Midland Credit Management

[mikefl]

I have a collection listed with Midland Credit Management for an amount below $1,000. I believe this is a bogus collection account. Midland had a law firm in my state that specializes in junk debt file a civil suit against me back in 2010, I hammered the law firm by responding to all their requests with the great knowledge I picked up from this forum and after a few months of going back and forth I went to court. The law firm didn't show up and the case was dismissed in 2010. However the Midland entry remains on my credit report with all bureaus and I need to get it removed because it has a great impact on my scores. Looking at my transunion report just pulled, it shows it will be removed in 2015 and shows a "date updated" of 12/2011, "Pay Status" in collection, "Account Type" Open Account. The past due amount is also listed as higher than the original amount. It also shows a date placed in collection of 2009. I think this thing is already over 7 years old but Midland has been adjusting the dates all along to keep it active. What can I do to finally get this thing removed from all 3 bureaus? I have spoken to the court but there is really nothing they can give me they say. Thanks in advance.

-Mike

[1stStep]

You need to attack it on 2 fronts...

1. Dispute w/the bureaus...wait 30 days and see if they verify it w/Midland.

2. Send a 623 letter to Midland. Send them a copy of the dismissal.

Wait and see what happens...if one or both verify, then I think you've got the makings of a good FCRA suit (Midland and the bureaus) and a nice FDCPA suit (Midland).

[mikefl]

You need to attack it on 2 fronts...

1. Dispute w/the bureaus...wait 30 days and see if they verify it w/Midland.

What should I tell the bureaus?

2. Send a 623 letter to Midland. Send them a copy of the dismissal.

Can you point me to where I can find a sample 623 letter that I can use to create my? I don't have any paperwork saying that the case was dismissed. I just called the court today and they were of very little help, they told me I could possibly get a transcript and that costs close to $300.

Wait and see what happens...if one or both verify, then I think you've got the makings of a good FCRA suit (Midland and the bureaus) and a nice FDCPA suit (Midland).

Thanks for your response!

[1stStep]

You just want the dismissal paperwork...that's the most important part.

[BV80]

Is the original creditor reporting? If so, what does the OC report as the date of first delinquency? What is Midland reporting as the DOFD?

The amount is higher because Midland is adding interest. They are allowed to do so.

[mikefl]

Looks like the original creditor is also reporting it, I was able to find the relationship between the two. Here is the info:

Midland:

Date Opened: 2009

First Delinquency: 2008

Most Recent Reported: 2012

Original Creditor:

Date Opened: 2006

Date Reported: 2009

Date Major Delinquency: 2008

Status: Charge-off

Charge off amount: less than $300

Both Midland and original creditor show it will be removed in 2015.

-Mike

[mikefl]

You just want the dismissal paperwork...that's the most important part.

I went to court, the other party didn't show up and the case was dismissed. I never heard from the other party (law firm for Midland). I called the court but they cannot provide me with anything. Go figure.

-Mike

[1stStep]

Go down and look at your case file...see if the dismissal is in the file. Ask the clerk for a copy of it - shouldn't be more than $1.00 to get a copy of the page.

[BV80]

Looks like the original creditor is also reporting it, I was able to find the relationship between the two. Here is the info:

Midland:

Date Opened: 2009

First Delinquency: 2008

Most Recent Reported: 2012

Original Creditor:

Date Opened: 2006

Date Reported: 2009

Date Major Delinquency: 2008

Status: Charge-off

Charge off amount: less than $300

Both Midland and original creditor show it will be removed in 2015.

-Mike

A negative entry is legally allowed to remain on your CR for 7.5 years after the date of first delinquency. It might depend upon why it was dismissed that will determine whether or not you can get Midland or the CRAs to remove it.

[mikefl]

I went ahead and did an online dispute for this as well as other accounts. All 3 bureaus promised a response to their investigations in 30 days. I will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks.

-Mike

[mikefl]

Looks like Experian already did their investigation, I don't know what they did exactly since it took them only a few days but basically they did not remove the Midland entry from my report. Looks like they are still looking at the original creditor as I did a dispute on that one too but they have not finished. When I look at the updated Midland entry I see this:

Status Details:

This account is scheduled to continue on record until Dec 2014.

This item was updated from our processing of your dispute in Jan 2012.

I don't really see anything else that has changed. What can I do next? I have not gone to court to get something regarding the dismissed case because I was trying my luck to see if it would get removed by Experian's investigation.

I am hammering Experian on another account where the reports states an amount that was written off/charged off yet I paid that account in full, every penny. So I am mailing them proof so they can get their act together.

