of the hardships you outlined in your comment, and perhaps other points of personal reference.
Do you have other debts unpaid out there showing on your credit reports (Midland Funding and their attorney can see those)?
Do you have other debts showing on your credit that are being paid on time?
Yes, I am paying other debts on time. I think there are one or 2 other debts that are behind. I had never heard of the PFD letter, but had talked to Midland and they wouldn’t budge and were very aggressive and intimidating. I saw in the State of Oklahoma there is a 3 year SOL. I was wondering if that will apply to opening the account in Michigan, or if it will apply as me living in Oklahoma at the time the debt was closed? I was told if I even pay $1, the date of debt will start over and I don’t want to have bad debt for 7 more years….
I should say that the other debts are “write offs” from 2009-2012, not behind.
Thanks again!
I am sorry, I shouldn’t say “not behind,” because it is behind, but…. When I tried to negotiate, they wouldn’t budge on anything but a 2-3 payment tactic (for the full amount), and were very difficult and hostile.
Call and talk with a specialist if your goal is to resolve the debt with Midland. You can get the deal put together, but I think you could benefit from some coaching. 800-939-8357.
You are an increased target for collections when you are paying some debts on time, and not others.
People can sometimes help make themselves a bigger collection target with they write in to debt collectors, or go about resolving debts with unrealistic expectations, or not enough preparedness.
How much do all of your unpaid debts total?
Student loans are about $48K, and the rest of my debt is around $10K, plus a repossessed car that the engine had totally gone out on ($6K), and then I have a joint new car account with my husband for $14.5K (not sure what all I should include). Thank you again!
Michael,
My wife has multiple accounts that became late in when we moved to Australia
12/07 and first 30 day late 12/07. The account in question, Chase was closed EX says by consumer in 04/08. I don’t know if she ever paid due to the difficulty of moving money back to the
Chase account while we lived outside the US until 2012. The original CC was
opened in CA. Since returning to USA we lived in IL, TX, and now UT. The issue now is that
MCM bought the debt in 12/11 and shows MCM re-age or date of first open and first
report 10/11. The SOL of CA is 4, UT is 6 do I need to worry about this?
Finally, Shouldn’t the original Chase report drop off 06/14 and MCM with it?
We are looking to buy a home this year and this has impacted our ability. Not sure that
paying it will actually help after 6 years especially so old and that MCM
doesn’t PFD, Pay for Delete? Thank you for your guidance.
If the original Chase account is showing on your credit reports as set to drop from your credit reports this month, the Midland Credit entry should fall off along with it.
Debt collectors on your credit reports can often appear as though they are not going to fall off at the same time as the original creditors, but they do when that date passes.
You are relying on what the credit report is saying about Chase dropping off right? If yes, keep a copy of your credit reports you are referring to now, and a copy next month when the Chase reporting should be gone. If Midland Credit appears on your credit report after that, post an update and lets go from there.
Hello. I am in the process of buying a house. When I ran my credit I find a had a judgement from Midland Funding for $2800.00 back in 12/2010. When I pulled the court docket from Miami dade county, it shows my name and a fictitious address that is miles from my residence. I was never served, and an obvious fake address on the court docket. I cannot close on my home until this is satisfied. I would try and fight this, but that could be lengthy and I don’t want to lose out on my new home purchase. Can I negotiate with midland funding and settle for a much less amount years after this judgement? Or do I have to deal with the attorney’s that “supposedly” served me? Or am i forced to pay the full amount plus $640 in court costs plus 6% interest that the court dockets instruct? Very frustrated! Thanks for any input.
Dennis – At this point, and given your goal, I would settle the debt while negotiating the best savings possible. After this long the original attorney may not be in the picture, so start by calling Midland to negotiate the payoff amount. If Midland cannot work this out with you, they will tell you who to get in touch with and how (same or another attorney).
I am in a similar situation and spoke with Midland yesterday seeking to settle however they stated they have to send the request off to the pay off department for review.
However, I am a little concerned because when I called the representative advised me that the statue of limitations had expired and they could not legally collect from me so my question is should I still look to settle with Midland?
Jaime – I am not sure what the person from Midland Credit said, but it would be unusual for a debt collect to say “I cannot legally collect this debt”. What would be more common is to hear something like “your account is passed the statute of limitations (SOL) for us to seek collection by suing you in court”.
There are valid reasons to pay or settle a debt in later stages of collection. What is the reason you are looking to negotiate a settlement with Midland Credit?
I am purchasing a home and need this judgement satisfied before closing. I am fine with paying the debt; I too found it odd that I was advised they could not collect from me.
I would escalate any concern you have by asking to speak with a supervisor so that you can get another point of clarity. That is, if another point of confusion comes up when communicating with Midland about this.
Can anyone speak to how likely Midland is to have the documentation they need if I meet them in court?
Does anyone have experience being sued by this company?
Please people stop settling with Midland Funding LLC, MCM Credit Management or Encore. If you never signed a contract with you they have to prove you owe them money you do NOT have a contract with them. Take them to Court and make them produce a Contract or something with your signature saying you have to pay. Michael Bovee how can you in good conscience give such horrible advice?
Brad – Settling legitimate debts is far more common than disputing there ever was one, or that one company or another has no rights to collect it.
You do not have to have a signed contract with Midland for them to have a legitimate claim to attempt to collect. They purchase the legal rights to debts from your creditors. Nearly all loans and credit contracts contain a provision in them for accounts to be assigned or sold. Even loans that are current, and never missed a payment, get bought and sold. That is just how finance works nowadays.
