Consumer complaint received 2025-11-27 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this detailed statement regarding the account currently being reported by Midland Credit ( Midland Credit Management or Midland Funding ), and I want to clearly state at the beginning of this explanation that I do not own this account, I never opened or authorized the original account that Midland is attempting to collect on, and I have already notified the original creditor, XXXX XXXX, that the account is fraudulent. In addition, I have filed an official FTC Identity Theft Report documenting that I am not the person who opened the underlying account and that the debt being pursued by Midland was created without my authorization.

This situation began when I reviewed my credit reports and discovered a derogatory account appearing under my name that Midland claimed to have purchased or to be attempting to collect on. The account information was entirely unfamiliar to me, and I had no prior knowledge of any debt connected to Midland, XXXX XXXX, or any related retailer. I have never applied for, opened, or used the credit account that Midland is reporting. As soon as I noticed this, I immediately began taking steps to understand where the account originated and how my information became associated with it. 

Upon further investigation, I learned that the account Midland is reporting originated with XXXX XXXX, specifically one of their store-branded credit card products. Because I knew that I had never opened any such account, I contacted XXXX XXXX  directly and notified them that I do not own the account in question. I also sent them a formal dispute letter informing them that the account was falsely attributed to me. In that letter, I clearly explained that I never authorized any credit line with them, never made any purchases with the alleged account, and never received any statements, correspondence, or notices indicating that I had any financial relationship with them. I also requested any documentation they believed proved I opened the account, including an application, digital signature, or any form of identity verification. 

XXXX XXXX  was unable to provide me with any original documentation proving I opened the account. Instead, they provided generic statements describing their internal processes and indicated that they had already sold the account to Midland Credit. Despite this, they did not provide any proof of ownership, no application, no signed documents, no identity verification procedures, and no records linking me to the disputed account. Because I recognized that this situation involved potential identity theft or misattribution of my personal data, I took the necessary action of filing a formal FTC Identity Theft Report. Filing this report is a legal step that documents, under penalty of perjury, that I did not open the original account and that I do not owe this debt. 

After I filed the FTC report and notified XXXX XXXX  that the account was not mine, I then turned to Midland Credit because they were now the party attempting to collect on the account. As the debt buyer or collection entity, Midland also has a legal responsibility to ensure the information they report is accurate and tied to the correct consumer. Instead of providing validation or documentation proving that I opened the account, Midland simply continued reporting the account and asserting its validity. At no point did Midland provide any of the documentation required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ). They did not provide an application, a contract, a service agreement, proof of identity, signatures, or any paperwork showing that I am the owner of the disputed debt.

The FTC Identity Theft Report I submitted clearly demonstrates my dispute and my position that this account was opened without my knowledge or consent. Under federal law, when a consumer submits an identity theft report, the data furnisher and any debt collector must block, delete, or stop reporting the fraudulent account unless they can provide incontrovertible evidence proving that the consumer is responsible for the debt. In this case, neither XXXX XXXX nor Midland Credit has provided any such evidence, and the burden of proof lies with themnot with the consumer. 

Despite this, Midland continues to report the account, causing harm to my credit history, my financial opportunities, and my overall creditworthiness. Whenever a collection account is reportedespecially one marked as delinquent or charged offit carries significant negative consequences. It can lower credit scores, affect eligibility for loans, increase interest rates, hinder housing applications, impact insurance costs, and create avoidable obstacles for a consumer who has done nothing wrong. Because this account is not mine, the reporting of it is both erroneous and damaging. 

Before filing this CFPB complaint, I ensured that I had taken every appropriate step to clarify the situation directly with the original creditor. That is why I notified XXXX XXXX  first and provided them with all necessary information to investigate the matter. I told them the account was not mine. I requested documentation. I provided the FTC Identity Theft Report. XXXX acknowledged that they had received my dispute, but instead of verifying that I opened the account, they simply stated that they had sold the debt to Midland and that I should contact them for further information.

This response from the original creditor does not resolve the underlying issue because it still does not answer the critical question : Who opened the account? Since I did not open it, and XXXX XXXX can not show that I did, they should have withdrawn the account from any reporting before selling it to Midland. Instead, the debt was transferred despite being unverified and potentially fraudulent. This means that Midland is now attempting to collect on an account that was never confirmed as valid.

Debt buyers like Midland purchase large portfolios of charged-off accounts, often with limited documentation, and they rely heavily on the information provided by the original creditor. However, this does not eliminate their legal obligation to validate the debt or prove ownership when a consumer disputes the account. The law requires that a debt collector must provide verification, and if they can not, they must cease collection and must not continue reporting the account to the credit bureaus.

In this case, Midland has not provided any verification. They did not show a contract linking me to the debt. They did not show an application. They did not show proof that the account was opened by me. They did not show any connection between me and the transactions allegedly made on the account. They did not provide a single document demonstrating ownership. Even though they claim to have bought the account, purchasing an account does not prove the consumer is responsible for it. It only proves that Midland acquired the rights to collectrights they can not exercise if the account was never legally owned by the consumer.

After sending notices, filing my FTC Identity Theft Report, and contacting XXXX, I continued to monitor the situation. Yet Midland still reports the account as valid. They have not removed it. They have not suppressed it. They have not acknowledged the identity theft documentation. They have not stopped reporting. They continue to claim they are allowed to collect on a debt that I do not owe.

This creates unnecessary hardship because the longer this fraudulent account remains on my credit reports, the more difficult it becomes to apply for essential financial products. My credit score is penalized for an account I never opened. My creditworthiness is damaged for reasons outside my control. This is exactly why identity theft laws existto protect consumers from the consequences of unauthorized accounts being misattributed to them.

I want the CFPB to understand that I followed every step required by federal law before bringing this complaint. I notified the original creditor. I notified the collection agency. I filed an FTC Identity Theft Report. I attempted to handle the matter directly with the parties involved. Yet the situation remains unresolved because Midland continues to report the account even though they have not shown any proof of its validity. 

For the sake of accuracy, fairness, and compliance with federal consumer protection laws, Midland must now acknowledge that they can not verify the legitimacy of the account, can not prove ownership, and can not demonstrate that I authorized the underlying credit line. Since they can not do any of these things, they must remove the account from all credit reporting agencies and cease all collection attempts.

This is not simply a request based on preferenceit is a requirement under the FCRA and FDCPA. If a debt collector can not validate a debt, they must stop reporting it. If a consumer files an FTC Identity Theft Report, the furnisher must block the fraudulent information. If the original creditor can not verify the account, then the debt collector has no legal basis for collecting or reporting it.

In summary, what happened is this : A fraudulent account was opened in my name with XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX  failed to validate the account but still sold it to Midland. I notified XXXX that the account was not mine. I filed a formal FTC Identity Theft Report. XXXX  could not validate the account but still transferred it. Midland then began reporting and collecting on the unverified account. Midland has failed to provide documentation proving that the account is mine. As a result, I am now disputing this matter with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure compliance, accuracy, and my protection as a consumer.

Because I do not own this account and because Midland has failed to provide any verification, I am requesting that the CFPB require Midland to : Remove the account from all credit bureaus Cease all collection activity Acknowledge the FTC Identity Theft Report Confirm that no documentation exists linking me to the debt Prevent the account from being re-reported in any form This account is not mine, and all involved parties have failed to validate it. I am requesting the CFPBs assistance to ensure full compliance and correction.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief