Letter from MCM saying they bought an old Citibank debt

I received a letter from MCM saying they bought an old Citibank debt. I sent them a letter back disputing the validity of th debt and asking for account information.They sent me back a letter offering to reduce the debt by a substantial amount if I paid it off within 3 weeks.They also sent me a Visa card that they call reloadable. But they did not give me specific information about the debt.Are they for real and how can I prevent them from attaching my bank account and giving negative credit reports

When you say old, how old do you mean? Debts have a statute of limitations, usually between 3-6 years, and if this debt is past the SOL, then you could always use that as a defense if you are sued for the debt. You calculate how old the debt is by the date of last activity (the last payment or charge to the account). The SOL is determined by state law - what state are you in?

If you are unsure the debt is yours, demand validation. You stated that you requested validation but the letter you received from them had no information in it. If that is so, then you should immediately reply to their letter advising them that they failed to validate the alleged debt and remind them that proper validation consists of:

1. A copy of the consumer credit contract.

2. Copies of the complete statement of account detailing what the charges are and when they were made (not just a total dollar figure printed on their company letterhead).

midland credit management MCM is for real. They buy debt, some of it very old. I would not use the VISA card they sent you. Sounds like a trick to try to get you to agree to some nasty terms that include putting the old debt on the new credit card. Furthermore, what they sent you is not validation.

I recently sued MCM. Seek legal counsel if you think they are being deceptive.

Make sure that you really owe the debt. There are many collectors who simply trap innocent people and force them to pay off debts that they never owed. You did a right thing by sending them a debt validation letter. But the letter they sent you did not validate the debt. A collection agency while validating a debt should mention properly the total amount of money you owe them. Explain to you how they have calculated the amount. They should send you copies of documents that show that your original creditor wants them to collect this particular debt from you. Their license numbers to show that they are registered agents

As Texaslawyer says do not use the VISA card. You can also check the statute of limitations on old debts in your state.

me personally, I am not as worried about SOL. I would initially focus more on the fact that these people are continuing collection efforts after a DV request has been received, without answering that request. This is a plain violation of fdcpa, and I would start there. Hopefully you sent that DV letter via certified mail RRR....so you have proof they got it. If you do, I would send them one more letter, also CMRRR, and tell them that they are in violation of the FDCPA. Threaten to take legal action if they do not immediately cease all collection efforts until they provide proper validation as required by federal law. Oh, and by all means do not use that card they sent--the courts will often consider it tacit acceptance of their proposed settlement terms if you use it, and that will reage the debt.

Then, I would go after the SOL. You cannot really go after SOL effectively until you have the information about the account, because that info will be needed to prove that SOL has expired if you take this to court.

They cannot access your bank account as long as you do not provide them with your banking information, and you should NEVER give a CA that info.