Topic: About to start Dispute with CRA but I never sent a DV letter to Midland

[vizavis1]

Hi,
I am new but have been reading for 2 weeks everything on this board that I could find on how to dispute incorrect information on credit reports.  I understand how, have letters ready and am just now wondering if I am misunderstanding the purpose of the 623 method.  Any help would be appreciated.

First let me state that I live in Texas and had a Citibank Verizon Card that went to collections more than 4 years ago so the SOL has passed on the debt. The JDB is Midland Funding and I was too ignorant to write a DV letter so nothing up to this point has been disputed.  Now I see the folly of my ignorance and would like to have this removed from my credit reports before the remaining 3 years is up.  I was so horribly treated by these people that although I paid up or settled with all of the other debt collectors, I refused to move an inch on this debt.  It is about 4K now and I was shocked to find they never sued me over it.
My question is, once I have disputed with the the CRA, who is it that they investigate, the OC or the Midland?  If Midland is required to only give their records, then my goose may be cooked as they appear to keep fairly good records.  Are the CRA's investigating the validity of the debt which I never disputed originally?  Will Midland be asked to show them proof of the debt through Citibank, etc?  Is Citibank part of this still? If the later is the case, then it would be worth trying, otherwise other than dates the debt was first reported, Midland looks to be correct.

[ladygarner]

Ah, Midland. They are among the lowest of the low. 

The good news is you are in Texas; one the most debtor friendly states in the US.

Removing the TL from your credit report will not be possible; however the older it is, the less it affects your credit score. I believe it has little to no impact around five years.

If you were to pay them anything towards the account now it would "reactivate" it to a recent activity status that they would report to the CRA's and seriously impact your credit. A payment would also eliminate the SOL.

The CRA's will contact Midland and ask them to verify only the basic information that they have already reported to ensure that it is correct. If it looks correct to you other than the date reported, you may want to leave it be. There will be no documentation involved.

Midland will report a date opened that will not look correct, that is the date they bought it from Citi. The date you want to make sure is correct would be the date of last activity or date of last payment. That date will determine the drop-off date with the CRA's.

Citibank is no longer a part of this. Midland is what is known as a JDB, or a junk debt buyer. They bought the old debt from Citi for pennies on the dollar. They tend to buy only the debt and not the supporting documents. They are the basic, run-of-the-mill bottom feeder.

Hope this helps! Welcome to DB! 

[vizavis1]

Ladygarner,
Thanks for your time and help.  It is greatly appreciated.  Life will improve vastly where credit is concerned in about 3 more years, just before I retire. This board is great !

[ladygarner]

You are most welcome.

We are waiting for a few to drop off in about the same time frame.

Best of luck!

[excelsior]

Please make sure you save copies of every dispute letter and send everything, EVERYTHING, certified, return receipt mail.  I quickly learned that I had to elevate everything to a legal matter, and having that documentation made it very effective for me to get A LOT of stuff off my reports in a very short time.

Remember that the CRA's are just barely doing an investigation...it's more like the CRA asks JDB, "hey man, is this all good?"  Then JDB says, "yep, just like we said it was."

That, in essence, is your garden variety CRA dispute, but it's an essential element to establish for an FCRA violation.

Did you check all 3 of your bureau reports?  Any errors of any kind there that you found?

[cprems]

Texas has a 4 year SOL.

 Texas is the ONLY State that I know of that requires a validation of debt within the 30 day window.

In Texas, you can send a DV any time and they are required to validate the debt.

There is NO garnishment allowed for consumer debt.

In Texas the collection agency/Attorney is required to be bonded -

http://direct.sos.state.tx.us/debtcollectors/DCSearch.asp

type in the collection agency name under principle. Add a % for the wildcard string at the end of the name.

Make sure you hit search on the website - do NOT hit enter on the keyboard.

Read the TFC392

Business and commerce code chapter 17

(credit reporting issues) Business and commerce code 20.

I am in Texas and can tell you first hand, that in my experience, Texas has the strongest pro consumer laws in the USA.

