Are you being called by 800-323-4459? If so, that number is assigned to Midland Credit Management. That’s right - Midland Credit Management is calling you because they think you owe a debt - even if you don’t.
But here’s what you need to know about who is calling you:
Company Name: Midland Credit Management, Inc.
Company Type: Debt buyer (buys charged-off debts from original creditors in bulk)
Parent Company: Encore Capital Group, a publicly traded corporation (based in San Diego, CA)
Industry Focus: Credit card debt, personal loans, retail store credit accounts, auto loans, telecom, and utility debts
Company Size: ~4,000 employees with over $1.3 billion in annual revenue
Geographic Footprint: Nationwide (all 50 states) with 24 U.S. office locations and international locations in the U.K., India, Costa Rica, Australia, and New Zealand
Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rating: A (not accredited)
An Aggressive Debt Collection Operation With a History of Bad Behavior
You may feel like these calls are coming from an aggressive outfit. You are right.
Over the last decade, Midland Credit Management has been hit with more than $100 million in regulatory fines, consumer refunds, and class action settlements. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has sued MCM twice - once in 2015 and again in 2020 - for deceptive debt collection practices that included filing lawsuits against consumers with robo-signed court documents and collecting on debts that consumers did not owe.
In 2018, the attorneys general of 42 states (plus the District of Columbia) reached a $6 million settlement with MCM after investigators found employees signing 200-400 computer-generated affidavits per day without reviewing the underlying information.
A separate Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action found that MCM used an automated dialing system to call the cell phones of more than 6 million consumers without their consent - resulting in a $15 million settlement.
You’re not imagining things. The calls you are getting are from a debt collection company with a documented history of behavior that has been repeatedly penalized by federal and state regulators. Knowing your rights is the first step to making the calls stop.
Why is Midland Credit Management Calling Me?
They Bought a Debt With Your Name On It
MCM does not originate debt. Midland Credit Management buys charged-off portfolios from banks, credit card companies, and other lenders - often at a steep discount. Industry reports indicate that debt buyers like MCM pay as little as three cents on the dollar for these portfolios. This means that a $5,000 debt showing on your credit report may have cost MCM as little as $150.
Understanding this is key to understanding why they are calling. MCM does not need you to pay the full amount to make a profit. In fact, their entire business model relies on collecting just a fraction of every account - which is why they pursue debts so aggressively and why you rarely need to pay the full amount claimed even if the debt is legitimate.
They May Have the Wrong Person Entirely
When debts are sold in bulk, things get lost in the paperwork. Account numbers are partial. Balances are wrong. Debts that were already paid (or discharged in a bankruptcy) get resold. The CFPB’s 2015 enforcement action against MCM found that the company was purchasing debts that were potentially inaccurate or lacked documentation and then collecting payments by making false statements to consumers.
Complaints about this specific phone number bear this out. As one consumer reported on 800Notes: “ +1 (320) 207-5189 Is also one of their numbers and they will harass you I have no debt with them. They will constantly harass you no matter what.” The idea that you actually owe what MCM is claiming should never be accepted at face value.
What Are Consumers Saying About Calls From 800-323-4459?
Rotating Numbers and Relentless Calling
The majority of consumer complaints about this phone number describe a pattern of relentless contact from MCM using rotating phone numbers in an effort to circumvent call blocking. RoboKiller has tracked more than 39,000 calls from this number - with more than 300 user reports. Nomorobo classifies the number as a confirmed robocall with high call activity.
In October 2024, one RoboKiller user captured the experience like this: “Yet another number that they use in rotation to call and harass people for debt collection. You block one number, and they call from another and keep nagging in this vomitus rotation of using different phone numbers.”
Another consumer on 800Notes listed multiple associated numbers - writing: “Called left no message also calls from 800-313-9047 800-914-5582 800-358-6281 800-296-0721 800-358-4153 MIDLAND CREDIT.” This points to a coordinated system of outbound calling designed to ensure that blocking one number will not stop the calls.