Are there strategic ways to challenge debt buyers? Sure there are. And even win. But not everyone wins, and not everyone wants to try to.
Brad – How can you in good conscience think it good advise to speak to the hearts and minds of all people that they should battle debt collectors? Is it because that is what you have chosen for you? Is it Brads will be done?
Fighting a debt collector takes time, energy and resources. Not everyone is cracked up for that. And there are people smart enough to weigh the costs and benefits to negotiating and settling. Even if they do not want to. There are folks whose credit goals include buying a home in the next, say 5 years, who know that home loan financing has changed. That loan approval may depend on any collection accounts being resolved and reflected as zero balance owed by a company like Midland on their credit reports. Who plan in advance to have that settlement be far enough in the rear view mirror so that their credit score can bounce a little, where in what is likely a rising interest rate environment, settling a collection account today, could mean paying a half or more point less on a 30 year fixed mortgage loan… saving them many times over what it cost to settle a debt.
Why is ANYONE here not disputing these crooks in Court? If Midland Funding LLC says you owe them money make them produce a Contract, statements or an agreement with you or them that proves you owe them money. They are leeches that purchase debt for 1.3 to 3.3 cents on the dollar you may have owed a debt, you may STILL owe a debt but you do NOT owe it to Midland Funding LLC, Midland Credit Management, Encore Group Inc or any of their Subsidiaries.
Brad – People dispute collection claims from Midland in court, as you can see from reading the comments. Midland Funding is a large debt purchaser. They now fall under direct regulatory supervision of the CFPB. They are not, to my knowledge, being shut down by the CFPB or state regulators as crooks.
Not sure where you are going with the bit about debts being sold for 1.3 to 3.3 cents, but that is not true. Fresh charge off credit cards are sold to companies like Midland for multiples of that.
Hi –
Thank you for this site, I have learned so much just from reading the posts.
We reside in southern New Jersey. My husband had a revolving credit account for Home Depot/Citibank in the amount of $3,000.00. It was opened in 2009 for appliance purchases totaling $2,700.00.
We made payments of $125.00 monthly for 8 months and then my husband was laid off due to lack of work. He received unemployment insurance for the next 9 months. During that time, I called and submitted an application for the Balance Protection we added at the time of the appliance purchase.
After some communication back and forth and providing statements from the NJ Department of labor, I understood that our application for benefits would be retroactive from the date of unemployment and that the Balance Insurance company would pay Home Depot directly. We did not receive anything further from Home Depot.
Forward to March 2014: A summons from a law office on behalf of Midland Funding for Home Depot is mailed to my husband at his parents’ residence, where he has not lived in fifteen years. This address was not ever a billing address for us and we have not moved, our mailing address that is on the Home Depot correspondence has not changed since 2009. We have received no other communication prior to this and we do not live in the county in which the summons was filed.
There is a bill from 2012 totaling $5500.00 attached to the summons and it states the entire cost of the bill is $5900.00 with court costs included. The bill from Home Depot is not itemized but the account number listed was the account number we had.
Due to our late receipt of the summons, (my in-laws were out of town) I filed an answer to halt the judgment and I called their attorney. I advised this was sent to a childhood address and that we reside in another county. I explained the above and they offered a to settle for $300.00 a month for 17 months, which I didn’t even consider figuring I could contact Home Depot and the Balance Protection company and request documents to help support my position. I also advised the attorney that my husband is currently unemployed again to due to lack of work. (He is a trades-person and work has been scarce at best.)
Upon contacting Home Depot/Citibank, they advised the account and file have been sold and they have no records on the account. They then referred me to Midland Funding who referred me back to the attorney. I contacted the Balance Protection company, which has since been acquired by another company and who could not locate anything for us, so I faxed a copy of the original paperwork and supporting documents to apply for benefits and as of today, no one there has any information for me. I have some supporting paperwork, but not enough to demonstrate we paid the entire amount. We had some basement flooding and lost several boxes of what had been put aside as old paperwork.
The attorney sent interrogatories to be answered by the end of this week. The last question requests a settlement proposal.
I am concerned about a judgment or losing considering I do not have all of the paperwork to support that the account was paid. I cannot confirm that the Balance Protection took care of the balance.
Therefore I am intending to settle, hopefully for a half of the requested amount. We are not in a position to offer a lumpsome amount and I would have to keep the monthly payments low due to unemployment. If he gets called back to work, we could hopefully increase payments to pay it off sooner.
Do I need to answer the interrogatories and submit the settlement proposal that way or submit it as a standalone document and not answer the interrogatories?
Since the thirty day period of to return the interrogatories is fast approaching, can I fax it to them?
As our only source of income is unemployment insurance, would that be worth mentioning when submitting the settlement proposal?
I appreciate your guidance! Thank you!
Margaret – What state are you in? It was not clear from what you shared in the comment, so can you reply about whether any of your communications, with anyone at anytime, confirmed the balance protection was in play? Do you have anything that shows your payment for balance protection (monthly payment or statement)? If not, is it possible you never were charged for the protection?
I can better offer feedback with answers to those questions.
Thank you Michael-
We reside in Southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia.
The Balance Protection is opted in on the original bill of sale/application.
