Background Information: 800-240-6202 is Midland Credit Management. The reason they are calling is because MCM thinks you owe them a debt, but the debt was almost certainly sold to them by the original creditor for pennies on the dollar.
800-240-6202 is not your bank and is not your credit card company. It is a debt buyer, and they have called you in an attempt to collect a debt they paid pennies on the dollar for.
This number is one of the most popular searches on CallerSmart and CallApp, with over 52,000 consumer searches. RoboKiller has tracked over 23,000 calls from this single phone number.
MCM Overview
Full Name: Midland Credit Management, Inc. (MCM) Type: Debt buyer and third-party debt collector Parent Company: Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECPG) Mailing Address: 350 Camino de la Reina, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92108 Main Focus: Credit card debt, with smaller portions of auto loans, telecom, personal loans, retail credit and utility accounts Employees: Over 4,000 (parent company has 7,300+ globally) Revenue (Parent Company): $1.316 billion (2024) BBB Rating: A+ (not accredited), with an average customer review of 1/5 stars
Enforcement Actions and Fines: Over $240 Million and Counting
If you feel like the calls are harassing, you’re not alone. Regulators agree with you, which is why MCM and its parent company have been subject to more than $240 million in fines, penalties, and consumer restitution.
The biggest enforcement action came in 2022, when the Massachusetts AG announced $12 million in relief to consumers after it was discovered that MCM placed up to 15 collection calls in a single seven-day period. Prior to that, the most notable settlement came in 2015, when MCM paid $20.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged MCM had called consumers’ cell phones using automatic telephone dialing systems (robocalls) without consent. It was estimated the calls could have affected up to 41 million people.
These actions are just the tip of the iceberg. For more than a decade, federal and state regulators have investigated and penalized MCM for unfair and deceptive practices.
Why Is MCM Calling You?
They Bought Your Debt for Pennies
Midland Credit Management is not a lender and does not issue credit cards. Instead, MCM purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer debts from original creditors, including Chase, Citibank, Capital One, Discover, Synchrony Bank and T-Mobile. It is believed MCM pays between 2-4% of the face value for these debts, meaning a $5,000 credit card balance could have been purchased by MCM for anywhere from $100-$200. Every dollar they collect above and beyond the purchase price is pure profit, which is why their call campaigns are so aggressive.
The Call is Designed to Pressure You
No one likes financial pressure, and debt collectors know it. The call from 800-240-6202 is designed to pressure you into action — action before you have time to research your options or contact an attorney. One Trustpilot reviewer explained: “They continuously call our phone number — but the 800 number the caller ID shows is always different, although they leave the same call-back number.”
The caller ID tactic is designed to circumvent call-blocking apps and services and continue the pressure on the consumer. When a consumer answers the phone, they are often required to provide personal and identifying information before the collector will state the purpose of the call.
Harassment and Pressure from MCM
What Are People Experiencing with 800-240-6202?
Extreme Calling Campaigns
The number of calls people are reporting that they have received from MCM phone numbers is staggering. One reviewer on RipoffReport reported receiving over 22 calls on both their cell and home phones, stating: “They call 7 days a week, up to 5 times or more a day,” and even called during job interviews. This harassment had gone on for over a year.
Nomorobo, which has been blocking 800-240-6202 since May 2023, labels this number’s calling activity as “severe.” RoboKiller has received 153 user reports on this number alone.
Third-Party Disclosures and Workplace Calling
Perhaps most egregious are reports of MCM representatives disclosing debts to third parties. One PissedConsumer reviewer reported an MCM representative calling their workplace two to five times a day and disclosing their debt to a coworker, “without once confirming she was a debt collector with this company.”
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors may only contact third parties for the purpose of locating a debtor, not to discuss the debt. The above reports suggest a pattern of behavior that goes beyond the scope of the law.
Where Does MCM Operate?
24 U.S. Locations
MCM has operations in all 50 states and maintains 24 U.S. offices, with the greatest presence in San Diego, Phoenix, Baltimore, Kansas City and the Chicago suburbs. The company also maintains international call-center operations in India and Costa Rica, which explains the experience of one Trustpilot reviewer who reported that MCM “uses an Indian call center that intentionally uses fictitious names.”
