Midland Credit Management, MCM And Bowman, Heintz, Boscia And VicianMidland Credit Management, MCM is suing me for a charged off debt to Fingerhut Ripoff Los Angelos California

You admitted you did owe the money at one point? A debt being charged off does not mean that you no longer owe the money anymore. A company has to have a way to record the accounts on their books-in this case it was reported as a bad debt and i'm assuming that was for income tax reporting purposes.

You admitted you did owe the money at one point? A debt being charged off does not mean that you no longer owe the money anymore. A company has to have a way to record the accounts on their books-in this case it was reported as a bad debt and i'm assuming that was for income tax reporting purposes.

You admitted you did owe the money at one point? A debt being charged off does not mean that you no longer owe the money anymore. A company has to have a way to record the accounts on their books-in this case it was reported as a bad debt and i'm assuming that was for income tax reporting purposes.

You admitted you did owe the money at one point? A debt being charged off does not mean that you no longer owe the money anymore. A company has to have a way to record the accounts on their books-in this case it was reported as a bad debt and i'm assuming that was for income tax reporting purposes.

I should have been a little clearer. I apologize. The mail forwarding service was in Florida. So my mail went from Indiana to Florida, where they signed for it, then repackaged it and sent it to me in Arizona.

I also found out from the courthouse that my previous Landlord called the court and informed them that I had moved 2 months prior to the notice that was taped to the door.

I still to this date have not heard anything from either the courthouse or the Lawyer. I did speak to Bud Hibbs over this, and have a contact in Arizona concerning this if it is brought here. (It's past the SOL here)

I do intend to call Monday morning, as that was the rescheduled date, and make sure it was dropped, per the advice given here. Thank you very much.

As far as my debt status, that is the ONLY thing on my credit report. I actually have a decent credit score.

I certainly appreciate the advice, and will post back any news.

Thank you so much.

Angelina,

Normally you can respond to a summons and get a case dismissed for improper service, etc. And, it is usually required that you be served in the court of jurisdiction where you live.

HOWEVER, since you kept a valid address in Indiana, you may now have a problem. They could claim good service if YOUR agent signed for the certified letter at that address.

As soon as you moved and had another address, you should have immediately forwarded all mail, and changed your address with everyone you do business with.

You may need a lawyer at this point. My suggestion is to get one.

Hello Angelina,

Sorry to hear about your situation. It use to be very easy in dealing with debt buyers a few years ago, but many are turning to rent-a-lawyers who sue on a dime. Many times it is in hopes of;

1. scaring you into agreeing to their terms, or
2. getting a judgement against you anyway they can to either garnish your pay and/or freeze bank accounts.

The later is what they are most likely trying to do to you and Midland is known to sink this low. A common tactic, one of many, is to get an old address from your credit report and file in hopes you never find out, thus getting a judgement awarded and legal rights to take your money.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but here are a few things to consider.

1. Don't believe anything Midland or a debt buyer/lawyer says. You need to keep on that clerk to determine if they did drop that suit. If it gets close to court date and they have not, you need to contact the courts again see what your options are, extension of time since you are out of state, see if the judge will drop it, etc. Remember, Midland wants to win a judgement against you away from the state you reside as they are hoping you won't show up.

2. If they decide to sue in Arizona, you will get a summons which you will have 30 days to respond. It is also advisable to look online (if available) or call your cities court (usually civil, but could be federal) clerk to see if anything has been filed under your name. Again, don't look for Midland to follow the law.

At this point, depending on if it is within SOL or outside of it, you have some options. If it is outside of the SOL, you can do this yourself, but you need to bone up on court proceedings (NOLA legal do-it-yourself books are great) and file all the answers/motions (a court clerk or para-legal can help here to keep costs low) stating that this is out of SOL as your defense and/or denial of the debt. (again, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advise.)

Or... you can get yourself a lawyer who can do all of this for a price. There are some free or low cost legal help options in many cities, so start checking, although don't get your hopes up. I had lawyers listed on the naca laugh at me and my case ... said they don't help people who actually owe money. So much for consumer advocacy.