This is just for Texas - Always cite the TFC392 when writing a DV.

Hi,
I am new but have been reading for 2 weeks everything on this board that I could find on how to dispute incorrect information on credit reports.  I understand how, have letters ready and am just now wondering if I am misunderstanding the purpose of the 623 method.  Any help would be appreciated.

First let me state that I live in Texas and had a Citibank Verizon Card that went to collections more than 4 years ago so the SOL has passed on the debt. The JDB is Midland Funding and I was too ignorant to write a DV letter so nothing up to this point has been disputed.  Now I see the folly of my ignorance and would like to have this removed from my credit reports before the remaining 3 years is up.  I was so horribly treated by these people that although I paid up or settled with all of the other debt collectors, I refused to move an inch on this debt.  It is about 4K now and I was shocked to find they never sued me over it.
My question is, once I have disputed with the the CRA, who is it that they investigate, the OC or the Midland?  If Midland is required to only give their records, then my goose may be cooked as they appear to keep fairly good records.  Are the CRA's investigating the validity of the debt which I never disputed originally?  Will Midland be asked to show them proof of the debt through Citibank, etc?  Is Citibank part of this still? If the later is the case, then it would be worth trying, otherwise other than dates the debt was first reported, Midland looks to be correct.

[vizavis1]

cprems,
I can't thank you enough for your great information-especially with the site to verify bonding credentials.  Only in Texas!  Bless you.

[ladygarner]

vv1

My sincerest apologies for not giving you excellent information with regards to Texas.

Texas IS the only state that has to validate no matter WHEN it is requested.

I don't know what I was thinking 

[cprems]

Their bonding information -

Principal Name: Midland Credit Management Inc    # 1
Address:   4302 E. Broadway / 8875 Aero Drive
Phoenix /San Diego, AZ / CA 85040 / 92123
File Number:   20020087
Status:   Active
Date Filed:   5/6/2002
Cancellation Date:   
Phone:   (858) 560-2600
Bonding Company:   RLI Insurance Company 
Bond No:   CMS205664


Principal Name: Midland Funding LLC    # 2
Address:   8875 Aero Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
File Number:   20060020
Status:   Active
Date Filed:   1/26/2006
Cancellation Date:   
Phone:   (858) 560-2600
Bonding Company:   RLI Insurance Company 
Bond No:   CMS212817


Principal Name: Midland Funding NCC-2 Corporation    # 3
Address:   8875 Aero Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
File Number:   20060013
Status:   Active
Date Filed:   1/26/2006
Cancellation Date:   
Phone:   (858) 560-2600
Bonding Company:   RLI Insurance Company 
Bond No:   CMS212815

cprems,
I can't thank you enough for your great information-especially with the site to verify bonding credentials.  Only in Texas!  Bless you.

[vizavis1]

cprems,
I can't thank you enough for your great information-especially with the site to verify bonding credentials.  Only in Texas!  Bless you.

ladyg, cprems, excelsior

 I am VERY grateful because you gave me pause for thought.  Do I want to wake a sleeping bear or just wait out the three years?  If it is only going to be a simple matter of having Midland validate the debt with a yes, the debt is mine and my address then I know I will be wasting time.

I guess my hatred for Midland is overshadowing my logic.  I am so lucky that no suit was ever brought against me that laying low would probably be my wisest choice.  I want to purchase a car and I know I will have to pay an exorbitant finance charge.  I guess that I got fired up when I stumbled upon this fantastic board.

Best wishes to you all and thanks for your time. I know that I have learned much from my ordeal of the last 5 years.  The most important thing is to NEVER, ever, ever judge a person on their inability to pay their debts.  It can and does happen to anyone. The next most important result from being in "debtor's prison" is that I commit to helping others with any resources or talents I have at my disposal.  We all are doing our best with what we have to work with.

[ladygarner]

The most important thing is to NEVER, ever, ever judge a person on their inability to pay their debts.  It can and does happen to anyone. We all are doing the best with what we have to work with.

