The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement pages name Midland Credit Management, Inc. as a subsidiary of Encore Capital Group, Inc. When a company that meets the debt collector definition in the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act collects a consumer debt, the Act gives the consumer rights, including the right to dispute in writing.
This page explains who the company is as the CFPB's pages describe it and what federal law requires of a debt collector. It also covers the dispute, stop-contact and complaint options the law gives a consumer.
What Midland Credit Management Is
The CFPB's enforcement page about its September 8, 2020 lawsuit, last modified Aug. 5, 2021, names Midland Credit Management, Inc. as a subsidiary of Encore Capital Group, Inc., alongside Midland Funding, LLC and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. It says the companies are headquartered in San Diego, California. It also says that together they "comprise the largest debt collector and debt buyer in the United States."
A debt buyer is a company that buys past-due debts from creditors or other businesses and then tries to collect them. The CFPB explains that such a company may collect "themselves or by using other debt collectors."
Federal law defines a debt collector in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). It is any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in "any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts," or who "regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." The definition has listed exclusions. Regulation F, the CFPB's rule under the Act, repeats the definition at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.2.
A debt is any obligation of a consumer to pay money from a transaction "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes," under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). That holds whether or not the obligation has gone to judgment. Where a company meets the debt collector definition, the Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692–1692p, governs its collection of such debts.
What the FDCPA Requires of Midland Credit Management
Several sections of the Act limit how a debt collector may collect. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a), a collector generally may not contact a consumer at an unusual or inconvenient time or place. Unless it knows otherwise, it must assume the convenient hours are after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m. local time. It also generally may not contact a consumer at work if it knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits it.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), a collector generally may not discuss the debt with anyone other than these people:
- the consumer
- the consumer's attorney
- a consumer reporting agency, if otherwise permitted by law
- the creditor
- the creditor's attorney
- the collector's own attorney
There are exceptions, including the consumer's prior consent given directly to the collector and a contact to find the consumer. The page on debt collectors calling family covers that rule.
The Act also bans these practices:
- 15 U.S.C. § 1692d: conduct whose "natural consequence" is to harass, oppress or abuse any person.
- 15 U.S.C. § 1692e: any "false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means" in collecting a debt.
- 15 U.S.C. § 1692f: "unfair or unconscionable means" of collection.
Among the examples these sections list are the use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm a person, reputation or property (15 U.S.C. § 1692d(1)), calling repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse or harass (15 U.S.C. § 1692d(5)), and the false representation of the character, amount or legal status of a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2)(A)). Conduct like this may violate the Act. Whether a particular situation does depends on its facts.
Debt Validation: What a Consumer May Request
The validation process starts with a required notice. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), within five days after its first communication, a debt collector must send a written notice. That does not apply when the first communication already contained this information or the consumer has paid. The notice must state:
- the amount of the debt
- the name of the creditor to whom it is owed
- that the debt will be assumed valid unless the consumer disputes it within thirty days after receiving the notice
- that the collector will obtain and mail verification or a copy of a judgment if the consumer disputes in writing within that period
- that the collector will provide the original creditor's name and address on written request within that period, if different from the current creditor
Regulation F adds content requirements for this validation information.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a written dispute within the thirty-day period changes what the collector may do. The same is true of a written request for the original creditor's name and address. The collector "shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof," until it mails the consumer verification, a copy of a judgment, or the original creditor's name and address.
The written form matters, because the statute ties this pause to a written notice. The FTC describes verification as something "like a copy of the original bill."
A dispute does not erase a debt. It pauses collection until verification is mailed. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(c), a consumer's failure to dispute "may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability."
The Act gives a consumer a written way to end most contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), a consumer may notify a collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay or wants communication to stop. After that, the collector may not communicate further about that debt except for three purposes:
- to say its efforts are being terminated
- to say that it or the creditor may invoke specified remedies it ordinarily invokes
- where applicable, to say that it or the creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy
A notice sent by mail is complete upon receipt. Because the right depends on a written notice, a letter also leaves a record that a phone call does not.
This is a separate right from a validation dispute. A dispute pauses collection until verification arrives. A cease request ends most contact, but it does not ask for proof.
A cease request also does not cancel a debt. The CFPB notes that asking a collector to stop "will not necessarily stop them from suing you or reporting the debt to a credit reporting company."
If Midland Credit Management Files a Lawsuit
The Act limits where a collector may bring a legal action. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a), a collector suing to enforce an interest in real property must sue where that property is located. Any other suit must be brought only in the judicial district where the consumer signed the contract sued upon or where the consumer lives when the suit begins.
The Act's ban on false or misleading representations in 15 U.S.C. § 1692e applies to representations made "in connection with the collection of any debt." The page on consumer lawsuits explains how federal claims work.
Calls, Texts, and the TCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a separate law from the FDCPA, and its rule on automated and prerecorded calls applies to "any person within the United States," not only to debt collectors. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), it is unlawful, subject to the exceptions below, to make a call using "any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice" to a telephone number assigned to a cellular telephone service, among other listed services. The exceptions are calls made for emergency purposes or "with the prior express consent of the called party."
The statute's former exception for calls to collect federal government debts is no longer part of that rule. The Supreme Court held it invalid and severed it in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, No. 19-631 (July 6, 2020).
Prior express consent means permission the called party gave before the call.
How to File a Complaint About Midland Credit Management
The CFPB states that a person having issues with debt collection "can submit a complaint with the CFPB." The FTC also describes reporting a collector.
A complaint to an agency is separate from a private lawsuit. The FTC says a consumer has "the option to sue a collector in a state or federal court" within one year of when the collector broke the law. Whether a particular situation supports a claim depends on its facts.
The CFPB's public record includes these actions involving the company:
- 2015 consent order. In September 2015, the CFPB issued an administrative consent order against Encore Capital Group, Midland Funding, Midland Credit Management and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (File No. 2015-CFPB-0022). The CFPB's page describes it as "based on the Bureau's previous findings" of violations of the CFPA, the FDCPA and the FCRA.
- 2020 lawsuit and stipulated judgment. On September 8, 2020, the CFPB filed suit in the Southern District of California (No. 3:20-cv-01750). It "alleged" that the companies violated the 2015 order and again violated the FDCPA and CFPA. On October 16, 2020, the court entered a stipulated final judgment and order. That order superseded the 2015 order.
On October 20, 2020, the CFPB filed an order terminating the 2015 consent order. As of October 2020, that order describes the 2020 order as imposing "continuing obligations" on the companies.
What a Consumer Rights Inquiry Through This Site Covers
Federal Consumer Rights is a website that provides information about consumer-protection law. It also facilitates inquiries about FDCPA, FCRA and TCPA matters.
This page covers federal rules that apply to debt collectors across the United States. State law may add protections, and those protections differ from state to state. This page does not cover state debt collection statutes, bankruptcy or credit-repair services.
If the same account appears on a credit report, a dispute with the credit bureau runs under the FCRA rather than the FDCPA. The page on credit report disputes with a credit bureau covers that process. The overview of consumer rights attorney topics shows how these federal laws fit together.
This site does not give legal advice and does not represent consumers. A request may be passed to attorneys, who decide for themselves whether to respond.
This page explains federal rules; it does not cover state statutes or a reader's particular facts. A reader may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