No Voicemails and Misleading Caller ID
A second dominant theme in the complaints is calls from MCM that do not leave voicemails or identify the caller. One consumer reported: “Calls does not leave a message. Why should I pick up I didn’t get a VOICE MAIL what or who it’s about.”
Another consumer reported that the caller ID was misleading - saying the number showed up as a generic “account services” instead of identifying MCM by name.
Nomorobo actually captured a robocall transcript from this number that shows an automated message that calls consumers by name and waits for a response. CallFilter.app shows 12 user reviews for this number - with 11 of them negative and most consumers classifying the calls as either scam or debt collector activity.
Your Rights Under Federal Law
The Right to Demand Debt Validation
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you the right to demand that any debt collector verify a debt they are claiming you owe. This is not a request - it’s a legal right. When a debt collector contacts you, they are required to send a written notice that includes the amount of the debt, the name of the original creditor, and a statement of your right to dispute.
Here is what the debt validation process reveals: most debt collectors do not have the documentation to support their claims.
When MCM buys accounts in bulk (in blocks of 15,000-25,000 at a time), the paperwork frequently does not make the trip. A formal debt validation letter forces the debt collector to produce original account agreements, payment records, and proof of the chain of ownership from the original creditor to MCM. Many times, they cannot.
Never provide information to a debt collector. Information should only flow one way - from them to you. Do not confirm your personal details, account numbers, or employment information in any call.
Your objective is to get information - not give it.
The Right to Dispute Through Credit Bureaus
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute any item on your credit report that you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. When you dispute an item on your credit report, the credit bureau is legally required to investigate by reaching out to the furnisher of the information (in this case, MCM) and asking for verification.
The credit bureau is a neutral party in this process. The law requires the credit bureau to investigate your dispute and does not allow them to simply accept what the debt collector says. If MCM cannot verify the account within 30 days, the credit bureau must delete or correct the disputed item. This gives you a formal process that bypasses the debt collector and puts the burden of proof where it belongs.
How to Make the Calls Stop
File Disputes With All Three Credit Bureaus
The single most effective thing you can do is dispute the Midland Credit Management account on your credit report with all three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each credit bureau is an independent agency, which means deleting an account from one credit bureau does not guarantee that it will be deleted from another. You need to file a separate dispute with each.
Your dispute letter should clearly state that you are disputing the account and requesting verification under the FCRA. You do not need to explain why you think the debt is invalid. You do not need to provide any evidence. The burden of verifying the debt falls on MCM - and the company’s ability to verify debts that it bought in bulk for pennies on the dollar is often limited.
Document Every Call and Save Your Records
Every call you get from 800-323-4459 should be logged - including the date, time, length of the call, and whether a message was left. If MCM continues to call you after you have disputed the debt or asked that calls stop, those records can become evidence of a potential FDCPA violation. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office found that MCM was placing as many as 15 calls in a single 7-day period - which violated state regulations.
Screen your calls. Do not answer numbers you do not recognize. If you do answer, do not confirm or deny any information. Remember that anything you say can be construed as admitting that you owe a debt - which may reset the statute of limitations in some states.
Take Control of Your Credit Report
The Calls Are Not Going to Stop on Their Own
MCM runs a calling system designed to maximize contact. With over 39,000 tracked calls from this single phone number alone and a system of rotating phone numbers designed to evade call blocking, simply ignoring the calls is not a long-term solution. Backed by a publicly traded parent company with over $1.3 billion in revenue, MCM has the resources to keep calling indefinitely.
But the same federal laws that regulate what MCM can and cannot do also give you the tools to push back. The FDCPA. The FCRA. State consumer protection laws. All of these statutes are in place to protect you from the kind of aggressive and undocumented debt collection tactics that MCM has been repeatedly penalized for.
Let FightCollections.com Help You Fight Back
At FightCollections.com, we specialize in disputing debt collection accounts on your credit report. We know how debt collectors like Midland Credit Management operate. We know what documentation they typically lack. And we know how to use the credit dispute process to challenge their claims on your behalf.
If you are getting unwanted calls from 800-323-4459, do not wait for them to stop.
Contact FightCollections.com today for a free consultation and take the first step toward reclaiming your credit report and your peace of mind.
