Consumer complaint received 2015-08-04 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
Here is my story. Pure frustration at its best. I am constantly being penalized for debt that I do not owe. The quick version to this story is that my older brother and I have the same first and last name. Our middle name is what separates us. My brother apparently owes several different companies money and may possibly have a pile of debt collectors after him. Because he owes so many people money I feel that I am being penalized by sharing the same as him. One of the debt collectors that he owes is Midland Funding and or Midland Credit Management - whichever name they choose to go by. I know this because I used to receive his mail at my apartment. And I also know this because I just received a court order less than a week ago sent to my address. Another reason why I know this is because they attacked my credit about three years ago. I have been in contact with XXXX XXXX XXXX 's office in regards to this as well as with XXXX and XXXX. I also contacted Midland funding regarding this matter which they advised that they are unable to do anything unless I send them a certified letter stating that they are confusing me with my brother. I find there to be so many issues wrong with this. One of them being that when I contacted Midland Funding on XXXX XXXX, 2015, regarding removing the damages off of my credit report, they asked me for my information, which I provided, and they stated to me that nothing shows up in their records under my social. I mentioned to them that that is exactly the reason why I am calling and that they need to fix the mistake they made. I mentioned to them that there is no reason why I should be taking a hit on my credit if they have absolutely no information about me. I told them that the same information that they used to cause the damage is the same information they need to use to fix the mistake. They stated to me that they are unable to do that and that I need to send them a certified letter. And there is no telling if they will even budge after receiving the certified letter. I feel as though it is n't right that I must shoot through hoops and ladders to have something removed that I never owed to begin with. Why must I have to spend additional money to prove that such and such debt is not mine? From what I was aware of I thought that when attempting to ruin lives they have to make sure that ALL OF THE INFORMATION MATCHES - NOT JUST SOME. There is no record using my social that I owe this debt and several other debts ; because it is not just one that I am being penalized for. But my credit is the one taking all of the damages. This is really affecting not only myself but my wife as well. The goals that we are trying to accomplish is taking a back seat because we have been trying to resolve these unnecessary issues first. And to make matters worse we do not know what the end result will be. I thought it required more than someone 's first and last name and possibly their address to attach a debt to them? I do not understand why I should have to go through any of this. 
So now you will have a better understanding for why I am reaching out and why I am so frustrated at this point. 
Thank you for taking the time to hear me out and read this. 
People really need to be aware of what is going on with their credit and how information posted on there that may or may not belong to them can affect them. I feel as though these debt collection agencies can do whatever they want and do not care what happens to people as long as they get their money.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation