How to Handle Midland Credit Management Lawsuits in Ohio

Midland Credit Management is a debt buyer located in San Diego, California. Midland Credit Management is a subsidiary of Encore Capital Group and uses a collection arm named Midland Funding. Midland, like most other debt buying companies, is very aggressive in bringing lawsuits against consumers, but these lawsuits are very defensible.

Contact information:

Web: www.midlandfunding.com
Address: 8875 Aero Drive, Suite 200, San Diego CA 92123-2255
Phone: 800-825-8131

How Midland Credit Management Operates

The majority of accounts Midland purchases are unsecured consumer debts, especially credit cards. Midland Credit Management is then assigned these accounts for purposes of collection and setting up repayment plans or settlements directly with the consumer. They offer various repayment options ranging from settlements, term settlements, as well as structured payment plans.

Midland Credit Management seems to do a better job than other debt buyers in obtaining verification of a debt. However, if there is ever a question as to the validity of a debt they are collecting, you must request the debt validation in writing from their company. Midland will use law firms licensed to practice law in the same state of the debtor to file lawsuits in order to collect on past due debts.

Any legal action brought forth by Midland Funding should immediately be counteracted by retaining legal counsel. An experienced consumer law attorney can ensure the chain of title to the account, validate the balance, make certain Midland adhered to the contract terms of the original debt, and that there are no inaccurate or unauthorized charges.

Midland’s Pattern of Legal Violations

Midland Credit Management has run afoul of various consumer laws in past years including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and state consumer laws. The Attorney General in Minnesota brought an action against Midland based on allegations it was engaging in “robo-signing.” Robo-signing is the term describing an the robotic process of the mass production of false and forged affidavits. Consumer attorneys have found this practice in collection matters as well as foreclosures and assignments of mortgages). In the State of Ohio, a similar private class action was brought against Midland in the case captioned Midland Credit Management v. Brent. This case settled for approximately $5.2 million dollars.

Midland Credit Management has also gained a reputation for filing lawsuits without the appropriate documentation as well as filing lawsuits that are outside of the statute of limitations. In Ohio, the applicable statute of limitations is either eight or fifteen years on a credit card account, depending on when the default occurred.

A Consumer Law Attorney Can Help if You’re Sued

As with many debt buyers, Midland Credit Management is anticipating obtaining a default judgment against a consumer which it has brought an action against. As a consumer, you should not allow this to happen. There are far too many defenses that may be available to allow Midland to receive a judgment by default. The first step is usually to contact a consumer law attorney. At this point, the consumer law attorney should do the following:

1. Analyze the summons and complaint as well as the attached exhibits in an effort to find the appropriate defense which might include a lack of documentation, statute of limitations issues, and/or assignment issues;
2. Perform a thorough interview with the consumer in an effort to dig out additional defenses and counterclaims;
3. File the appropriate response and any counterclaim and begin conducting discovery.

Oftentimes, the case can be resolved quickly while still in the very early stages of litigation.