I am have that original bill of sale/application with the appliance manual, but cannot locate any statements from the account, potentially lost in basement flooding (during Hurricane Irene). I do have duplicate (carbon) copies of checks but it does not indicate a breakdown of the payment.
When I contacted the Balance Protection initially, they sent an application which requested work history, reason for unemployment ( quit, lack of work, etc.) and I needed to send a copy of the original papers from the Division of Labor and receipts from biweekly claims received.
I have a copy of that form and the other paperwork I sent, but subsequent communication was via telephone.
Am I sure it was paid or that payments were made into Balance Protection? I cannot say with certainty. It is now several years ago, but my best recollection is that it was in process and that they would deal with Home Depot directly if once the paperwork was submitted.
Thank you again!
Margaret – I do think you should go over your situation with an attorney of your own. One with experience in the debt collections area of consumer law. But if it were me, I would also file a complaint with the CFPB about the balance protection plan. They (the CFPB), has recently settled with credit card banks over their problematic payment protection offerings. Your situation sounds similar to what has been found to occur with other programs like the one with Home Depot and Citi bank.
I would call either Midland, or the attorney for Midland Funding, or both, and let them know what you are doing, and why. If you do talk things over with a consumer attorney, talk about how to deal with the active case while trying to straighten out your complaint, and the original expectations you had of the balance protection plan with Citibank. If you retain the attorney, let them handle communications with Midland from here.
You can file the complaint with the CFPB here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ under other products click on credit card.
Thank you!
I was recently contacted by a law firm named Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C. about an unpaid credit card balance. The collections agency they are representing is Midland Funding LLC.
I owe around $11,300 for a credit card that was cancelled years ago. The law firm said that they have decided to file suit against me. They said that if I want to, I can complete and send in a Financial Statement with a suggested settlement or payment plan.
I have read that in many cases like this, the defendant can simply ask the law firm that brought forth the lawsuit for proof the debt is owed, and that is enough to get the charges dropped.
I was thinking I could either take that approach, or contact them and offer to settle. I figure it might be worth paying them $2,000 or something like that to make this go away.
What can you tell me about Midland Funding? Do you suggest I take them on in court?
Chuck – It is not as simple as asking for proof and the debt collector goes away. Far from it. There are folks that have success defending against collection lawsuits, but if you are serious about defending something like that, you would want your own attorney with the experience needed. That has a cost. And defeating debt collections in the courts is not a gimme, even less so in some states.
What state are you in?
Who was the original creditor you owed this debt to?
I do not think settling an 11k balance with Midland Funding for 2k is a realistic expectation. Twice that is a maybe if you do not look all that collectable on paper. Do you have other debts unpaid showing on your credit reports? Are you in a fixed income situation (SSI, disability)?
Weigh the time, stress, and costs of defending collections in the court. Set those costs next to how much it will take to settle. What are you inclined to do?
I am in MA.
The original creditor that I supposedly owe is Bank of America.
I have a few other debts unpaid on my credit reports. I could pull these reports tonight and provide a more specific number if that helps.
I am not in a fixed income situation.
It would help to know. And those other debts help to paint the picture of someone with a financial hardship, where some of the better settlement percentage can be had, whether negotiating with Midland, or other debt collectors.
I just pulled my Experian credit report.
The only other debt unpaid I have is $38 that I owe to Charter.
Okay thanks. Are you showing current with unsecured creditors on your Experian report? If you are serious about defending what I read in your earlier comment is a pending lawsuit (not served yet), you will want to work with an attorney of your own, or prepare yourself for the work ahead.
I asked about any other debts, not just because the more it looks like shrapnel ripped through your credit, the more convincing negotiations are, but also to get a glimpse of how chapter 7 might benefit. But with just the one debt with Midland, that you could pay far less to resolve, or prevail with otherwise, BK is something most would not consider in this situation (at least with the little shared so far).
I have the debt to Midland on my credit report and $38 owed to Charter Communications.
Past that, I think I am going to hire an attorney. I don’t think it would be wise for me to represent myself. I would imagine that would require some serious research, and even then I might miss out on something that could end up costing me big time.
What is the difference between 1) contacting the law firm suing me in an effort to settle and 2) working with a company that offers mediation services?
Is mediation something completely different from settling?
I would need to know the name of the company offering mediation services to be certain, but 3rd party companies offering to communicate with your creditors and debt collectors, in order to arrange an affordable payment, or settlement, are providing debt negotiation and settlement services. Rather than using words like “negotiation”, and “settlement”, some companies prefer to use “resolution”, or mediation.
The company that offered to provide mediation is named American Mediation.
Do you know anything about American Mediation? I spoke with their Managing Director today, and he certainly seemed to know what he was talking about.
At this point, I can either pay him $300 to negotiate with Lustig, Glaser and Wilson or pay the same fee to a lawyer to negotiate. The person at American Mediation said that he has worked with Lustig, Glaser and Wilson for six years.
Another option is to hire the lawyer for $2k and take Lustig, Wilson and Glaser on in court. I was told that if my lawyer requests documentation for the debt, then the law firm doing the suing can turn around and ask for the same thing.
At this point, I think it might make sense to settle. Do you have any input or suggestions?
I was served on 5.31.14.
I have spoken with a few lawyers. I don’t really have a consensus yet on what I should do.
Do you think that having a law firm write a reply to the complaint letter saying that that they are representing me will make the law firm suing me more likely to go away?
