Lawsuit: MCM Failed to Comply with Federal Debt Collection Law

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A proposed class action has been filed against Midland Credit Management, Inc. and Midland Funding, LLC by four Wisconsin consumers who claim the defendants sent them collection letters that failed to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The first plaintiff claims the defendants’ letter failed to inform her that all debt disputes, in order to invoke FDCPA protections and cease collection activities, must be submitted in writing. Instead, the complaint alleges, the defendants encouraged the plaintiff to call them by telephone to discuss her options.

The second plaintiff says she received a letter from the defendants that demanded payment “within the validation period or shortly thereafter” without explaining whether the settlement offer in the letter would expire if she disputed the alleged debt or requested validation.

“It is likely that the settlement offer would expire before the debt collector provides verification,” the complaint explains. “The consumer would be left with little or no time to review the verification and determine whether to accept the settlement offer.”

The third plaintiff argues that the defendants misrepresented the date they purchased the alleged debt from its previous owner. As a result, the suit alleges, the unsophisticated consumer could be misled into paying the wrong entity and risk losing those amounts.

The last plaintiff says she received two letters from the defendants that listed the same amount of debt but represented to her that she could “save” two different amounts that were off by one cent if she accepted the settlement offer. She claims she was confused by the two numbers and that the defendants misrepresented the amount of her debt.