midland credit surprise debt.

You need to make Midland Credit follow the federal laws on debt validation. See your federal rights in the FTC website.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm

Don't send a dime until you have the requested info in writing. In case, you know anything about the original company, give a call and inquire about the account status. The file might be in their system if it????????s a legit account. The burden to prove the debt is legit lies on the collection company, not you.

There are tons of horrid stories where debt collectors coerce innocent people to pay off the debts which they don????????t owe. Until and unless you are getting a proper verification of the debt from them, do not pay them a single penny. They must give you a proper validation of the debt. To make their claims legitimate, they must include the following:
A copy of the original financing agreement
Complete payment history from the original creditor
Evidence that they have been assigned by the OC to collect the debt

Good luck
Nelly

hi nicolas

heres what sounds fishy to me---you just paid off a debt with them. This shows them that you are willing to pay. That could be why all of a sudden they claim to have a second debt....to simply get more money from you. Many of these CA's are scams that only care about the bucks.

You have rights, and most people arent aware of those rights. The very first thing you need to do is to send them a letter, by certified mail return receipt, requesting proper debt validation in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They are required by law to provide more than just a name and an address. They must prove, according to this federal law:

1--that the debt is legitimately your debt.
2--that they are legally authorized, either by owning the debt themselves or by being assigned by the debt's owner, to collect on it.
3--they must prove that they are entitled to the amount they claim you owe.

The law allows that you have the right to dispute the debt, or any portion of it. So, send this letter, make sure you send it by certified mail RRR, so you can prove when they get it. Then, they MUST stop all collection efforts until they provide legal validation. If you need a sample validation letter to go off of, you can find one in the "do-it-yourself" section of this forum.

If they continue to call you after they get your letter, but dont provide the validation, then they are in violation of federal law, and you can then sue them for up to $1000 per violation, plus actual damages.

collector obviously misses the entire point of the law. Let me explain this in the simplest of terms--the fdcpa exists to put the burden of proof on THE COLLECTOR, and not on the debtor. Why do you think that CA's are required by this law to send details about the debt in writing within five days of initial contact? Why do you think the law requires CA's to validate upon request before continuing to make collection attempts? YOU have to supply the proof, and if you would do so, there would not be any issue about what we debtors can prove in most cases.

The law puts the burden of proof on the accuser. Now, since you guys cant handle that burden, it then falls to the debtor to ensure that he isnt getting screwed.

"if you are proven to owe a debt"...Have you even looked around this forum? Have you read the dozens and dozens of threads where people requested validation and:

1--didnt get it
2--got some random info sent that doesnt satisfy the requirement of the law
3--are directly told "we dont have to send you anything"...

?

and again, you are wrong. Want proof?? your whole "after 30 days the debt is valid" line is crap. The fdcpa even states quite plainly that a cunsumer's failure to request validation within those 30 days CANNOT BE USED as legal evidence, proof, or assumption of validity. Section 809(c) clearly states that the failure by the consumer to request validation cannot in any way be construed as an admission of liability by the consumer. If the courts cannot assume it, you cannot legally do so either.

About the purpose of the FDCPA, arent the two the same in this case?? By placing that burden on the collectors, doesnt that protect consumers from CA's that illegally and fraudulently try to collect money from them? Well, that is the plan anyways....too bad most of you cats dont follow it. I KNOW---I got it!! Maybe we need to rewrite the entire FDCPA, but in your pitifully awful grammar style. Maybe THEN collectors will understand it??

"before it was established"??? Collectors today STILL tell people on the phone that they are coming to break their legs, take their house, have them arrested....go after their mother....the list goes on and on!! The law hasnt stopped this practice because the average consumer isnt aware of their rights--something ELSE that you collectors screw up. If every debtor was notified of their rights up front as the law mandates, more people would know they dont have to put up with such crap.

ah, yes, "verbation"....you are the only collector I have ever seen call it that. Most call it the "Miranda" because that is the name of the disclosure youre speaking of. Are you SURE youre in the business for real??