I might want to provide a few more details – I am disputing this debt because I gave my credit card to a mechanic so that he could buy some parts for a vehicle. He then maxed out the card.
There was no written agreement that he could use my card.
He must have either forged my signature or signed his own name when using this card.
Of the $11,355 that they are suing for, probably about $1,000 was for parts I was getting for my car.
Can you clarify that final part for me a bit? Is it that 1k of the charges were fraudulent, or all but 1k of the BofA credit card transactions were?
Did you file any reports against the mechanic, or any formal billing disputes with BofA?
All but 1k were fraudulent.
I called BoFa and told them that some of the charges were fraudulent.
I filed a police report against the mechanic.
Did you ever share these facts, and copies of the fraud and police reports with Midland Credit, or any attorney for Midland that contacted you prior to being served?
In my opinion, BofA should never have sold this debt, and once Midland was made aware of the circumstance by way of documentation, they should never have continued to collect.
Yes, I believe you should answer the complaint with the court. It sucks that it come to this, but now that it has you have to cover yourself. I also think that this should get dismissed once all of the facts are known (fraud and timely police reports filed).
If I do succeed in getting the lawsuit dismissed, that won’t remove this balance from my credit report, right?
I do want to buy a house at some point, so wouldn’t that motivate me to get this off my credit report?
I hired a lawyer, and got the lawsuit dismissed with prejudice. I plan on contacting the three credit bureaus to get this matter off my credit report.
Thanks for your input!
Hi, I am trying to purchase a home in Wisc. and was told I have an active debt from Midland Funding that needs to be resolved because it is stating amount in debt of close to $4000. Which the banker say’s puts our Income to debt ratio to high because they have to include the $4000. The loan is from Dell almost 7 years ago for a computer that cost approx. $1200. Over the years I guess they added interest. On my credit report it states it will come off in Aug. 2014. I am currently facing the need to find a new home in 30 days, or rent for another year. What should I do? Also, would this hurt my opportunity to rent a nice place? My credit score is currently 650 and trending up. Thank you.
Robert – Old collections do impair your ability to get a new home loan approved. Compare the cost of renting for a year vs buying the home you want. Is it worth, say 2k to settle with Midland Funding, in order to qualify for the home purchase? Is accomplishing your goal of home ownership, 1 year earlier than may be possible otherwise, worth the cost even if the math suggests you rent for a year?
Thank you for this discussion. Midland Funding has a collection account they bought from a Target Credit card I stopped paying on in 2007. The SOL is 6 years in MN (where I live now), ND (where I signed up for the Target Credit card and made the last payment in 2007), and 6 years in CA (the address of Midland Funding).
If I am positive I have not made a payment or admittance to this debt since 2007 which is 7 years, is it safe to say I could beat/win a collection lawsuit filed by the debt buyer Midland Funding because they are past the SOL of my last payment to TARGET?
I only ask because I am preparing a pay to delete letter but I’m so nervous if I contact Midland they are going to sue me for the full amount if I don’t offer a high enough settlement. But, if I am confident I cannot be sued or would win if they sued me, I want to get that letter out today 🙂 Also, Midland claims I owe $730.00 but on my credit report Target said it charged off my account for $581.00. I was going to offer 40% on what my ending balance was with Target because I don’t get how they can just add on more debt.
Any and all thoughts, comments, concerns, or advice is welcome.
Thank you in advance!
Laura – Save the stamp. Midland Funding is not going to accept your offer of payment for deleting anything from your credit report. Pay for delete is a rare occurrence. Until that changes, taking this approach to improve your credit, is not a realistic one.
Settling with Midland Funding and their reporting that you no longer owe money can help you. But so can waiting for it to fall off your report sometime this year, early next.
What credit goal do you have that creates a sense of urgency?
Hi – I recently received a summons from Midland Credit on an acct that I disputed on my credit report and it was updated to show paid in full. I am planning on responding with the updated credit report and also with 2 letters that I sent to Midland to have them validate the acct and did not hear anything back. Is there anything else that I should do?
Thank you
selena – I did not see this post until after responding to the prior one.
Can you tell me more about the underlying debt that Midland is suing for, and what it is you are disputing?
I had a purchase that I made last year and had a debt from Midland Credit on my credit report. I disputed the debt and the update was that it was paid in full. Yesterday I received a summons from Midland Credit for the same debt. Can you tell me if by disputing the acct if I can still be sued?
Thank you
Selena – I would need to know more to offer any feedback.
You had a purchase of what? And how did that result in Midland Credit showing on your credit reports?
Who did you dispute the debt with?
I purchase a home and the debt for Midland Credit was on my credit report. I sent in a dispute through Equifax and it came back as paid in full.
Date payment first stopped and the DOFD are the not the same thing, but DOFD is after, correct? Actually I would belive since your delinquent, the DOFD is actually after the first payment stopped, about 30 days, the latter of the two. Isn’t this correct?
Thanks again, Michael!
I failed to say we live in maryland. I checked and see the SOL in maryland is 3 years.
Hi,
I am recently married and found out about an account my wife had with citibank, It was closed in early 2011 for non-payment. The DOFD is 3/2011, so I am assuming the SOL starts then and expired last month. She did say she may have made one last payment after 3/2011, but isn’t sure. Citi wont return her calls, not surprising. Midland Funding bought this account 11/2013.
Question – If she made a payment after the DOFD, would the SOL still be from 3/2011? The credit report we ran only has the DOFD. Would this DOFD on the credit report be valid for her, could Midland have that last payment date, if there was one?