Amen.

cprems may still know a few "Texas tricks" that can result in having Midland removed from your credit report.

In any event, all of the very best to you vv1 and take good care. 

[cprems]

IF the underlying debt is 4 years old OR older, they cannot collect via a lawsuit.

They can try to collect on this forever - but cannot use the Courts of Texas to do it.

If it were me, not only would I poke the bear - I would pour gas on it and light a fire cracker.

Midland is well known for failing to validate in Texas and violating consumer rights.

Write out a TEXAS style DV.

Mine go something like this:

your address

acct number xxxxx

To whom it may concern,

I received a (letter, reviewed my credit reports etc) on xx day for an alleged debt you say I owe.

I am a resident of Texas

I demand validation under the Texas Finance Code 392.

All calls to my home or work are inconvenient.

Any prior express consent to call my cell phone is now REVOKED.

You have 30 days to validate OR remove the derogatory trade lines per my demand.

Any alleged debts possibly owed would be considered time-barred.

Govern yourselves accordingly.

PRINTED NAME HERE.

You can leave out the SOL defense and let them prove to you that it is time barred. Also place a call to the TXSOS to see if they are current on their franchise taxes, and IF they're bond is current, and the name they are collecting under is also registered as an "alias"

Sent the letter CMRRR

[ladygarner]

If it were me, not only would I poke the bear - I would pour gas on it and light a fire cracker.

 

Told ya! 

I can honestly vouch for the fact, due to a personal experience with Midland, that cprems speaks the truth when he says they fail to validate. With yours dating back five years, I'm certain that is when they were in the throes of their bottom-feeding frenzy and documentation was probably non-existent.

Recently, they've been called on false affidavits among many other lowly ways; sued by AG's for huge fines in several states. Five years ago; not so much.

My experience with them was only 2 years ago and they had a false affidavit with a Summons. Five years ago; well, there's a strong chance they have nothing. If they have nothing in Texas they have to remove it from your credit report. I suspect the reason they never approached you with a lawsuit is due to lack of documentation.

The beauty of Texas is that they must provide you with validation anytime you ask for it; the rest of us in the USA can only get it within a 30-day window. 

Is there a local store near you that sells firecrackers? 

[TomNTex]

Sorry to say, I just moved from TX to OR who has a 6 year SOL. I will miss the TX laws, make sur that any time you get a dunning letter to DV it, do not ignore it. The same with a court summons if you ever get one. Don't ignore it. You can claim an affirmative defense by telling the court the debt is "Time Barred" meaning that after the four year TX SOL you can't be sued. If you ignore it, they can get a default judgement and that will be hard to get rid of.

It takes anywhere from seven to seven and a half years for the TL (the listing on your credit report)  to fall off. There is nothing you can do about that if the debt is yours and they can prove it. But, they can't sue you after four years, that's the good news.

Tom

[vizavis1]

Thank you cprems, ladygarner!
I am going to do it.  It's about time that this mouse roars. That letter is the best dispute letter yet.  Midland hired a lawyer that mailed me notice to contact him with any correspondence but the credit report clearly states Midland is the collector.  They have factoring company under their entry but I have been reading enough here to know that's their little trick  they use for noncompliance.  I will write the letter and mail it on Monday.  I'm almost giddy with delight. 

A little more information :
In January 2010 a lawyer contacted me with a letter stating "We learned from the xxx county clerk's office that you that Midland Funding LLC filed a lawsuit against you on 9/30/2009."  He offered his services  (blah, blah, blah).
Well, they never sued.  There is no record of anything in any court and nothing about any judgement on any of my credit reports.  He even had a case # listed at the bottom of the page. What do you all make of that?  Sounds like collusion of some sort doesn't it? Then in March of 2010 I got a "friendly letter" telling me to make an offer with Midland from their lawyer.  I think the last date that I could be sued was on or about October of 2009 because of the SOL in Texas.  It sounds like a last hurrah for old Midland's case with me.