Thank you for your letter inquiry dated August 24, 2012, regarding Mr. XXXs complaint, which Midland Credit Management, Inc. (hereinafter “Midland Credit”) received the same day via E-mail. Midland Credit appreciates the opportunity to answer your questions.
An investigation of this matter indicates that Midland Credit became the servicer of the above-referenced account on August, 2010. Information provided by the seller, Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., at the time of acquisition indicates this account was originated on May, 2007 as a Capital One Bank MasterCard account number ending in XXXX, in the name of XXXX, under the last four of the social security number XXXX. Subsequently, the account was charged-off as an unpaid delinquent-debt on , 2008. The balance at the time of purchase was $1XXX. XXXX.
While not the only item of concern identified within his complaint, Mr. XXXX asserts that his requests for validation have been ignored. While Midland Credit is sensitive to Mr. XXXs concern, and is committed to proactively working with him proactively to resolve the matter, a review of Midland Credit’s business records indicates there exists some confusion regarding the previous communication sent by Midland Credit on this account.
Shortly after it acquired the above-referenced account, on September 29, 2010, Midland Credit mailed Mr. XXXX its initial validation letter. Please note that the letter was mailed to Mr. XXXX via the United States Postal Service, and was not returned as “undeliverable” – thus satisfying the requirements set forth within the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (hereinafter “FDCPA”).
In said letter, Midland Credit informed Mr. XXXX that it had acquired the account, and provided the required disclosure of rights set forth in the FDCPA (15 U.S.C. § 1692). Midland Credit’s business records indicate that it did not receive any correspondence disputing the debt or requesting validation from Mr. XXXX in response to the letter. A review of Midland Credit’s business records indicates that Midland Credit received the first correspondence from Mr. XXXX requesting validation on July 31, 2012, which under applicable law, cannot be considered timely.
The FDCPA specifically states that, unless a consumer provides a debt collector with notice of such a dispute within 30 days of receiving the initial validation letter, “the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.” (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(3).) Because Midland Credit did not receive such a notice at the time, Midland Credit appropriately proceeded with efforts to contact Mr. XXXX and collect the debt.
Mr. XXXX mentions that he attempted to contact the original creditor, who advised him they did not have information regarding the above-referenced account, referring him back to Midland Credit. It is not uncommon for a credit provider to archive an account once it has been sold. Therefore, when contacted by Mr. XXXX, the representative of the original credit provider may not have had access to the pertinent account information.
Mr. XXXX also expresses a concern that Midland Credit has re-aged the account by listing an open date that is latter than the original. Please note that Midland Credit does not alter or modify any of the original account information provided by the seller, such as the name of the consumer, the date of origination, or the date of occurrence. Midland Credit reports the information on the accounts it acquires based on the business records maintained by the original lender / seller. As referenced above, the September 1, 2010 open date listed on Mr. XXXX’s credit report is in fact the date of purchase by Midland Credit. In accordance with the Credit Reporting Resource Guide produced by the Consumer Data Industry Association, the open date being reported on this account reflects the “date that the account was purchased by the debt buyer or placed/assigned to the third party collection agency.”
Mr. XXXX also questions whether Midland Credit is reporting the above-referenced account correctly, stating that it is listed as “120 days past due” on his consumer credit files. It appears that there may exist some level of confusion regarding the nomenclature required by the credit reporting agencies. Although Midland Credit submits updates to the reporting agencies each month, Midland Credit does not report accounts as “120 days past due” to the credit reporting agencies. Depending on the current condition of a given account, Midland Credit will report that account as either “Account assigned to internal or external collections”, or “Account paid in full, was a collection account”.
Additionally, for purposes of credit reporting, the term “Open (Portfolio Type)” has the following definition: “Accounts where the entire amount is due upon demand or that have one payment due as scheduled (i.e., Terms Duration = 001).” That indicates that the account is currently open, due and owing in one payment. Midland Credit has been advised, and the standard in the industry is that as a debt buyer, it should report accounts as: current status – collection account; type of account – open; type of loan – factoring company account; additional information – collection account. Further, E-Oscar, the online credit reporting system, provides the following definition of a factoring company: “Factoring Company - A company that purchases accounts with the intent of collecting debts owed.” Midland Credit has been advised by two credit reporting agencies that it should be classified as a factoring company for credit reporting purposes.