Thanks!
jm – The SOL typically runs from the date payments first stopped. If a payment was made to Citibank, or to a debt collector they had the account with, and before Midland Funding picked it up, it could have reset the SOL clock. Will Midland Funding know the past payment date? Yes, they should.
What is your goal with this account?
Thanks for the info, Micheal!
I am not sure about the goal. She toys with waiting until after the SOL has passed, and just accept the bad credit for another 4 years. I’ve told her to try and talk with Midland and come to an agreement, but she is hesistant and doesn’t have the funds. The account owed is around 6K, but originally triple that from Citibank. I am thinking she can’t print her bank statements from 3 years ago to verify if another payment was made. It would have been made to Citibank, no collection agency.
jm – That would mean the SOL has less than 6 months to expiration, if not expired already. Settling with Midland can be done without the added stress.
What are your credit goals together in the next 4 years?
Hey, I am here to let you know how my settlement went. I was going to Negotiate a slightly lower offer than the 1200 of the 2200 that i owed. But i decided against it because then i’d have to get a new agreement in writing and i did not want them to counter with a higher offer while waiting for the new written agreement. So i took their offer even tho i am sure they bought my debt on fraction of the cost of the original amount. All in all, 1200$ is almost what i would of ended up paying through interests on payments had i done that a while back. I understand that i will probably have to pay a percentage of the Money i saved due to the IRS seeing as income. But i feel that is ok with me. I just wanted to get it overwith and pay it. Thank you for your tips and advice Michael.
Tom – I am asked from time to time by people curious about the work I do – “what is a good settlement amount”? My answer is most often “one you can pay”. And that is what you did. Congrats!
If you want to take a little time to document your assets vs liabilities at the time you make you settlement in full payments with Midland, or the final installment in a payment plan, you can be better prepared to know if you will owe tax on forgiven debt. Look over this report for some details: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-forgiveness-taxes-settled-credit-card/
I have a credit card that was sent to collections a few months ago. On January 30th, 2014, it was sold to Midland Credit Management, Inc. The current balance is $2,567.26. This is approximately what I originally owed on the card. I used the card to help pay for my college tuition, and it got the best of me. On 3-12, I received a letter of new ownership and pre-legal review stating that I have till 4-26-2014 to respond to them or they will consider forwarding the account to an attorney. Unfortunately, it was sent to my old home address and I didn’t receive it till a few weeks ago. I have been reading up for weeks on how to approach this. I called today, 4-23, to attempt to settle for a lower amount. I have a tax return coming in the next two weeks with a substantial amount, where, if necessary, I could afford to pay the full amount. But ideally, I would be more than happy to pay less. After spending a few hours on the phone, being put on hold, twisted around, forwarded from department to department, I finally was able to put up my offer. I was able to get it down to 2,053.36 and was given an extension of the deadline till the end of the month. I know this could mean nothing since I did not get it in writing from them. I tried to hold my ground and appear to be persistent and emotionless through it, but I ended with telling them I will call them back with my response. With my move a few months ago, I lost my final statement papers from GE Capital and have not been able to have them send me a copy. I have all my papers from Midland Credit Management. I just really want to settle this and put it behind me and start fresh. I entered college with wonderful credit, and some financial sense that seemed to slip away.. Any little bit of advice would be appreciated. I am grateful that I already was able to possibly get 500 off, but the more, the better. I do have some knowledge on this matter but would definitely appreciate and love some professional advice. Also, this is a newer debt, only a year old so I know I don’t have too much leeway room. Thank you so much in advance if there is anything you can do.
Sonya – I think you have room to negotiate a better deal with Midland Credit Management on this account. But I am not sure what you discussed about your personal financial situation with the Midland reps, or if you have a credit profile that suggest you are more collectable. I target between 40% and 60% when negotiating with, or coaching others to settle Midland debts not in the courts (with some exceptions).
Are you scheduled to call Midland Credit on a certain day, like when you think you will have the money to pay?
Thanks so much for the advice!
I received my check today and have the money to pay. I am scheduled to call them 4/30/2014. What can I say to maybe lower the settlement? Whenever I tried anything, I was immediately shut down and said that I can pay that amount now and then pay the rest in installments. I just want to pay it all at once and put it behind me.
Any advice on what to say when I call?
Thanks again!!
Sonya – You need to set the expectation that the only money you have, or are willing to throw at this, is what you have pooled together. In other words, stick to your guns. When your source of money is from friends or family, sometimes that person may be alert enough to tell you that they are willing to help, but only if the help they have to give resolves the bill, not as a quick stop gap that only sees you struggling with collections later.
First, AWESOME site – thank you so much for helping those of us that cannot afford, or in my case is more expensive than the suit itself with your time and expertise!
Anyway,
So, I ve been served by Midland here in AZ.
I get the basics – first I will ANSWER the complaint to buy some time at a minimum.
First, they are suing me AND my “Jane Doe” wife – Im not married and no one else was ever listed on this debt. I ve read this is a scare tactic lately used by Midland – but Im not scared by it. LOL
According to Midland’s filing (which all seems about right) – Debt was originally WEBBANK (this was a Fingerhut card that WEBBANK financed although Midland does not list Fingerhut at all)
DOFD 2/2013
CHARGED OFF 8/13
Balance Due – 928.00
Suing for that amount plus court costs.