With parent company Encore Capital Group purchasing nearly $1 billion in U.S. debt portfolios in 2024 alone and filing thousands of collection lawsuits every month, MCM’s reach is effectively nationwide.
State-Specific Consumer Protections
Here’s something MCM doesn’t want you to know: consumer protection laws vary by state, sometimes dramatically. Massachusetts limits collection calls to two within any seven-day period. Some states restrict or prohibit wage garnishment for consumer debts altogether. Some states maintain shorter statutes of limitation, rendering debts that are several years old legally uncollectable.
In addition to state-specific laws, there are federal and state exemptions that protect consumers in ways they may not even realize. Social Security income, disability benefits and certain retirement accounts are generally exempt from garnishment under federal law. One PissedConsumer reviewer reported MCM attempting to collect a 12-year-old debt and even trying to tack on interest. In many states, attempting to collect a time-barred debt without proper notice is a violation in itself.
Your Rights are Stronger Than MCM Wants You to Know
Debt Validation is Your Right
Under the FDCPA, consumers maintain the right to request a debt collector validate any debt they claim you owe. This includes the exact amount of the debt, the original creditor’s name, a copy of the assignment proving ownership and the date of last payment.
Debt validation is a consumer right because debt buyers like MCM often purchase accounts with incomplete or inaccurate information. In fact, as part of a 2015 enforcement action, the CFPB discovered MCM had been attempting to collect debts they could not validate and filing lawsuits with no intention of validating the underlying debt.
In the same action, it was found MCM was suing consumers for debts that were not theirs, suing consumers multiple times for the same debt and ignoring or overriding stop-collection requests from consumers. This is why requesting validation is so important: if MCM cannot validate, that disputed item may not survive a credit-reporting challenge.
Understanding the FDCPA
The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from:
Calling consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the consumer’s time zone. Contacting a consumer’s workplace after being asked to stop. Using threats, profanity or obscenities. Misrepresenting the amount or legal status of a debt. Continuing to contact consumers after receipt of a cease-and-desist letter.
Additionally, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires express consent before placing robocalls to a consumer’s cell phone. Given the $20.5 million TCPA settlement MCM paid for placing illegal robocalls to cell phones, this is not a theoretical issue.
The Smartest Thing to Do
Why a Credit Report Dispute Trumps a Phone Call
Every time you talk to a debt collector on the phone, you risk restarting the clock on the statute of limitations, inadvertently acknowledging a debt that may not be valid or agreeing to terms that are not in your best interest. Financial freedom is the goal, and for most people, that means more than just a better credit score — it means control of their financial identity.
The single best thing you can do when you receive a call from 800-240-6202 or any other debt collector is to dispute the item on your credit report. When you dispute a credit reporting item, the credit bureau must conduct an investigation, and the data furnisher (in this case, Midland Credit Management) must validate the debt.
If they cannot validate, the item must be deleted. That puts the burden of proof where it belongs — on the debt collector.
Credit Repair is Not a Sprint
Negative accounts can stay on your credit report for up to seven years, but that doesn’t mean you have no recourse during those seven years. Strategic credit report disputes can challenge the accuracy of information reported at any time.
Rash decisions made in the heat of the moment because of constant phone calls rarely yield a good outcome.
Approaching your credit health in a measured way is not an avoidance tactic — it’s a strategy. Every dispute creates a paper trail, and every validation request means the collector must produce documentation it may not have.
You Have Better Options than Answering the Call
Reclaim Your Financial Identity
If you keep getting calls from 800-240-6202, that means you are being targeted by the largest debt buyer in the United States, a company that has paid more than $240 million in regulatory fines and settlements.
Their business model relies on creating a sense of urgency and confusion in consumers who may not know their rights.
You do not have to play along. You have the right to validate every dollar they claim you owe. You have federal and state laws that dictate when, how and how often they can contact you. And you have the ability to fight back through the credit reporting system — forcing MCM to validate its claims with documentation, not phone calls.
At FightCollections.com, we help consumers dispute inaccurate and unverifiable collection accounts from their credit reports. If Midland Credit Management is on your report and you’d like to take action, visit FightCollections.com to learn more about how credit report disputes work and what they can do for your financial future.