Mr. XXXX is encouraged to communicate directly with the credit bureaus should he have any further concerns about the nomenclature that Midland Credit is compelled to use in credit bureau reporting. Midland Credit has no control over said nomenclature assigned, and based on the law and guidelines governing credit reporting, it would appear that the account is being correctly reported. In addition, if Mr.XXX obtained his credit report from a compilation source, the information being reported may appear to vary. The credit bureaus have advised that it appears this way because they do not directly populate the fields on credit reports pulled from any source other than directly from the credit bureau itself.
If Mr. XXXX is ready to settle the debt, he may qualify for a reduction in his account balance. Please have him call a Midland Credit Account Manager at 800-825-8131 to assist him in reaching a resolution that will be both beneficial to him, and settle the account balance.
With that said, Midland Credit has no intention of pursuing the repayment of the above-referenced account if the debt was not incurred by Mr. XXXX, and stands ready to assist Mr. XXXX in clearing his record if he has been a victim of identity theft or fraud. If such is the case, Midland Credit respectfully requests that Mr. XXX provide it with a copy of either a police report or affidavit of fraud showing that he reported the fraudulent activity. An affidavit of fraud can be found at XXXXXXXx If submitting an affidavit of fraud, Mr. XXXX should complete the form and have the form notarized. He may forward appropriate documentation to Consumer Support Services (Attn: Melanie) at the address on this letterhead. Until it receives such documentation or evidence proving the contrary, based on the information available to it, Midland Credit must respectfully conclude that it is accurately reporting the above-referenced account to the three major credit reporting agencies as required.
Lastly, as requested by Mr. XXXX, the above-referenced account has been marked “Cease and Desist”. While the account remains due and owing to Midland Credit, Mr. xxxx will no longer receive correspondence or calls from Midland Credit representatives.
Midland Credit considers consumer complaints a serious matter. Please assure Mr. XXXX that as a member of the Better Business Bureau of San Diego in good standing, Midland Credit is a reputable firm that prides itself on the protection of consumer rights. Midland Credit strives to ensure that its representatives treat consumers with the highest level of courtesy and professionalism. Understanding that the resolution of past due consumer accounts can at times be stressful and difficult for consumers, it is the goal of Midland Credit to make that process as easy as possible for Mr. XXXX.
Thank you again for your assistance in this matter. Please contact xXXX in Consumer Support Services at the below-referenced phone number should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Midland Credit Management, Inc.
Midland Response after BBB complaint, what should i do now ? what my next step...expert please help
Starting Score: 560
I got this as well. I sent a rebuttal and Midland fired back. BBB ended up closing the complaint and gave me two other avenues for complaint. FTC and AG. I plan on filing an AG complaint but I doubt it will do anything. Is this debt still in SOL? If so, I would not have suggested a BBB complaint because they can take this to court for a lawsuit.
)its wait out of SOL back in 2007 or 8.........i just want to get it off my reprot...
I guess today was BBB day. I got response as well today and they want to know who advised me or offered me a PFD.
Starting Score {July 30,2012}: TU 586 EQ 535 EX 583
@RobertEG wrote:I dont disagree with anything stated in their response. It is accurate as to their stated obligations.
However, not having the related evidence, I cannot speak as to the factual accuracy.
Since a BBB does not have the authority to bring legal action on your behalf, you may wish to submit the complaint to the FTC, who has assigned administrative authority over compliance with the FDCPA. They may view the issues diffently, but I doubt it. Additionally, the FTC does not currently take legal action on individual consumer complaints, so unless they see your complaint as relating to a class action pattern of similar violations, I doubt it will come to more than the same response they provided to the BBB.
Without administrative rellief, your recourse is to get the issues before a court, which has the authority to compel each side to present evidence in support of its assertions.
Then you can obtain a complete finding of fact upon which to receive a decision.
The issues raised are apparently all related to their debt collection practices except for the issue of fraud or identity theft that may result in the lack of legitimacy of the debt itself. Their suggestion to obtain a police report and initiate the fraud/identity theft procedures under the FCRA is right on point. They do not have means or responsibility to lauch an independent investigation of the legitimacy of the original debt.
I suggest you either lauch the idenity theft process if you wish to challenge the legitimacy of the debt, bring legal action if you have facts to support their asserted illegal debt collection practices, or wait for it to be excluded from your CR due to expiration of its statutory 7yr/180 day exclusion period.
but they did not provide me with the original contract and term and proof of the debt.....That's what i want it thou......i mean i just start the rebuild process and dont even know if i even own that debt because i been mess up the past pretyy bad.....;-(
I did sent a dispute to FTc but still wait for their response and stuff.......i also reply to BBB and ask them for more information about the debt ? is that a good move ? hmmmm