-Mike

[mikefl]

I visited the court and they were able to give me two papers but i'm not sure how useful they will be. One of the papers says "Party Disposition Entry/Maintenance" has my name and Midland's name, says case status "closed" has a disposition date of 2010 and for both of us shows a party status of "F". Basically it's a printout from their case management system. The other page has more details such as when both parties entered motions, dates filed, etc. Neither one of these documents shows the name of the court or anything like that though but they do show the docket number. I was also told by the court I could file a Stipulation of Dismissal, basically I would send this one page form they gave me and Midland would have to sign it, I thought this was a joke because I don't think Midland would ever bother signing it, why would they want to help me? I also brought a packet about filing a motion which I guess I could do, I just don't know what kind of motion I would file or how I would proceed with that.

What do you folks think? Is there any value in sending a copy of the two court documents to the credit bureaus? I'm not really sure if that would help any though because the documents look kind of generic although they are actual printouts from the court system, they do have dates, they do show both parties, etc.

-Mike

Edited January 31, 2012 by mikefl

[mikefl]

How do you think I should proceed based on what I was able to get from the court that I posted here? Equifax came back with their investigation and did not remove either entry from my report, they said they have been able to verify that both entries belong to me (HSBC-original creditor and Midland).

-Mike

Go down and look at your case file...see if the dismissal is in the file. Ask the clerk for a copy of it - shouldn't be more than $1.00 to get a copy of the page.

[1stStep]

Send a method of verification letter to the CRAs

Send a 623 letter to Midland.

[BV80]

I agree with 1stStep. Request the CRAs send you the Method of Verification pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(6) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The relevant part of the Act states:

( Contents. As part of, or in addition to, the notice under subparagraph (A), a consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer in writing before

the expiration of the 5-day period referred to in subparagraph (A)

(iii) a notice that, if requested by the consumer, a description of the

procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the

information shall be provided to the consumer by the agency,

including the business name and address of any furnisher of

information contacted in connection with such information and the

telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available;

The above states that they are required to send you a notice that lets you know about your rights to request certain things. One of those things is the MOV. Just include the above in your request.

[BV80]

Oops...hit the post button twice.

Edited February 12, 2012 by BV80

[mikefl]

Thank you, I will proceed with certified letters-return receipt to the CRA's (Equifax so far) and request a method of verification. Now as far as the 623 letter should I send them to both the original creditor (HSBC) and the collection agency (Midland)? I am determined to finally put this thing to rest and will push forward full force ahead.

Should I also mention to Midland the fact that they filed suit against me on this account yet ended up giving up on the matter (the law firm they retained gave up last minute, didn't show up to court date) and the case was dismissed by the court?

-Mike

I agree with 1stStep. Request the CRAs send you the Method of Verification pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(6) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The relevant part of the Act states:

( Contents. As part of, or in addition to, the notice under subparagraph (A), a consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer in writing before

the expiration of the 5-day period referred to in subparagraph (A)

(iii) a notice that, if requested by the consumer, a description of the

procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the

information shall be provided to the consumer by the agency,

including the business name and address of any furnisher of

information contacted in connection with such information and the

telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available;

The above states that they are required to send you a notice that lets you know about your rights to request certain things. One of those things is the MOV. Just include the above in your request.

Edited February 12, 2012 by mikefl

[mikefl]

I agree with 1stStep. Request the CRAs send you the Method of Verification pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(6) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The relevant part of the Act states:

( Contents. As part of, or in addition to, the notice under subparagraph (A), a consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer in writing before

the expiration of the 5-day period referred to in subparagraph (A)

(iii) a notice that, if requested by the consumer, a description of the

procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the

information shall be provided to the consumer by the agency,

including the business name and address of any furnisher of

information contacted in connection with such information and the

telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available;

The above states that they are required to send you a notice that lets you know about your rights to request certain things. One of those things is the MOV. Just include the above in your request.

I have now received back the investigation reports from all 3 credit bureaus, they all said they verified the Midland entry and none of them have removed the entry. Using a service that I use I just pulled a few days ago my updated credit report from all 3 bureaus and I now see the following. I am seeing two entries on my report for the same Midland account, here is the info:

Account name:

MIDLANDMCM

Equifax report shows the account

Experian shows no entry

TransUnion shows no entry

Account name:

MIDLAND CREDIT MGMT IN

Experian shows the account

Equifax report shows no entry

TransUnion shows no entry

Also the original creditor "HSBC" continues to report the account to all 3 bureaus, I also requested an investigation and they all came back with verified and did not remove it. Also all 3 bureaus are reporting differing info on this account, one says "Transferred", another one says "Paid" and the other says "Closed" also two of them mention the account was sold to Midland under "Comments".

