How to Remove Midland Credit Management (MCM) from Your Credit Report
Midland Credit Management, Inc., is a third-party debt collector headquartered in San Diego. The collection agency buys unpaid debt from creditors, often for pennies on the dollar, and then contacts the debtor to try to get payment and make a profit.
If your past-due debt has been sold to MCM, you may be wondering how to resolve it. Keep reading to learn how to remove Midland Credit Management from your credit report.
Table of contents
- How to resolve a collections account with Midland Credit Management
- Midland Funding or MCM?
- What does Midland Credit Management collect for?
- Should I pay Midland Credit Management?
- Summary of Money’s How to Remove Midland Credit Management from Your Credit Report
How to resolve a collections account with Midland Credit Management
Follow these five steps to remove Midland Credit Management from your credit report.
Step 1: Check your credit report and understand the debt
Once Midland Credit Management contacts you about an outstanding account, check your credit report. You can get free weekly credit reports from all three major credit bureaus on the official website, AnnualCreditReport.com.
Look for the collection on your report. You may see it from Midland Funding, LLC or Midland Credit Management. The two companies work together: Midland Credit Management services Midland Funding’s accounts.
If you believe there is an error, you have the right to dispute it. Errors can happen for the following reasons:
- Incorrect personal information (name, address or phone number)
- Accounts listed on your report that belong to another person with a similar name
- Accounts that don’t belong to you but were a result of identity theft
- Incorrect account statuses or payment dates (for example, a payment marked as late when it isn’t late)
- A debt listed more than once
You can dispute the error with one of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. You can also contact MCM, which will investigate the report. Once you notify MCM that it's incorrect, MCM must inform the credit reporting agencies.
Step 2: Request validation of the debt
Your next step is to ask MCM to verify the debt. You should write a letter — called a debt validation letter — within 30 days of your first communication with this debt collector. The company must prove the debt in question is, in fact, yours. Request the following information for validation:
- Details about the debt, including the original creditor
- The current amount and age of the debt
- Supporting documentation that proves the debt is valid
When the company responds, look over the data it sends you. Are there any inaccuracies? The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandates that MCM investigates the claim against you. If you can prove the claim is invalid, the collection company must remove it from your credit report.
Step 3: Negotiate with Midland Credit Management and come up with a payment plan
It’s recommended that you try to pay your debt as soon as possible. You may be able to negotiate with the debt collector to resolve the debt at a lower price. Collection services companies pay less than the going rate for the debt they buy, so they can afford to take less than the total of the debt and still make a profit. Anything you pay above their low purchase price is profit from their point of view.
When starting negotiations, develop a proposal that makes sense for your budget. Calculate your income and other financial obligations to determine how much you can pay for this debt. Don’t forget to leave some cushion for emergencies. Additionally, consider if you want to pay a lump sum or installment payments.
The negotiation process may involve back-and-forth communication between you and the collection agency. Once you reach an amount you are comfortable with, it’s very important to get the agreement in writing. If you don’t, there will be no recorded evidence of your agreement.
Step 4: Wait for the collection to fall off your credit report
A debt sent to collections can remain on your credit report for seven years, but it could be less depending on your state. In general, you cannot remove a valid item from your credit report; you can only remove fraudulent or incorrect information.
MCM states it doesn’t report accounts during the first six months after sending the debtor the first notification. Additionally, MCM will never report the account if the debtor starts paying their debt within the first six months and keeps up with the agreed-upon payment schedule until it is paid off.
After six months, MCM may report it to the credit bureaus. However, once you pay it off, the collection agency claims it will request the credit bureaus remove it from your report.
Alternative option: work with a professional to remove your debt
You may prefer to hire a professional credit repair company. While you can handle the process on your own, credit repair companies can review your credit report and dispute errors on your behalf.
When choosing a credit repair company, be wary of scams. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), you may want to avoid choosing a company that shows one or more of the following warning signs:
- The company requires payment up front
- The company promises to remove something from your credit report
- The company advises you to dispute all information on your credit report, even correct information
- The company doesn’t explain your rights to you
- The company tells you not to contact any credit reporting agency
Midland Funding or MCM?
You may see two different company names appear on your account. Midland Funding, LLC is a debt buyer. It buys old debt from original creditors, usually for pennies on the dollar. If Midland Funding buys your old debt, it'll turn the account over to MCM to collect the debt from you. Midland Funding could appear on your credit report when you’re actually dealing with MCM. If you choose to contact the credit bureaus directly about your debt, make sure you specify which company it concerns.
Midland Funding and MCM are part of the Encore Capital Group, along with other companies, including Asset Acceptance and Atlantic Credit Finance.
What does Midland Credit Management collect for?
Midland Credit Management collects on the following types of debt:
- Consumer finance accounts
- Debt with credit card companies
- Secured and unsecured loans
- Lease-to-own financing
Should I pay Midland Credit Management?
If a valid outstanding debt has been sent to collections, it’s in your best interest to work with Midland Credit Management to devise a plan and pay it as soon as possible.
What happens if I don’t pay Midland Credit Management?
You cannot ignore MCM — not paying your debt doesn’t make it disappear, and you could face legal trouble.
First, the negative impact of unpaid debt on your credit score can become an ongoing burden. This may affect your ability to get credit in the future, such as a car loan, new credit card or mortgage. You’ll also continue to get phone calls and letters from MCM's account managers about this past-due debt.
Keep in mind that the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits MCM and other debt collectors from calling you at odd times, such as late at night or early in the morning, especially after you request them in writing not to. The FDCPA also allows you to control which phone number MCM calls. Make sure you request a phone number change or other contact information in writing.
Will Midland Credit Management take you to court?
If you don’t pay the debt, MCM could take legal action against you to collect it. If this happens, check the statute of limitations in your state relating to the kind of debt you owe. If the statute expires, you can get the case dismissed. These statutes vary from state to state.
To clarify, statutes of limitations on debt refer only to a debt collector's ability to take legal action against you. You would still owe the debt even after the statute expires, but they couldn't hold you liable in a court of law. If your first contact with MCM is recent, your debt is probably within the statute of limitations.
Summary of Money’s How to Remove Midland Credit Management from Your Credit Report
Midland Credit Management is a debt collection agency. It purchases debt from creditors for a low price and then contacts the debtors to get payment. If your debt was sold to Midland Credit Management, use the following steps to get it removed from your credit report:
- Check your credit report and understand the debt. You can write a dispute letter if you believe it is an error.
- Ask MCM to validate your debt. Collection agencies are required by law to provide you with information about the account.
- If the debt is valid, negotiate with Midland Credit Management to agree on a payment plan you can afford.
- Keep up with your payments and wait for the item to fall off your credit report.
You can do this process yourself, but you can also hire a credit repair company to handle it on your behalf. If you go this route, do your research before choosing a company to avoid scams.
Disclaimer: This story was originally published on October 13, 2017, on BetterCreditBlog.org. It has been updated to reflect current information. To find the most relevant information concerning collections or credit card inquiries, please visit: