Midland Credit Management

1. Don't pay or agree to anything on the first call

   Get the company's name, mailing address and the account number they're using. In many states a payment, or even a promise to pay, can restart the clock on an old debt.

2. Watch the mail for a validation notice

   Within five days of first contacting you, Midland Credit Management has to send a notice showing the amount, the creditor and a dispute deadline at least 30 days out. If you never got one, that is worth noting in writing.

3. Dispute in writing before that deadline

   Ask them to prove the debt. Once they receive a written dispute in time, they must stop collecting until they mail you verification. Write the letter here, then send it by certified mail.

4. Check your credit reports

   Get all three free at AnnualCreditReport.com. If a collection account is wrong, dispute it with the credit bureau as well as the collector.

5. Never ignore court papers

   If you're served with a lawsuit, file a response by the deadline on the summons. If you don't, the collector usually wins by default and can then ask to garnish wages. What to do if you're sued.

1. Collecting a debt the person says they don't owe42% · 15,722
2. Threatened or took negative or legal action20% · 7,498
3. Missing or unclear written notice about the debt16% · 6,030
4. False or misleading statements15% · 5,556
5. Calling too often or after being told to stop4.3% · 1,610
6. Contacting or threatening to contact other people1.1% · 414
7. Problems with texts, emails or social media messages1.1% · 398

The specific problems

The single most common complaint is “debt is not yours” (29%). If that matches your situation, a written dispute is the first step: it pauses collection until they verify the debt.

1. Credit card debt86%
2. Other debt11%
3. Medical debt1.0%
4. Phone, cable and internet debt1.0%
5. Auto loan debt0.7%
6. Payday loan debt0.4%
7. Rental and apartment debt0.2%
8. Student loan debt0%

Based on complaints where the person named the debt type. In 64% of complaints, the person didn't know what the debt was (average 57%).

1. Texas14%
2. Florida12%
3. California9.4%
4. Georgia7.5%
5. New York5.5%
6. Illinois4.4%
7. Pennsylvania3.8%
8. New Jersey3.0%
9. North Carolina2.9%
10. South Carolina2.8%

State laws add to the federal rules, and some states require collectors to hold a license. Pick your state above for its time limits and license lookup.

Closed with an explanation only

68%

Fixed something, no money back

32%

Money back or debt reduced

0%

Answered on time

100%

Midland Credit Management gives some kind of relief in 32% of complaints, more often than the average collector (23%). "Relief" usually means correcting a credit report, stopping collection or closing the account. 204 recent complaints are still awaiting a response.

Use the phone number and mailing address printed on the letter Midland Credit Management sent you, and send disputes to that address. We don't list phone numbers because scammers often call pretending to be real collectors, and caller ID can be faked.

Official website: midlandcredit.com

Not sure the caller is really Midland Credit Management? Ask for a written validation notice, then call the number on the company's own website or on your original account statements. A real collector won't demand payment by gift card, wire transfer or crypto.

What it is

Debt buyer — Midland Funding owns the purchased accounts; Midland Credit Management services and collects them

Mostly collects

credit card

Parent company

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG)

Headquarters

San Diego, CA

In the CFPB database since

2013

Midland Credit Management (MCM) collects accounts bought by its affiliate Midland Funding LLC, both owned by San Diego-based Encore Capital Group; the CFPB took action against Encore and its Midland units in 2015 and again in 2020.

Government actions

• 2015, CFPB: Consent order against Encore, Midland Funding, Midland Credit Management and Asset Acceptance for using deceptive tactics to collect bad debts: up to $42 million in consumer refunds, $10 million civil penalty, and a halt to collecting over $125 million in debts; order later terminated (2020). Source
• 2020, CFPB: CFPB lawsuit (S.D. Cal.) alleging Encore and its Midland subsidiaries violated the 2015 order and again violated the FDCPA and CFPA; stipulated final judgment: $15 million civil penalty, $79,308.81 redress, and continued conduct provisions for five more years. Source
• 2012, FTC: Consent decree (U.S. v. Asset Acceptance, LLC, M.D. Fla.), before Asset Acceptance became part of Encore: $2.5 million civil penalty over allegedly telling consumers they owed debts it could not substantiate, not disclosing that old debts were too old to sue on, and credit-reporting and dispute failures. Source

A collector can't report a debt to the credit bureaus until it has contacted you about it. If Midland Credit Management shows up on your report:

• Check the details. The amount, the original creditor and the date of first delinquency should match your records.
• Dispute errors with each bureau. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion must investigate, usually within 30 days.
• Know the seven-year limit. It runs from when the original account first went delinquent. Paying doesn't reset it, and a collector can't legally "re-age" it.
• Disputed debts must be marked. If you dispute with Midland Credit Management, it must report the debt as disputed.

Collections, credit scores and pay for delete, explained

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