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How to Remove Midland Credit Management From Your Credit Report

Midland Credit Management, Inc., is a third-party debt collector based in San Diego.

If you’re getting letters or phone calls from this company and you want the calls and letters to stop, you’ve come to the right place.

I’m going to tell you exactly how to deal with this debt collection company, and also show you how to get Midland Credit Management collection removed from your credit report.

Communicating with debt collectors can create a stressful situation, so let’s start out by going into how to properly communicate with them.

Steps To Remove Midland Credit Management From Your Credit Report

Here are 3 steps to follow to dealing with Midland Credit Management:

Step 1: Demand Written Communication Only

I do not recommend dealing with Midland Credit Management over the phone. While many debt collectors do follow ethical business practices, some of them promise things over the phone and then have no record of their promises.

When this happens, the consumer can’t prove promises were made. It’s much safer to keep communications restricted to letters which are sent and received via mail. If you want an even more reliable method, use registered mail.

With this in mind, the first step that you should take is to send a letter to Midland Credit Management demanding all communications with the company be handled in writing.

You have the right as a consumer to make this demand.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was designed to promote fairness and accuracy by consumer reporting agencies. Under the rules set out in the FCRA, you do have rights, one of which is to demand written communication.

Try to send this letter within thirty days of hearing from Midland Credit Management for the first time. It’s important to take action quickly, as your chances of getting a negative entry removed from your credit report will decrease beyond the first thirty days.

Get a free copy of your credit report here to get started.

Step 2: Request Validation of the Debt

Midland Credit Management wants to collect on debt bought in bulk from original creditors such as credit card companies and personal lenders. Midland Funding buys this debt for pennies on the dollar.

Then, Midland Credit Management starts collecting on this debt, breaking even and then making profit by collecting outstanding debt from consumers.

Since MCM won’t make money unless the debt is collected, their representatives can be tenacious!

To move forward with getting MCM removed from your credit report, you should write another letter called a debt validation letter, also within thirty days of your first communication with this debt collector.

This letter should demand validation of your debt. The company has to prove the debt in question is in fact yours.

When the company responds, look over the data that’s been sent to you. Are there any inaccuracies? If there are, the company would have to stop contacting you and remove the negative entry.

Under the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, MCM is mandated by law to investigate the claim they’ve contacted you about. If you can prove that the claim is not valid, it will be wiped off your credit report.

It’s possible that MCM reps will be able to prove the validity of the debt. If they do, you’ll need to try something else.

Step 3: Make a Deal With Midland

It’s usually possible to haggle with debt collectors and then pay less than what you owe in exchange for having the credit entry removed from your credit report.

This type of negotiation happens a lot. Since collection services companies do pay less than the going rate for the debt that they bought, they can afford to take less than the sum total of the debt and still turn a profit.

Anything you pay (beyond their low purchase price for the debt) is profit from their point of view.

With this in mind, if MCM does validate your debt, you should make every effort to negotiate! If you don’t, you may find the negative impact of the debt upon your FICO credit score is an ongoing burden.

This will likely affect your ability to get credit in the future, such as a car loan, new credit card or mortgage.

And, of course, you’ll keep getting phone calls and letters from MCM’s account managers about this past-due debt.

Negotiate a Pay for Delete

To take care of this third step, write a third letter to offer a deal! Offer to pay a set percentage of the total debt, such as thirty to fifty percent (it’s really up to you), in exchange for having Midland Credit Management removed from your credit report.

Remember, never do this type of negotiation over the phone.

If the company agrees to your terms, write them a check, mail it in, and avoid giving them any access to your bank account. Wait thirty days and then write a final letter, asking the company to verify that the negative entry has been taken off of your credit report.

If you set up a payment plan, get the plan’s terms in writing — and do your part to follow the agreed-upon terms. MCM could cash your checks and later not acknowledge that you made a deal. MCM would still appear on your credit report. The original creditor may appear as well.

Or, Have a Professional Remove Your Debt

The three steps above are simple enough, but if you’re the type of person who would rather have a professional handle your credit problem and just be done with the whole thing, I suggest you check out Lexington Law.

They will take care of you, and honestly, they usually get stuff removed a lot quicker because it’s what they do. Check out their website.

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Midland Funding or Midland Credit Management?

You may see two different company names in use. Midland Funding LLC is a debt buyer.

The firm buys old debt from original creditors, usually for pennies on the dollar. If Midland Funding buys your old debt, it will turn the account over to Midland Credit Management to collect the debt from you.

Midland Funding could appear on your credit report even though you’d be dealing with Midland Credit Management.

If you choose to contact the credit bureaus directly about your debt, be sure you specify which company you’re concerned about.

What Will Midland Do If I Don’t Pay Old Debt?

Like any collection agency, Midland Credit Management’s debt collection practices rely on persistence and a certain degree of implied fear.

MCM won’t break the law but many account holders still consider the agency’s practices as harassing behavior.

The Better Business Bureau receives hundreds of complaints each year about MCM’s debt collection practices.

But The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits MCM and other debt collectors from calling you at odd times such as late at night or early in the morning — especially after you’ve requested, in writing, that they stop.

The FDCPA also gives you the power to control which phone number MCM calls.

Be sure to request a change of phone number and other contact information in writing. Contact the BBB or your state’s regulators if Midland fails to follow stipulations of the FDCPA.

MCM has its own Consumer Bill of Rights which you can read here.

Will MCM Take Legal Action Against Me?

If you do not pay the debt, MCM could take legal action against you to collect the debt.

If this happens, check the statute of limitations in your state for the kind of debt you owe. You can get the case dismissed without even calling a law firm to seek legal advice if the statute has expired.

These statutes vary from state to state. New York State has a six-year statute on all consumer debt; California’s statute is four years on most types of debt.

Just to be clear: Statutes of limitations on debt refer only to a debt collector’s ability to take legal action against you.

You would still owe the debt even after the statute expires; you just couldn’t be held legally liable in a court of law.

Chances are if you’ve just been contacted by Midland for the first time, your debt will be within the statute of limitations.

Should I Pay MCM Or Wait it Out?

If Midland Credit Management Inc. can validate your debt and if you can negotiate down to an amount you can afford in exchange for removing Midland Funding or MCM from your credit report, you can benefit from my three-step approach above.

You’ll get the debt off your report pretty quickly.

However — I can’t overstate this — you must get an agreement in writing from MCM before paying anything.

The benefit of this approach is getting this derogatory mark off your credit report so you can get better interest rates on loans and regain control of your financial life within a couple months.

But there’s another strategy to consider: Waiting until this debt no longer appears on your credit report which would take at least seven years.

If you cannot afford a negotiated settlement and you have no other action to settle the debt, you may decide to wait it out.

If you do wait for the derogatory mark to go away, you should stop communicating with MCM immediately.

Any communication could reset the statute of limitations to Day 1, and it could extend the time Midland Funding stays on your credit report.

Does MCM have Covid-19 Hardship Relief?

Student loan servicers, most mortgage lenders, and some credit card issuing banks have started Covid-19 financial hardship relief programs.

You could skip payments or enter an extended period of forbearance during the pandemic’s economic aftermath.

Midland Credit Management has added a note on its home page, expressing a willingness to work with account holders to keep accounts current.

As is so true with anything related to debt collections, especially through MCM, be sure to get any new agreements you make in writing, especially if you’ve bargained the removal of this debt from your credit report.