800-275-4285 is a phone number used by Midland Credit Management (MCM), a collection agency that collects on charged-off debt.
The company’s agents call consumers from this number when they believe that the person has an outstanding debt with Midland Credit.
Midland purchases charged-off debt from original lenders for pennies on the dollar and then attempts to collect it. The debt could be credit card debt, an auto loan deficiency, or a telecom bill, among others.
Before you return a call to 800-275-4285 or respond to any messages that you’ve received from this phone number, it’s essential that you understand who Midland Credit Management is and what you can do to protect yourself.
What is Midland Credit Management?
MCM is a collection agency that operates as a subsidiary of Encore Capital Group, Inc., the largest publicly-traded debt buyer in the United States. Here are some key facts about Midland Credit Management:
Name: Midland Credit Management, Inc.
Industry: Debt collection and purchasing
Parent company: Encore Capital Group, Inc.
Headquarters: San Diego, California
Founded: 1953 (Kansas)
Employees: 4,000 (United States)
Types of debt collected: Credit cards, auto loans, telecom, retail, personal loans
Areas served: All 50 states (and offices in India and Costa Rica)
BBB rating: A+ (not accredited) with over 1,000 complaints in the last three years
MCM’s History
MCM is a collection agency for Encore Capital Group, which is the largest publicly-traded debt buyer in the United States. In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a consent order against Midland Credit Management for attempting to collect on debts that consumers did not owe.
In 2020, the CFPB sued Midland again for violating the terms of the consent order. According to the Bureau, MCM violated the order by harassing consumers with excessive phone calls. In some cases, the company placed over 20 calls to consumers in less than two days.
Why is Midland Credit Management calling me?
MCM does not attempt to collect debts on behalf of the original lender. Instead, its sister company Midland Funding LLC purchases portfolios of charged-off debt from the original lender. MCM then attempts to collect on that debt.
A typical portfolio of debt contains between 15,000 and 25,000 accounts and is purchased for an average of three percent of the face value of the debt. Most of the debt that MCM purchases is credit card debt from Chase, Citibank, Capital One, Discover, and Synchrony Bank.
However, the company also collects on auto loan deficiencies, telecom debt, personal loans (e.g., Avant), and retail store credit. MCM’s approach to collecting on the debt varies depending on the type of debt.
For example, the company may pursue litigation to collect credit card debt, while attempting to settle telecom and retail debt through phone calls. If you are receiving calls from 800-275-4285, it is likely an attempt to collect a telecom or retail debt.
Why would Midland Credit Management have my phone number?
In some cases, MCM calls consumers from 800-275-4285 because the original lender sold the debt to the company along with the consumer’s contact information.
In other situations, MCM may be calling the wrong person because it has an outdated phone number in its system. Many consumers who have complained about calls from 800-275-4285 claim that they do not have any outstanding debts.
For example, one commenter on 800notes stated that they have not had any debt in over 30 years and currently have a credit score of 819. Whether or not you actually owe a debt to Midland Credit Management, do not respond to calls or messages from 800-275-4285 until you have all the facts.
What are people saying about calls from 800-275-4285?
Consumers who have received calls from 800-275-4285 consistently report similar experiences. Here are a few examples of what people are saying about calls from this phone number:
Multiple calls per day: People who are receiving calls from 800-275-4285 report that calls are coming in several times per day.
No voicemail: In most cases, the caller does not leave a voicemail message.
Unintelligible voicemail: When a voicemail is left, the message is often garbled or otherwise unintelligible.
Here’s what one commenter on CallFilter.app had to say about a call from 800-275-4285: “Call was low volume, unintelligible, and fading in and out. Not sure what or who they represent or who they are calling for at all.” The same commenter noted that the caller had a Hindi accent, which is consistent with reports that Midland Credit Management operates call centers in India.
Other commenters report that callers from 800-275-4285 refuse to identify themselves. Here’s what someone had to say about their experience on CallFilter.app: “They say your name and address but will not identify who they are.” Some consumers have even reported that MCM called their family members.
For example, one reviewer on WalletHub reported that a caller from 800-275-4285 called her granddaughter and asked if she was an emergency contact. The caller’s questions caused the granddaughter to panic before realizing that it was a collections call.
Another consumer reported on Trustpilot that a caller threatened him with physical violence after he asked the caller to stop contacting him about a family member’s debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from contacting third parties except in limited circumstances.
What should I do when Midland Credit Management calls?
When Midland Credit Management calls you from 800-275-4285, do not make a payment or provide any personal or financial information without first verifying the debt. Here are a few things that you should not do when Midland Credit Management calls:
Never make a payment on an unverified debt
If you make a payment on a debt that you do not owe, you may be inadvertently acknowledging that you are responsible for the debt. This can restart the clock on the statute of limitations for time-barred debt, giving a debt collector additional time to sue you for the debt.
Before you make any payment to Midland Credit Management, you should demand written verification of the debt. This is a right that you have under the FDCPA. The debt collector is legally required to provide you with written verification of the debt if you request it in writing within 30 days of receiving a validation notice.
Do not give out personal or financial information
Several consumers have reported that callers from 800-275-4285 asked for their Social Security numbers when they called.
