Short answer
Midland Funding LLC buys defaulted credit card debt and Midland Credit Management collects it. Both are part of Encore Capital Group. The cheapest time to resolve one of these accounts is early, before it reaches a collection attorney, and acting early can keep the account off your credit reports altogether.
Key points on this page
- Midland Funding is the debt buying arm. Midland Credit Management (MCM) is the collection agency. Same owner, different jobs.
- Resolve the account soon after Midland buys it and they may not report it to the credit bureaus at all. This offer is real, and few other collectors make it.
- Midland removes its credit reporting once you pay or settle. Deletion has been seen to take up to 60 days.
- A “Pre-Legal Notification” letter is not an empty threat. It means your file has been selected for collection attorney placement, and you still have time to settle before that happens.
- Settling after a collection attorney has the account commonly costs 20 to 40 percent more than settling before it goes to court.
- Sending a debt validation letter is your right, but it is counterproductive when you already know the debt is yours and your goal is the lowest possible settlement.
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.
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?