Midland Credit Management Ripoff false credit reporting San Diego California
i recently settled and old account (2001) with midland credit management. the amount was originally $3,020 and we settled for $1,800 they recieved their payment of $1,800 from me on jan 8th 2007 and sent a paid in full letter ( balance 0 )..hmmm i thought great! ..now my credit reports (transunion, Equifax, Experian) will show a $0 balance. WRONG!!! they (mcm) are still reporting me with a balance of $1,220!!..in fact i got a "new account" alert on my Equifax credit watch gold stating that midland credit managemnt is reporting said amount of $1,220 as a new, open, past due account. before you ask...yes i have disputed these with all 3 credit reporting agencys...(too no avail), i offered the paid-in-full letters and none want me to send them. said dont bother wont do any good. problem is my credit score. this account was so old it was dormant and my score has accually gone down because of this..any suggestions? p.s i have called the ftc and reported them.
Who
Business, Montana
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Steve [Not A Lawyer]
Bradenton,Florida,
U.S.A.
This is why you NEVER pay on an old collection account.
#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, March 28, 2007
MCM are lowlife bottomfeeders. They should never be trusted. You should never speak to or make a deal with ANY third party debt collector or junk debt buyer. NEVER.
Paying an old collection account actually hurts your credit more than if you just let it go past SOL.
The old account would roll off your credit in 7 years, however, paying a third party collector/junk debt buyer actually creates a new account and another 7 years credit reporting. This is because you did not pay or make a deal with the original creditor. The original creditor was totally out of the picture except for SOL purposes.
Now, that you have made a payment, they can actually sue you for the rest and actually win. making that payment affirmed the debt and restarted the SOL.
The FTC will do nothing for you on an individual basis. You will get a generic auto response from them in the mail explaining your rights. etc.
Your only choice as I see it is to file a breach of contract lawsuit, and then a subsequent lawsuit for the damage to your credit. You had a contract for payoff and a letter stating zero balance. They cannot dispute that in court successfully.
Sue them now.
J
Lakewood,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Who
#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, March 28, 2007
Chances are a debt from 2001 is past the statute of limitation for a open account in most states, but that's moot here, since you tried to do the right thing and paid and look what you got for your efford. In your state its 5 years on an open contract.
Any money you gave them went into there own pocket, nothing went to the original creditor, an debt this old was charged off and sold, and MGM, paid at the most 1-2 pennies on the dollar for this debt.
Most collection agencies will make a settlement offer, having you think that this account is paid off only to go after you for the rest or sell the balance to another collection agency, BUT in most states it is illegal to accept a full payment check, cross out or otherwise the full payment and cash or deposit the payment and come after you for the rest.
What you need to do is create a paper trial, dispute this debt with all the credit bureaus that are reporting it, as paid in full and include a copy of the letter that shows the paid in full, request from the credit bureau that you want a copy of all information they obtain to verify or validated this debt. Send MGM a letter that this account was paid in full, that their listing the balance, which should not be there, send all letter (RRR) not over the phone!
Chances are MCM will say the person that made this deal was not allowed to, or no longer works there, Which doesn't matter you have the letter, if they don't correct this then file suit against MCM.
File a complaint with the Calif. and Montana attorney general office.
Now you should go back to the post where you jumped all over that person and tell them your sorry, You can see first hand that collection agency suck, lie and will do anything to get money out of you.