Midland Credit Management is contacting you

Who is Midland Credit Management and whose debt do they collect?

Midland Credit Management buys old accounts from lenders for a share of the balance, then tries to collect the full amount. Midland is a debt buyer with its main office in California. The company that first lent you the money may be a different name on your letter.

Is this Midland call or letter real?

A letter or call using the name Midland Credit Management does not prove you owe a debt. A real collector gives you its name, street address and phone number. It also gives you the details of the debt.

Scammers refuse to give those details. They threaten arrest or hide their mailing address. Some ask for your personal information on the first call.

1. Hang up and call Midland back on a number from its own website.
2. Ask for the validation notice, which is due within five days of first contact.
3. Check the creditor name and account number against your own records.

If the caller fails any of the three steps, stop talking. Do not pay, and do not share your bank or Social Security number.

For example, if Midland first called on March 3, the notice is due by March 8. If five days pass after the first call with no notice from Midland, write and ask for it before you pay anything. The FTC lists the signs of a fake collector. Check the signs of a fake collector.

What is Midland Credit Management's phone number?

These are Midland's own published phone numbers. They are not our numbers, and we cannot take a payment or look up your account. Caller ID can be faked, so a match does not prove who called you.

Will Midland sue you?

Midland is listed as a debt buyer. Debt buyers often hire law firms to sue in local courts. They cannot sue on a debt that is past the time limit in your state. A collection letter does not tell you if a lawsuit is coming.

If you get court papers, find the answer date on the summons right away. California gives 30 days to answer a regular civil case, and other courts set their own dates. If you miss the date, the court can enter a default judgment. Then the collector can ask to take money from your paycheck or bank account.

Example from the California courts' self-help site: papers served March 3 with 30 days to answer are due April 2. Your summons shows your own date, so find it today. Read how to answer the lawsuit.

The CFPB settled a lawsuit with Midland's parent, Encore Capital Group. Encore agreed to pay $79,308.81 back to consumers and a $15 million penalty. Encore was penalized over its collection practices, so keep every Midland letter and log every call.

Will Midland delete the account if you settle?

You can offer Midland less than the full balance. Before you pay, get the amount, the due date and the promise to stop collecting in writing. If you want the entry removed from your credit report, ask for that in writing too. Use the pay for delete letter to make that request.

Midland says it asks the credit bureaus to delete its entry after an account is paid or settled in full. That request takes up to 45 days. So check your credit report about 45 days after you pay. For example, if you pay on October 1, check on November 15. If the entry is still there, dispute it with the credit bureau and include Midland's written promise.

The CFPB explains how to get a settlement in writing before you pay.

What letter should you send Midland first?

Send your dispute in writing before the end date printed on your validation notice. For a covered debt, Midland must pause collecting the disputed amount until it sends proof. A dispute letter does not replace an answer to court papers. Start with the validation letter to Midland.

The CFPB lists what the notice must show.

What do complaints about Midland say?

The federal complaint database lists 45,412 complaints since October 2023 under "ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.", Midland's parent. The top issue is "Attempts to collect debt not owed". A complaint is not a ruling. It does not prove the company broke the law.

So if you do not recognize the debt, dispute it in writing before the end date on the notice.

Other issues people raised:

• Took or threatened to take negative or legal action: 7,339 complaints.
• Written notification about debt: 5,790 complaints.

The CFPB files these complaints under "ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.", so the total is not a count for Midland alone.

Search the CFPB complaint database yourself, or file your own complaint.

Collectors like this one: Portfolio Recovery Associates, LVNV Funding, Jefferson Capital Systems. See every collector we track.

Sources

• CFPB: what the notice must show (consumerfinance.gov).
• California courts: respond to a debt lawsuit (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov).
• CFPB: how to settle with a collector (consumerfinance.gov).
• FTC: fake and abusive collectors (consumer.ftc.gov).
• CFPB: complaints about ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC. (consumerfinance.gov).
• Midland Credit Management contact page (midlandcredit.com), read on the company's own site.
• Midland credit reporting policy (midlandcredit.com), read on the company's own site.

Last checked October 2026.

What to do now

Find the end date on Midland's validation notice, and write your dispute letter to Midland before that date. If Midland sued you, call our debt help line before the answer date printed on your summons. Call with Midland's letter or summons in hand, and you decide whether a consumer lawyer in your state sees your details.

Talk to a consumer lawyer about this debt

Call (844) 393-5856Not sued? Write a validation letter to Midland

1. You call during business hours and say which debt it is.
2. You answer a few questions about the debt and any court date.
3. You decide whether a consumer lawyer sees your details.

Calls go to our debt help line during business hours. The call costs you nothing, and you give up nothing by calling. Debt Collector Lookup matches people with consumer lawyers; we are not a law firm or a debt collector.