Again, all sounds about right except of course there is some extra interest in there – but even that is only about 100 bucks more than I thought I owed on this.
So, the only evidence I owe the debt in the filing is the Midland “technician” certifying they bought the debt from WEBBANK and they only list THEIR (Midland’s) account # – no WEBBANK or Fingerhut account # listed anywhere.
As I said – I will ANSWER the complaint and deny as applicable or say Im not sure since there is not enough evidence provided this is actually MY CORRECT debt.
Here are a couple of slight kinks where Midland COULD have a better case than usual.
1. – Obviously this is well within SOL so that doesn’t apply here.
2. – Prior to them filing suit I never did deal with them for DV or anything – I ll eat my stupid pie on that one.
3. – Adding to the stupid pie, I received a letter from Midland’s attorneys in Feb 2014 and in an effort to make this go away tried to settle this at 50% with payments over 6 months. I followed up and their “call center” said they could not see that letter – BUT – if they DO have that letter somewhere my thinking is it could be used as an admission that the debt is in fact mine, so at discovery they could pull that out of a hat.
4. – My understanding is that AZ passed HB2664 in 2012 saying electronic copies of “final billing” is sufficient evidence and all that is needed in court – not full validation as many would say is adequate.
SO my questions deal with my options at this point….
A. – Should I just answer to cover myself and then re-contact Midland’s attorney and try to settle again in a lump sum? I can come up with the money if really needed – even in full if I had to…
B. – If I DO just settle it now – how do I confirm the suit is dropped as I will definitely NOT agree to a stipulated judgement since I ll be paying the settlement in a lump sum, not payments.
C. – Do I just answer, wait for discovery process and see what they come up with? Will my percentages for settlement get higher and higher as we move further into the lawsuit process?
Basically, Im not denying (and wont lie in court) that I owed “A” debt to Fingerhut/WEBBANK, but is it worth it for me to make them prove THIS suit involves THAT debt?
My concerns are that here in AZ these cases are heard by “justices of the peace”, often not lawyers, and our local JP is NOT a lawyer…add the VERY generous HB2664 to the mix and Im thinking I may be better off just trying to get out of this for $700.00 or so if I can…..
Thoughts?
John – You really do not need any helpings of stupid pie. You simply outlined some of the typical collection process used by Midland Credit and other debt collectors. You are a straight up guy, like most folks I interact with on the site, and just want a simple and cost effective solution. I do not like your chances of winning against Midland Funding in court as a pro per defendant. And working with an experienced attorney of your own, who can at least increase your odds of success, will cost more than the debt at issue. Add to that the fact that Arizona is just a rough state for debt collection… settling your debt with Midland Credit is the simpler and more cost effective approach.
Answering the complaint with affirmative defenses followed by negotiations over the phone is an approach I typically see result in a slightly better settlement percentage. But given the debt size being this low, there may not be much dollar/time benefit to that. There is also an element that lower balance accounts do not often settle for the best savings no matter the file attributes. I would certainly start with a lower amount in negotiations, but would be prepared to pay the 700 you reference in the end.
Follow the outline I give in this debt settlement report for getting everything documented. You should expect/demand dismissal as a condition.
Micheal,
Thanks so much – settling is where I was leaning – but just wanted to throw it out a couple places for input. I appreciate your time and expertise very much. I think I will answer, as the cost to answer only 14.00 or so plus mail costs to send to Midland’s attys. I say this because the chances of me getting this all settled AND receive confirmation in writing within the 16 days I have left before default judgment seems to be cutting it a little close. By answering I will at least get me some time to complete the negotiations correctly without the judgment being entered. I do have some defenses to start with – since they didn’t include any of the original debt documentation, just the affidavit that it exists somewhere sort of. So, I ll defend as conclusory for now and then settle it out. Seem about right?
I just really worry by trying to settle BEFORE answering that it wont all get done in time. Plus, maybe I can scare them “a little” that I may defend against their action and they ll come down a bit on settlement percentage rather than have to go through discovery process etc.
Thanks again for your help.
John
That’s the way I would go about it if my goal was settling. Not for the timing concern though, as I would wrap negotiations with Midland Funding up in between a day and five. But more for the end result being a better savings. Some people are going to be intimidated with crafting an on point response that follows their local court rules. Based on your comments I reread, that is likely not the case here.
Hi Michael,
I am inquiring on behalf of my daughter. She received a Writ of Garnishment from the state of NM for a MCM Debt, less than $4k. She has never received any written notification from MCM and is doesn’t know where this debt originated from or that it was in collections. She has not lived in NM for close to 3 years. She is working part time supporting a child (without child support) and living with a relative as she cannot afford to pay rent. She will inform the state of NM and will also contact MCM on the address listed in the Writ stating she doesn’t know what the debt is for and requesting documentation. What should she do? Thank you. Lisa
Lisa – What state is your daughter living in now? Are you in New Mexico? Can someone pull the court records for the case and answer some questions?
My husband has been receiving phone calls from Midland Credit Management daily for a few weeks, normally 2-4 times a day. Last week we finally received a letter in the mail from them stating that they had my husbands debt and they were collecting. The amount owed is a little over $1800 and they offered a payment plan of $300 down and the rest spread out in payments. I am not going to ask for debt verification, I know that it is ours. They also stated that if we don’t respond by 5/20/2014 that they MAY forward the account to an attorney to start the process of suing. Obviously this is the last thing that we want to happen.
