Table of Contents
- What is Midland Credit Management?
- Who does Midland Credit Management collect for?
- Is Midland Credit Management a scam?
- How to stop Midland Credit Management from calling you
- How to remove Midland Credit Management from your credit report
- How to deal with Midland Credit Management harassment
- Should you pay Midland Credit Management?
What is Midland Credit Management?
Established in 1953, Midland Credit Management is a subdivision of Encore Capital Group which buys and collects on debts. 1
What is Midland Funding LLC?
Midland Funding LLC is a company affiliated with Midland Credit Management. Midland Funding also buys debts, but uses Midland Credit Management’s services to collect on them. Regardless of which company owns your debt, MCM will collect on it. 2
You may also see Midland Credit Management-related items on your credit report under the following names:
- MCM Credit
- Midland Fund
- Midland Funding
- Midland Credit Mgmt Inc
- MCM Midland Credit Management
- Midland Credit
- Midland Collections
- Midland Management
Who does Midland Credit Management collect for?
Midland Credit Management buys debts from financial institutions, credit card and auto lenders, retailers, and other debt collection agencies. Most of their portfolio consists of credit card debt. Midland Credit Management currently collects on the following forms of debt: 3 4
- Credit card debt
- Phone bills
- Auto loans
- Other consumer loans
Is Midland Credit Management a scam?
No, Midland Credit Management isn’t a scam. Although MCM has been the subject of several lawsuits and enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for unethical behavior, it’s a legitimate company that buys and collects real debts. 5 6
Midland’s parent company, Encore Capital Group, has been certified by Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) since 2013, and Midland itself has been certified since 2016. 7 Midland and Encore are both registered with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). 8
If you receive suspicious communications from anyone claiming to be Midland Credit Management, you can look up your account number on their website or speak to one of their representatives by phone to confirm what debts you actually owe.
VIDEO: Midland Credit Management in 2 Minutes—Fix Your Credit Report & Know Your Rights
How to stop Midland Credit Management from calling you
Midland Credit Management will call, email, or mail you if they believe you have an unsettled debt. The reason debt collectors like these are calling you is simple—they want to pressure you into paying up.
Unfortunately, Midland Credit Management representatives will keep trying to contact you unless you pay the debt, prove that it doesn’t belong to you, or reach an agreement with them (or with your original creditor).
Don’t ignore debt collectors like Midland Credit Management—in the end, you may get sued, and you may even have your wages garnished. It’s smarter to engage with them tactically to ensure you don’t have to pay, or that you get the best deal you can.
To begin, you can get Midland Credit Management to stop calling you—at least temporarily—by sending them something called a debt verification letter.
Send a debt verification letter
A debt verification letter is a formal request that obligates a debt collector to provide further evidence of a debt. You must send it within 30 days of them first contacting you. Note that Midland Credit Management should have sent you a debt validation letter proving you owe the debt first, as it’s required by law.
Benefits of sending a debt verification letter
Sending a debt verification letter has three benefits:
- You’ll prevent Midland Credit Management from calling you during this period: When you send a debt verification letter, third-party debt collection agencies like Midland Credit Management are required by law to stop contacting you until they can provide evidence that you actually owe the debt they’re trying to collect. 9
- You’ll get more information about the debt: You should never pay a debt that you don’t recognize. Forcing Midland Credit Management to provide documentation will help you determine whether this is a legitimate debt that you actually need to pay. It’s an easy way of figuring out if the debt collector is a scam agency.
- You may successfully disown the debt: If Midland Credit Management can’t provide more information about the debt (which is frequently the case), then they have no choice but to delete it from your records.
Beware the statute of limitations
The verification materials that you receive may show that your debt has passed the statute of limitations. This is a legal limit that means the debt is too old for Midland Credit Management to sue you over, at which point it’s known as time-barred debt.
If this is the case, you can send Midland Credit Management a letter telling them to stop contacting you. Legally, they’ll have to abide by that.