Here’s what one commenter on 800notes had to say about the experience: “Why you call my phone and ask me my socially number....excuse me NOBODY give out social security to a SCAMMER.”
Whether the caller is a legitimate representative of Midland Credit Management or simply someone spoofing the company’s phone number, you should never give out personal or financial information to an unsolicited caller. Instead, insist that the caller communicate with you in writing.
How can I protect myself from Midland Credit Management?
Two federal laws give you the power to manage calls from Midland Credit Management and protect yourself from the company’s attempts to collect a debt: the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Here’s what you need to know about these laws and how they can help you:
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
The FDCPA is a federal law that prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive behavior when collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt.
Under the FDCPA, you have the right to demand verification of a debt, which means that a debt collector must send you written evidence of a debt if you request it. The law also places limits on how debt collectors can contact you. For example, debt collectors may not call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you agree to it.
Additionally, you may restrict the ways in which a debt collector contacts you. For example, you can tell a debt collector to stop calling you at work. The FDCPA also prohibits harassment, including repeated phone calls intended to annoy or harass you.
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you can sue the company for actual damages and statutory damages of up to $1,000, depending on the nature of the violation.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA is a federal law that regulates the accuracy of information in your credit reports. The law requires that any information about you in your credit reports must be accurate and verifiable.
If you find an error or something you don’t recognize on your credit report, you have the right to dispute it with the credit reporting agency (CRA). The CRA must then investigate your dispute within 30 days and correct or delete any information that it finds is not verifiable.
What does Midland Credit Management’s history say about the strength of your case?
Midland Credit Management has a long history of attempting to collect debts in ways that violate federal law. In 2015, the CFPB issued a consent order against the company for its attempts to collect on debts that consumers did not owe. As part of the consent order, the company agreed to stop collecting on debts when it could not verify them.
In 2020, the CFPB sued Midland for violating the consent order. According to the CFPB’s complaint, Midland violated the consent order by harassing consumers with excessive phone calls. In some cases, the company placed over 20 calls to a consumer over the course of less than two days.
The company’s history demonstrates why it is so important for consumers to understand their rights under the FDCPA and FCRA. MCM’s business practices—particularly those related to verifying debts—mean that consumers should question the validity of any information that the company provides about a debt.
Why should I dispute every collection account?
Mistakes in debt collection are incredibly common. In fact, they are so common that they are the norm rather than the exception. This is because debt collection agencies like Midland Credit Management purchase debts in bulk with minimal documentation.
For example, in many cases the company’s purchase agreements state that the data it receives about a debt is “approximate” and that the original documentation for a debt may not be available. This means that the burden should be on a debt collector to verify a debt whenever it places a collection account on your credit report.
A collection account is not evidence that you owe a debt. Instead, it is simply a claim that you owe a debt, and claims like this deserve to be challenged. When you dispute a claim through the credit bureaus, the debt collector must verify the debt. If it cannot verify the debt, the account must be deleted from your credit report.
In 2018, the attorneys general of 42 states reached a settlement with Midland Credit Management over its business practices. As part of the settlement, the company admitted that its employees were robo-signing between 200 and 400 affidavits per day in support of debts that the employees had never reviewed.
If this is how Midland places accounts into the court system, there is no reason to think that the same thing isn’t happening when the company places accounts on your credit report. In fact, there is every reason to believe that it is happening. Therefore, you should always dispute a collection account.
How does a Midland Credit Management collection account affect my credit report?
A collection account on your credit report can badly hurt your credit score. The degree of damage depends on your overall credit profile and history. However, in some cases a single collection account can make it difficult or impossible to get a mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or apartment. Even if you pay a collection account, the notation of a collection remains on your credit report for seven years from the original delinquency date.
Your credit report is the key to your leverage
One thing that consumers often do not realize about disputing something on their credit report is that it’s not just a way of requesting a correction. Instead, it is a legal process that requires a debt collector to verify that a disputed credit reporting item is accurate.
When you dispute an item on your credit report, the credit reporting agency must investigate your dispute within 30 days. If the collector cannot respond with verifiable documentation of the debt, the agency must delete the item from your report. Given Midland Credit Management’s history of operating from incomplete records, this is not a remote possibility. In fact, it is a likelihood.
What’s next?
If you’ve been getting calls from 800-275-4285, you now know that they are from Midland Credit Management. MCM is the largest debt buyer in the country and has a decade-long history of regulatory actions against it. The company purchases debt in huge portfolios and without a lot of documentation, and collects on everything from credit cards to auto loans to telecom bills.
Do not call this number back. Do not make a payment without verifying the debt in writing. And do not give this caller any personal or financial information.
Instead, focus on where your power is, which is with your credit report and the federal laws that protect you.
Let us help you
At FightCollections.com, we specialize in representing consumers who need to dispute invalid and unverifiable collection accounts from their credit reports. If Midland Credit Management has placed an account on your credit report, we can help you challenge it under federal consumer protection law. You don’t have to face a debt collector alone.
Visit our website at FightCollections.com today to find out how we can help you take back your credit report and end calls for good.