We stopped making payments on our credit cards around a year and half ago due to my husband having his hours cut back at work severely. It was during the time the company he works for was going through bankruptcy. So the first thing we stopped paying was our credit cards because you have to keep the roof over your head and food on your table. And we were also dealing with medical issues from our son being born prematurely.
But now I am trying to figure out the best way to deal with this company. I have done some research online about them and so far what I have read has not been too reassuring. They have a notorious reputation of working out settlements and then going back on their word once people have finished paying off their settlement. How do I settle with this company and not have them back out on the deal? I know they would have to send a document stating the agreed terms of the deal, but what other items have to be on this document for it to hold up in court if they decide they want the remainder of the balance? I have thought about contacting a lawyer but I don’t really want to add the extra expense if I don’t have to. We live in GA and I thought about contacting James Feagle in Decatur.
Around the end of April we are able to offer them $800-900 in a lump sum payment, do you think they would accept that? We probably do look more collectible to them since we do have 2 car loans we pay on and my husband’s mother pays 2 of his credit cards for in emergency situations for us. Any advice that you can offer I would greatly appreciate it. I just want to pay our debt and do it without them screwing us.
Jennifer – You will generally not find much flattery for debt collectors online. And the shoe often fits. But not for the reason you are concerned about with MCM.
Once you negotiate a deal to settle or pay Midland Credit Management, get it all documented following the outline in this report. If you meet the terms of the agreement, Midland Credit will not go back on the deal. If they have a history of that, and I have been working in this field for 20-ish years and I do not think they do, that kind of business practice cannot survive in today’s collection environment. Not with the CFPB being the primary regulator of a debt collector the size of Midland Credit Management.
I would personally not use an attorney in this situation, and for the same reason you posted. It is an unnecessary cost.
When you call to negotiate the pay off, focus on your hardships, lack of income, medical bills from a complicated birth, and that some of your bills are being met because of your mother in laws assistance. I like your chances for a 50% settlement. Post an update here with your progress, or additional questions and concerns.
I received a law suit from Midland Fundings lawyer in SC , thats where I live. The papers I got are dated 3/11/14 I looked at the court records and this is shown Name Description Type Begin Date
Midland Funding Llc ADR/Alternative Dispute Resolution (Workflow) Action 10/07/2014
Midland Funding Llc Service/Affidavit Of Service Filing 03/24/2014
Midland Funding Llc Verification/Verified Filing 03/12/2014
Midland Funding Llc Summons & Complaint Filing 03/11/2014
They bought old CC in the amount of 3240 from Citi its showing on CR as Charge-Off /Transfer/Sold. last payment was made by CR 3/2011, dont have records back that far . now its showing as new acct under Midland opened 7/2012.
I was wanting know if I should call their atty and see if I could work out paying lower amount . I have come up with 1500. The acct is in my wifes name and shes not working and Im on disabilty. I want to get this off her record as well as mine .
Do I need to get a debit settlement letter from the atty as (I have a fax they can send it too so it wont take so long) or have I waited to late . I would like to know what to do as I have never been in this condiction before , Should I get something in writing before I send them any money.
Thanks Tommy
Tommy – Yes, you should get the details of what you negotiate with Midland Funding in writing. If your goal is to settle and remove any risk that a judgment shows on your credit report, you will probably need to raise a few hundred more than the 1500.00 you have now. Having said that, your wife being unemployed, while your receiving only disability income, fits a profile I have seen settle for great results. So… if you cannot raise any other money, I would run with what you have and stress the lack of income and assets in any discussions you have with the attorney collections office working for Midland Funding.
You can use the following report as a guide for what to look for in any written agreement: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-settlement-letters-agreements/
Hi– I received a letter with a court date about a lawsuit filed against me by midland, but was never served with the original paperwork. What are MY options at this point? BTW- I am in California if that helps.
Shannon – Can you offer more details? What is the court date for (any type of hearing etc)? Please post more details about the original account, when last paid, amount sued for, how much money you would be able to raise, and how quickly if you chose settling with Midland as the path you take?
Do you have other unpaid debts out there other than this one with Midland Funding? If so, how many? Add them all up and what is the total?
Thanks Michael. The last payment was probably made some time around 2008. I know my state has a 6 year statute of limitations on bank credit, but i want to pay this. Their offer is not much higher than what the initial cost of the credit was ( around 800$ ) I probably only made a few payments of 50-100$.
I am going to contact them in attempt to go slightly lower, if not then i’ll give them a date on when i can pay their offer in full. I will update on how it goes, thanks for responding.
I am being sued by midland and have to appear in court may 16, 2014. I contacted legal aid in montgomery alabama. Since I do not work or have anything to my name they adviced me to go to court and fight it. Even if I lost the case they would not be able to collect anything from me since i am not working or have anything to my name. I know they are a third party according to my credit report and the card was closed in 2011. The legal aid said i could win since the debt might be to old and its a third party trying to collect is this true?
carla – It is true that people can successfully defend themselves against debt collectors like Midland Funding, but it is very hard for me to describe the amount of time and energy you would commit to fight a lawsuit on your own with the assistance of an attorney (which is how I read your comment… legal aid is telling YOU you can do it, not that they are able to help you).
It would be much simpler if the debt is passed the limit in Alabama to legitimately use the courts to collect by suing. But lets hone in on that date. Can you respond with certainty when it was you last made a payment on the account?