The statute of limitations on most debts is between 3 and 6 years, but the exact amount of time depends on several factors, including the state you live in. The best approach is to check your state attorney general’s website and email their office if the information you’re looking for isn’t available online.
How to remove Midland Credit Management from your credit report
If your credit score is suffering as a result of Midland Credit Management debt, there are three ways to recover:
1. Dispute the debt with all three credit bureaus
If you think that the debt associated with Midland Credit Management on your credit report is illegitimate (e.g., if you paid it on time or it belongs to somebody else), dispute the item on your credit report. You can also dispute debts that are older than 7 years (measured from the date of your first missed payment)—by law, they’re supposed to fall off your credit report by then.
To dispute a debt for free, send a credit dispute letter to the credit bureaus that are showing Midland Credit Management on your credit report.
To find out which credit bureaus you need to send the letter to, request your free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. If they don’t respond to your dispute within 30–45 days, then they’re legally obligated to remove the item in question.
2. Negotiate with Midland Credit Management
Unfortunately, if the debt is legitimate and it’s less than 7 years old, removing Midland Credit Management from your credit report will be very difficult (although not impossible).
Your best move at this point is to simply pay the debt. Newer credit scoring models ignore paid-off collection accounts, which means paying off your collection will boost your credit score even if you can’t remove the item.
However, when you pay, there are two negotiation strategies you can try as a last-ditch attempt to remove Midland Credit Management from your credit report:
- Pay for delete: You might be able to convince Midland Credit Management to remove the negative mark in exchange for paying off the debt. You can open these negotiations by sending them a pay-for-delete letter.
- Goodwill deletion: This is an alternate strategy you can try after paying your debt. Once the account is paid off, you can send Midland Credit Management a goodwill letter asking them to empathize with your situation and remove the mark from your credit report as an act of kindness. Create your letter using our free goodwill letter template.
3. Wait 7 years for Midland Credit Management to fall off of your credit report
Unfortunately, most collection accounts will stay on your credit report for 7 years after your first missed payment. Even if you pay off your debt to Midland Credit Management, it will remain on your credit report.
Learn more about Midland Credit Management’s impact on your credit score:
- How many points will my credit score increase after I pay off collections?
- How to rebuild your credit after having a debt sent to collections
How to deal with Midland Credit Management harassment
Unless you tell them not to, Midland Credit Management will keep contacting you until you pay off or settle your debt. However, there are restrictions on how they can go about doing this.
Restrictions on Midland Credit Management
When attempting to collect payments from you, Midland Credit Management must adhere to the regulations specified in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a federal law that prevents debt collectors from engaging in harassment or predatory behavior, such as lying to you or calling you incessantly or at unreasonable hours.
Midland Credit Management representatives also need to follow the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can take action against Midland Credit Management if they do something illegal.
Can I sue Midland Credit Management for harassment?
Yes, you can sue Midland Credit Management for harassment. If you can show that they’ve violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can collect $1,000 in statutory damages for each violation as well as payment for any damages that you’ve sustained as a result of their violation. Midland Credit Management will also have to pay your attorney fees and court costs.
How to file a complaint against Midland Credit Management
If a debt collector violates your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or does something illegal, then you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state attorney general. From there, you’ll be able to find out whether you can also sue Midland Credit Management.
Another option is filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but this might not have the outcome you’re hoping for. Bear in mind that the BBB is actually a private organization that has no affiliation with the US government. They’ll forward your complaint to Midland Credit Management, but there’s no guarantee that the agency will address it in a satisfactory manner. What’s more, if your dispute is sent to an arbitrator, then you may give up your right to take Midland Credit Management to court.
Should you pay Midland Credit Management?
You should only pay a collection agency like Midland Credit Management if you’re certain the debt is yours and you owe it. If you’re struggling financially and can’t afford to pay this debt collector, you can get help from a non-profit credit counselor.
