Payoff Midland Funding Collection or not? Help and advice needed.

[Anonymous]

Midland Funding started reporting on credit as a collection 02/2016

Midland currently reporting Balance:

Original Balance  $7,990

Current Balance  $8,536

Zales Original Account Holder

Last payment date: 02/2014

Balance: $7989.97

So, I have a collection account, originally from Zales.  It was first sold to CitiBank and then went to Midland Funding as of February 2016. 

I was doing some very thorough cleaning and found an old letter (dated 6/17/2015) from when it first went into collections from Citi to pay it off for 35% and it states that the last payment date was February 9, 2014 in the amount of $7989.97. 

Zales is nowhere on my credit report.  Midland Funding is the only collection I have. Midland has been reporting a balance increase about every 14 days since 03/2019 on my credit report.

I went through a lot of hardships around that time and have only recently gotten back on my feet. I am only now in a place to work on paying off credit card balances and student loans.  I do have some cash to try and work this out with them if I need to. 

As I understand through my recent searches:

a) The statue of limitations on a debt I can be sued on in Texas is 4 years (which would have been 2018). So it has expired.

b) This collection should fall off my credit report 7 years and 180 days past the first delinquency date (which will be sometime by 01/2022).

c) I may have the option of calling them and settling to pay around 25% of the original balance and hope they take it. 

d) If they take the $2000 (I can only hope) they will delete the collection (since it is 2 years and older) or mark as paid. 

The one thing I am totally confused about, how are they increasing the amount every 2 weeks?  Will this still fall off after 7 years plus 180 days with the balance growing? The Original Balance of $7,990 to Current Balance of $8,536.

I attemtped to go on their website for more info since I cannot find any mail from them.  It would not let me onto the website without my account number.

What should I do?  Should I wait and let it fall off?  Should I call and try to work it out? 

Since finding the letter from Citi and looking up my credit info and seeing the Midland Funding collection there, my anxiety has gotten the best of me and I am not sleeping well at all. I am trying to get a grasp on this and want to either take care of this asap or know that this has gotten as bad as it can and time will take care of it. I have many student loans that I need to consolidate but I know this collection is a huge factor in my getting denied consolidation.

I just need some closure.  Any help or advice would be appreciated. 

Thank you in advance for replying and helping out an overly stressed girl! 

EDIT

I just found on my free annual report it states on Transunion:

Pay Status: In Collection.

"Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: January 2021."

Term 1 month.

-updated 10/25/19.

On Experian it states:

Collection. 

"On record until December 2020." 

Term 1 month.

-updated 10/22/19. 

So, does that mean it will fall off on those dates?

Or does the balance increase continue to extend the on record date?  Still confused.

[FireMedic1]

Welcome @Anonymous 

I'd call Midland and work out a settlement deal. Since its past the SOL. They may take a low ball amount maybe, not in stone, 25% of the balance. They will delete it off your reports settled or PIF. Just like Portfolio. Then it will be gone like the Zales account is and no one will ever know either one existed. Good luck!

[OmarGB9]

Yea if Zales is gone and all that's reporting is Midland, then I would jump all over that and settled for a much lower amount. They'd then delete after 30-60 days of receiving payment.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

You want to settle because even though it's going to fall off those dates, that won't stop Midland from selling it to someone else. At that point you'll have a new collection on your reports and they may not be as willing to settle.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply.

That is hopeful that it would be gone just like that!
What would keep them from selling the other percentage to another collection agency?

[Anonymous]

Wouldn’t they be reporting falsely if they did sell it and post it as another collection account past the 7.5 years?

Wouldn’t that be terms for legal action against them?

[FireMedic1]

The OC and the CA can not go the court lawsuit route to come after you after the SOL runs out. But that doesnt stop them from trying to collect the debt. The statute of limitations expiring doesn't erase the debt, it only limits the creditor's ability to use the court to force you to pay the debt. So, you technically still owe a debt, even the statute of limitations has passed.

[Anonymous]

Okay, so if I call to pay them off today at lunch, what process should I follow?

Give them a number on what I can pay and then wait for them to counter offer me?
Do I give them my bank account information?
Should I wait for something in writing?

I want this done and over with ASAP, but I also don’t want my hastiness to get the best of me and mess this up in any way.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Always get something in writing.

[Anonymous]

Lol
Thank you I figured, but was hoping they were super honorable debt collectors...
only a little oxymoronic...