I also wanted to say that ther letter claims they will consider the entire debt payed in full if i am able to pay the asking price by the deadline and that they will notifiy the three major credit reporting agencies.
Is this a legitimate thing they do? I just want to know as much as possible. I don’t have time to contact them at the moment but i will do so in a few days. I just want some tips and any information you believe will be helpful to me before i speak to them, Thank you.
Tom – Midland Credit will update your credit reports as paid, so yes, a legitimate thing. Do you recall how long it has been since you made a payment to Citi bank on this account?
Hello, I received a letter from Midland Credit Management.
They report that they want to settle a 2,200$ Debt from CITI Bank that they are now owners of. They are asking for 1,200$ in a lump sum. I do remember owing this debt and i want to pay it, however i don’t remember how much of the original credit i payed off if any. Is it wise to request information on the debt and risk losing the 30 day window they have given me to pay?
Should i Negotiate a lower amount? I am not able to pay their asking price in full for about 15 days after their due date. I want to pay it, but i don’t know what move i should take next.
Negotiate lower price? Request information on the debt? Or just go ahead and pay it in full and request that they extend their due date?
Any information would help, Thank you.
Midland Credit Management stopped adding interest and fees to much of the debts they collect on, but you can call Citi bank direct and confirm the debt was sold and the balance at that time. This would eliminate your lost time concern if you sent Midland Credit a debt validation through the mail instead.
You can call MCM and negotiate a lower settlement than what you see in their offer letter. Just be sure to get any new agreement documented before making the payment. If they do not budge on the amount they will settle for, let them know you are going to work on getting the money together. Call a week before the offer expires and let them know you found a way to pool together the money, but need a couple extra weeks. Give them a date you can pay by at that point, and ask them to send you the new agreement with that date, then pay by that day.
I wanted to ask I have been making payments to midland on a credit card I took out in my son’s name , i know it was wrong, but, now my question is, Midland actually let my son and I put the debt in my name and took it off my son’s credit report. The date the card was charged off was May of 2010, Midland reported in November of 2013 on my son’s credit report, then they took it off, at that time the balance was $1004.00, February 20, I called to ask if I may skip a payment, they said Yes, well i got a notice today stating my balance now is over 1500. which on Jan. statement it was down to 900.00 I called and asked why, and they stated since I skipped a payment and they have that i called on that date, that they added the interest from the very beginning since I didn’t follow through with my obligations to continue making payments. Can they do this? Can they add back all this interest when i never signed anything or agreed to anything, and on the phone call on Feb. 20th I was never told that? Can you please help, since I have no where to turn at this point.. thank you
Diane – If they made a deal to settle for less than what was owed, and you agreed to it under certain terms, not following through can lead to the deal being let go. Did you get all of this in writing?
If it were me, and given everything that you have going on with this account, I would call Midland Credit and ask to talk with a supervisor. Explain all that has transpired, and that when you called to skip a payment, and they said okay, that no one said you balance would revert back. That had you been told, you would have found some way to get the money, but you were not given that chance by them just saying okay.
Let me know how you progress.
I wanted to know can a debt collector like midland credit management sue you if they are not the
original creditor from the start? Also if the person doesn’t have any money or job can they still sue you and put a judgment on your credit report?
Cortez – Debt buyers like Midland Credit can and do sue to collect debts purchased from original creditors. The fact that you may not have a job or other money at this time does not always deter a debt collector from suing, but it can depending on the circumstances.
If you can share more details I may be able to offer more than just general feedback.
I was served by Midland Funding last year. I went to a lawyer to get advise on what a should do. Midland had my address in the wrong county, the lawyer had sent a responds denying the lawsuit do to a wrong address. Midland had served me again with the right address. My lawyer told me to deny again to buy sometime. I had to go to a pre trail conference and the Lawyer representing Midland Funding told the judge Midland is withdrawing the suit. Can and will they sell the debt to another debt collector..
Lori – Midland states on their website that they rarely resell debt, but reserve the right to. My opinion… no, Midland Funding will no resell your debt.
Michael, Would Midland send me a letter as to why they have decided to with draw the case? Can I be served again or have a judgement served?
Thank you,
Lori
Lori – I would only expect to be able to understand the reason for the case being withdrawn to the extent the reason is provided in court, or through a filing in court. I would not expect to get a letter from Midland Credit about why, nor do I think you are likely to get a meaningful response if you request one.
Given the information about your situation you have shared so far, I would not say that Midland could not file again. But you should run legal questions by an attorney in your state. In order to be met with a judgment, they would have to sue, and of course you would be aware of that like you were this time, so, no judgment served.
Just received a call from Midland. They say I owe for a credit card issued by first national bank in 2005 and last used in Feb of 2007. I do not remember ever owning a credit card from first national bank and when I asked for more details they said they had an account number which does me now good if I do not remember ever having one. They could not even tell me if it was a Visa or Mastercard. They then told me it could be identity theft and wanted me to go file police reports and they wanted other documents. All i wanted was more information. What should I do. She was not easy to talk to and her only answers were pay the $500 ish I owe or file a police report. Ideas?
Lisa – Never pay a debt you cannot fully recognize. Is there anything about this showing on your credit reports? Were you ever an authorized user on someone’s accounts?
I am not sure I would take this so far with ID theft yet. It could be just a bad set of information passed on to debt collectors (it happens). Post an update after checking your credit report and lets go from there.