This has shown up on my credit report - I have no idea what this is. I have never heard of this company. If I owed this debt, why have I never been contacted.
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tj
Midland is a debt collector. As such, they are subject to debt collection and crediting reporting laws, such as FDCPA and FCRA/FACTA.
It is entirely possible that the alleged debt is not owed, or not owed by you. It might be an already paid account, the result of some creditor's accounting error, or someone else's debt entirely, erroneously put on your credit report. It might also be a fraudulently opened account, either obtained through fraudulent use of your identity, or erroneously matched to your identity.
For example, the Minnesota Attorney General recently settled with Midland over erroneous debt collection against the wrong people, including use of "robo-signed affidavits" in lawsuits.
From their BBB report: http://www.bbb.org/san-diego/business-reviews ... diego-ca-101104 "... Government Actions Swanson V Midland Funding Date of Action: 12/12/2012 On December 12, 2012, Midland Funding, LLC settled a lawsuit filed by Lori Swanson, Minnesota's Attorney General, against the company last year for filing unreliable “robo-signed” affidavits in collections lawsuits and sometimes targeting the wrong people for payment of old bills that it purchased from credit card companies. The lawsuit alleged that Midland filed thousands of collections lawsuits against individuals in Minnesota courts, often supported by unreliable “robo-signed” affidavits generated at Midland’s St. Cloud, Minnesota offices. Several Midland employees admitted in sworn testimony to signing up to 400 affidavits per day, either without reading them, without personal knowledge of their contents, and/or without verifying the accuracy of the information contained in them.
The Consent Judgment requires Midland to: provide individuals with validation of the debt; verify the identity and address of an individual claimed to owe money at the outset, before any collection effort is made, investigate the matter and, if it cannot substantiate the debt, close the account; take steps to correct any adverse credit reporting, and not later resell the debt; not file affidavits w/ the court unless the person has: a) read and understood them, b) confirmed the authenticity of any documents filed w/ the affidavit, c) only based the affidavit on the signer’s personal knowledge, and d) signed the affidavit in the presence of a notary who acknowledges the affiant’s signature in accordance with law; implement standards to ensure it does not sue people on debt that is beyond the applicable statute of limitations; implement procedures to ensure it does not sue people on debt that it does not own; may not pursue a default judgment without giving the person written notice that their response does not constitute a legal answer and waiting 30 days so the person can seek legal counsel or otherwise respond to the lawsuit; include added specificity about the facts supporting its claims in its lawsuits so that individuals can meaningfully respond to the suits against them; at least 10 days before it pursues a default judgment against an individual, send a copy of the judgment request to the individual.
Under the Consent Judgment, Midland will also resolve outstanding and future consumer complaints made to the Attorney General’s Office and pay $500,000 to the State of Minnesota. ..."
Federal law, FCRA, allows you to dispute entries on your credit report through the credit reporting agencies (CRAs). The debt collector (data furnisher, or DF) is contacted by the CRA, and notified of your dispute. They are then required to remove it, correct it, or leave it, but if they verify erroneous information, they can be held responsible for erroneous reporting and sued for violating FCRA.
Send the CRA a letter, mailed certified, notifying them that you dispute the alleged debt. Within 30 days, they are required to reply with the results of their "investigation" and the response of the data furnisher, Midland.
If the DF fails to respond within 30 days, the CRA must remove the entry. If they "verify" a bogus entry, contact an attorney. Since FDCPA and FCRA allow you to sue collection agencies, and allow courts to award damages and attorney fees if you win, there are attorneys who take these cases on contingency. You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
Comments
It is entirely possible that the alleged debt is not owed, or not owed by you. It might be an already paid account, the result of some creditor's accounting error, or someone else's debt entirely, erroneously put on your credit report. It might also be a fraudulently opened account, either obtained through fraudulent use of your identity, or erroneously matched to your identity.
For example, the Minnesota Attorney General recently settled with Midland over erroneous debt collection against the wrong people, including use of "robo-signed affidavits" in lawsuits.
From their BBB report:
http://www.bbb.org/san-diego/business-reviews ... diego-ca-101104
"...
Government Actions
Swanson V Midland Funding
Date of Action: 12/12/2012
On December 12, 2012, Midland Funding, LLC settled a lawsuit filed by Lori Swanson, Minnesota's Attorney General, against the company last year for filing unreliable “robo-signed” affidavits in collections lawsuits and sometimes targeting the wrong people for payment of old bills that it purchased from credit card companies. The lawsuit alleged that Midland filed thousands of collections lawsuits against individuals in Minnesota courts, often supported by unreliable “robo-signed” affidavits generated at Midland’s St. Cloud, Minnesota offices. Several Midland employees admitted in sworn testimony to signing up to 400 affidavits per day, either without reading them, without personal knowledge of their contents, and/or without verifying the accuracy of the information contained in them.
The Consent Judgment requires Midland to: provide individuals with validation of the debt; verify the identity and address of an individual claimed to owe money at the outset, before any collection effort is made, investigate the matter and, if it cannot substantiate the debt, close the account; take steps to correct any adverse credit reporting, and not later resell the debt; not file affidavits w/ the court unless the person has: a) read and understood them, b) confirmed the authenticity of any documents filed w/ the affidavit, c) only based the affidavit on the signer’s personal knowledge, and d) signed the affidavit in the presence of a notary who acknowledges the affiant’s signature in accordance with law; implement standards to ensure it does not sue people on debt that is beyond the applicable statute of limitations; implement procedures to ensure it does not sue people on debt that it does not own; may not pursue a default judgment without giving the person written notice that their response does not constitute a legal answer and waiting 30 days so the person can seek legal counsel or otherwise respond to the lawsuit; include added specificity about the facts supporting its claims in its lawsuits so that individuals can meaningfully respond to the suits against them; at least 10 days before it pursues a default judgment against an individual, send a copy of the judgment request to the individual.
Under the Consent Judgment, Midland will also resolve outstanding and future consumer complaints made to the Attorney General’s Office and pay $500,000 to the State of Minnesota.
..."
Federal law, FCRA, allows you to dispute entries on your credit report through the credit reporting agencies (CRAs). The debt collector (data furnisher, or DF) is contacted by the CRA, and notified of your dispute. They are then required to remove it, correct it, or leave it, but if they verify erroneous information, they can be held responsible for erroneous reporting and sued for violating FCRA.
Send the CRA a letter, mailed certified, notifying them that you dispute the alleged debt.
Within 30 days, they are required to reply with the results of their "investigation" and the response of the data furnisher, Midland.
If the DF fails to respond within 30 days, the CRA must remove the entry. If they "verify" a bogus entry, contact an attorney. Since FDCPA and FCRA allow you to sue collection agencies, and allow courts to award damages and attorney fees if you win, there are attorneys who take these cases on contingency. You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net