Consumer complaint received 2023-04-05
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: MD
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : The following complaint is being filed against Midland Credit Management for what is considered unfair and deceptive debt collection practices. 
My original debt with XXXX XXXX  was acquired by Midland Credit Management and per a Maryland XXXX XXXX order, a judgement was subsequently entered. 
Since XX/XX/XXXX, I have made monthly payments as agreed and have not breached this agreement which my credit profile with the bureaus indicates. I have also never received any communication ( calls, emails or messages of any kind ) from Midland Credit Management advising of any violations of this agreement on my part. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Midland Credit Management to inquire about a PAY FOR DELETE option ( where I could potentially pay off the debt balance in full, in exchange for getting the collection removed/deleted from my credit history ). 
The sequence of this call was as follows : Spoke with XXXX at Midland Credit Management ( XXXX ) first ; he told me to call the legal team at XXXX ( Direct Line : XXXX ). 
I called the legal team and spoke with XXXX XXXX ( manager was named as XXXX XXXX ). After asking for my name and other information, XXXX followed the script by advising that this is an attempt to collect a debt and information obtained would be used for that purpose. I chuckled at this statement and kindly reminded XXXX that Midland Credit Management was already collecting the debt as per the agreement and that it was I who was contacting them with an inquiry. XXXX advised that this was something they had to say prior to proceeding with the conversation. I explained to XXXX that I was calling to solely inquire about the PAY FOR DELETE option and advised IF Midland Credit would be willing to delete the collection from my credit history and state so in writing, that I would in exchange consider paying my full balance. I emphasized that I would not agree to pay the full balance without having received a letter from Midland Credit Management acknowledging their agreement to delete the collection from my credit profile. XXXX placed me on hold and upon returning, advised that their team was putting together a letter to send me that morning. XXXX repeated my ask and said so you agree to pay the full balance and asked me to state yes. I told him No, Im not agreeing to pay the full balance UNLESS Midland Credit Management agrees to delete the collection. He attempted to reassure me, stating oh no maam, this is not your agreement to pay today. I reiterated that I was not agreeing to pay anything, only inquiring. 
Midland Credit Management submitted their first and only email to me since the XXXX judgement, on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. Their notation even stated as requested. The letter only stated that the account would be reported as PAID ( not deleted ), upon their receipt of my payment. 
Because this was not what I requested, I called back at XXXX and spoke with XXXX XXXX I advised him that the letter did not state the account will be deleted as I requested ; therefore, I would proceed with our original agreement. XXXX placed me on hold approximately 3 times, advising that his aim was to see if he could get what I want on the letter because they rarely have people to call in who want to resolve the account in full. Further proof that this was my only aim/reason for contacting Midland Credit Management and that it would be contingent upon a deletion. XXXX kept coming back stating that Midland Credit Management has a standard practice whereby once an account is paid in full, they will report it as such. He came back one final time to advise that they would not be able to submit a letter to me stating that they would delete the account from my credit profile. To which, I replied that I will just proceed with my normal payments then. 
I attempted to simply negotiate a deal that could be potentially beneficial to both parties. Instead, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice from Midland Credit Management stating that I agreed to pay them the full balance and that if I did not sign and return the enclosed agreement, they may pursue additional legal action against me. They attached a copy of my original judgement. To again set the record straight, I NEVER agreed to pay them in full. If I wanted to pay them in full, I would have done so utilizing the same method of payment Ive used since XXXX. I would NOT need to call them to pay them in full. The point of my call to them was to negotiate, NOT to pay them in full. Again, I am perfectly fine paying them each month as Ive agreed. Midland Credit Management instead tried to manipulate this situation by using MY inquiry to them to get me to verbally agree to paying them the full balance, to which I refuted each time ; reiterating to them that I was not agreeing to pay them in full without a letter from them FIRST, stating they would delete the account. I also never signed any agreement stating that I would pay them in full. ( Please ask them to play the entire recording ). This was a deceptive mean to collect a debt and in my opinion violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act1 The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) ( 15 U.S.C.

1692 et seq. ), designed to eliminate such practices. 

I appreciate your review of this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief