Midland

[aerochick31093]

Hi! I have been working really hard to repair my credit and have gone from a fico EQ 554 to 643 in a little under a year. I had one more baddie to take care of when I have some money to do so but got a notice from Midland today wanting to settle for 50%. It is in relation to an old Dell account that I defaulted on in 2006. As of March 1st ( less than 6 days from now) it is past the SOL.  I owe around 1300 on this account according to what Dell has on my credit report but Midland is saying I owe 3400 in the letter I received , that is a BIG discrepancy. My question is what do I do with this account? I have been paying everything off but can't afford to touch this one just yet. I don't want to contact Midland and risk resetting the SOL by disputing the amount owed. Should I just leave it alone?

[Lois5669]

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@aerochick31093 wrote:

Hi! I have been working really hard to repair my credit and have gone from a fico EQ 554 to 643 in a little under a year. I had one more baddie to take care of when I have some money to do so but got a notice from Midland today wanting to settle for 50%. It is in relation to an old Dell account that I defaulted on in 2006. As of March 1st ( less than 6 days from now) it is past the SOL.  I owe around 1300 on this account according to what Dell has on my credit report but Midland is saying I owe 3400 in the letter I received , that is a BIG discrepancy. My question is what do I do with this account? I have been paying everything off but can't afford to touch this one just yet. I don't want to contact Midland and risk resetting the SOL by disputing the amount owed. Should I just leave it alone?

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Wow, it's like I was writing this. Same CA, same OC, same DOFD, and almost the same amount. I was just going to send a DV to keep it off my CR since it isn't on there yet.

[RobertEG]

If your SOL has expired, it has expired.  Even if it had not expired, disputing the accuracy of any information is not an action that would reset your SOL under any state statute I am aware of.  It is not an admision of debt or an offer to pay, which are the usual SOL reset perils.

If the issue is the amount of debt,it is most likely better to handle the issue by requesting debt validation under FDCPA 809(b) than by way of dispute.

Ask them for an itemization of the debt.  You most likely dont have documentation to support a dispute until you have an accounting by them to challenge.

[Rain77]

Wow, me too!  Just sent out a DV on MCM yesterday.  Same thing, Dell acct, don't have my dates on hand, but I started making payments to another CA, a couple years ago, but stopped because I lost my job. MCM sent a letter this week claiming I owe 1900+, however my CR shows I owe $804.   They are not reporting on my CR either.

[aerochick31093]

Update: I sent a DV to Midland on Feb 27th,( well within the 30 days, I got their first contact letter on the 24th)  they signed for it on March 6th. At the time I sent he DV it was not reporting but it showed up on my credit reports today. I have not heard from them at all, they have not answered the DV. Isn't reporting to the credit bureaus considered an attempt to collect ?

The account is past the SOL but don't have the money to even attempt to settle at this time,not sure where to go from here.

[RobertEG]

Yes, that has been considered to be a violation of their cease collection bar.Since your DV was timely, there appears to be no question as to invoking the ceas collcetion bar.