I have never spoken with or communicated in anyway with Midland regrading this account. I have also been doing some reading and I hear they are one of the most difficult companies to work with or to accomplish anything. So with the above do you still recommend I send a 623 letter to Midland, what are some of the things if any I should mention on the letter? Thank you very much, I really appreciate any assistance anyone can provide.

-Mike

Edited March 2, 2012 by mikefl

[BV80]

The fact that the CRAs are reporting the OC's information that seems to be a bit different is not a big deal. The account was transferred, and the other 2 CRAs show it was sold to Midland. It all means the same thing.

I'm not sure what else you can do unless you speak to an attorney. You could possibily sue, but it would be a matter of you proving that Midland doesn't have a right to report on your CR, or that the CRAs didn't conduct a reasonable investigation. You could probably show that Midland can't prove they own your account, but it's a matter of going through a lawsuit. In addition, off the top of my head I can't think of any case law where a JDB's right to report was challenged due to the lack of proof of ownership.

Should I also mention to Midland the fact that they filed suit against me on this account yet ended up giving up on the matter (the law firm they retained gave up last minute, didn't show up to court date) and the case was dismissed by the court?

The fact that they didn't show up doesn't really prove they don't have a right to report. You could send a 623 dispute to Midland, but considering Midland has already responded to your dispute with the CRAs, I don't know if it would accomplish anything.

The entries are falling off in around 3 years. Considering they're older, they shouldn't be having a major effect on your credit score if you have open accounts that are in good standing.

[mikefl]

The fact that the CRAs are reporting the OC's information that seems to be a bit different is not a big deal. The account was transferred, and the other 2 CRAs show it was sold to Midland. It all means the same thing.

I'm not sure what else you can do unless you speak to an attorney. You could possibily sue, but it would be a matter of you proving that Midland doesn't have a right to report on your CR, or that the CRAs didn't conduct a reasonable investigation. You could probably show that Midland can't prove they own your account, but it's a matter of going through a lawsuit. In addition, off the top of my head I can't think of any case law where a JDB's right to report was challenged due to the lack of proof of ownership.

The fact that they didn't show up doesn't really prove they don't have a right to report. You could send a 623 dispute to Midland, but considering Midland has already responded to your dispute with the CRAs, I don't know if it would accomplish anything.

The entries are falling off in around 3 years. Considering they're older, they shouldn't be having a major effect on your credit score if you have open accounts that are in good standing.

Thanks for your input. I'm not sure I will find an attorney that will be interested in helping or one that I can afford. One thing i've thought about doing was using the Lexington Law service, what do you think about that? I would hope that they could challenge it from all angles and get rid of it pretty quickly. I have to confirm but these entries will remain on my reports for at least another two years. I have been working very hard the last 2 years to get things where they should be and I have accomplished allot but i'm not where I want to be yet. Need to refinance a very high interest car loan (which is almost paid off) so that I can pay that off asap and buy another car. Almost all the negative stuff is now off my reports, I have some late payments on an older car loan that has been fully paid, a few late payments on a open student loan (which I wrote to the company and they might be willing to do something on that for me "Sallie Mae"), on the positive end I have an open credit card which now has a tiny balance, a car loan always paid on time and student loan which is currently deferred due to unemployment but I have been paying at least interest every month.

-Mike

[BV80]

Thanks for your input. I'm not sure I will find an attorney that will be interested in helping or one that I can afford. One thing i've thought about doing was using the Lexington Law service, what do you think about that? I would hope that they could challenge it from all angles and get rid of it pretty quickly. I have to confirm but these entries will remain on my reports for at least another two years. I have been working very hard the last 2 years to get things where they should be and I have accomplished allot but i'm not where I want to be yet. Need to refinance a very high interest car loan (which is almost paid off) so that I can pay that off asap and buy another car. Almost all the negative stuff is now off my reports, I have some late payments on an older car loan that has been fully paid, a few late payments on a open student loan (which I wrote to the company and they might be willing to do something on that for me "Sallie Mae"), on the positive end I have an open credit card which now has a tiny balance, a car loan always paid on time and student loan which is currently deferred due to unemployment but I have been paying at least interest every month.

-Mike

I don't know anything about Lexington Law. As a last resort, you could offer a pay for delete with Midland which would probably mean the full or close to the full amount. Unfortunately, they don't have to delete if they don't want to. If they don't delete, at least the entry would show that it was paid. Whether that would impress a future creditor, I don't know. In addition, you'd have to be very careful regarding the wording of any agreement. Me...I would never pay a JDB.

Regarding attorneys, read the bottom lines of my post.