If it is within the SOL, it is a bit harder, as you will need a lawyer or a lot of educating in the matter. Most likely Midland will not be able to produce documents illustrating exact purchases, original signed contracts, etc to prove their case, but that is not always so. It depends on the OC and how much info they will or have passed over the debt buyer. Still a lawyer working for you will either settle the issue off the books or come up with some strategy (if it is a good lawyer.) It is getting harder to default on debt these days.

I don't know your exact situation, how much debt you have, if there is a chance this will happen again on something else, etc, but in the end, chapter 7 could be a last resort if it gets bad enough. If you don't own many assets, don't make a lot of money (there is a formula to determine if you meet this) and are deep in debt, this may be an option. It offers you full protection, even pre/post judgments, garnished wages, frozen bank accts, etc.

Good luck...

Hello Angelina,

Sorry to hear about your situation. It use to be very easy in dealing with debt buyers a few years ago, but many are turning to rent-a-lawyers who sue on a dime. Many times it is in hopes of;

1. scaring you into agreeing to their terms, or
2. getting a judgement against you anyway they can to either garnish your pay and/or freeze bank accounts.

The later is what they are most likely trying to do to you and Midland is known to sink this low. A common tactic, one of many, is to get an old address from your credit report and file in hopes you never find out, thus getting a judgement awarded and legal rights to take your money.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but here are a few things to consider.

1. Don't believe anything Midland or a debt buyer/lawyer says. You need to keep on that clerk to determine if they did drop that suit. If it gets close to court date and they have not, you need to contact the courts again see what your options are, extension of time since you are out of state, see if the judge will drop it, etc. Remember, Midland wants to win a judgement against you away from the state you reside as they are hoping you won't show up.

2. If they decide to sue in Arizona, you will get a summons which you will have 30 days to respond. It is also advisable to look online (if available) or call your cities court (usually civil, but could be federal) clerk to see if anything has been filed under your name. Again, don't look for Midland to follow the law.

At this point, depending on if it is within SOL or outside of it, you have some options. If it is outside of the SOL, you can do this yourself, but you need to bone up on court proceedings (NOLA legal do-it-yourself books are great) and file all the answers/motions (a court clerk or para-legal can help here to keep costs low) stating that this is out of SOL as your defense and/or denial of the debt. (again, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advise.)

Or... you can get yourself a lawyer who can do all of this for a price. There are some free or low cost legal help options in many cities, so start checking, although don't get your hopes up. I had lawyers listed on the naca laugh at me and my case ... said they don't help people who actually owe money. So much for consumer advocacy.

If it is within the SOL, it is a bit harder, as you will need a lawyer or a lot of educating in the matter. Most likely Midland will not be able to produce documents illustrating exact purchases, original signed contracts, etc to prove their case, but that is not always so. It depends on the OC and how much info they will or have passed over the debt buyer. Still a lawyer working for you will either settle the issue off the books or come up with some strategy (if it is a good lawyer.) It is getting harder to default on debt these days.

I don't know your exact situation, how much debt you have, if there is a chance this will happen again on something else, etc, but in the end, chapter 7 could be a last resort if it gets bad enough. If you don't own many assets, don't make a lot of money (there is a formula to determine if you meet this) and are deep in debt, this may be an option. It offers you full protection, even pre/post judgments, garnished wages, frozen bank accts, etc.

Good luck...

I called the court house where the case was supposed to have been heard on Feb 5th. Turns out there is a continuance until April 2. I asked the clerk there how it was legal for them to take me to court in a state I no longer lived in. She advised me to contact the law firm representing Midland. I told her I would not do that. I again asked her how I was supposed to be in court when I lived in another state, and had been in another state when they filed the court papers. She said it wasn't her job to answer that question. SO I hung up.

I called back a few minutes later to ask if I was going to receive anything in the mail about this. She said SHE called the law firm, and the girl she had talked to said they were going to dismiss the case since I lived out of state.

So now here are my questions:
1) Should I wait to receive the paperwork on dismissal?

2) When (and if) I receive this paperwork and it's valid, do I just wait and see if the start contacting me here in Arizona through another Law Firm or collection agency.

3) This was a debt with Fingerhut. It was charged off, as I said in July 2001. Is this considered an oral or written contract? In the state of Arizona the SOL for oral is 3 years, and the SOL for written is 6 years, which means in July, the SOL will be expired.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions? At least now I have some time to prepare for this.

I called the court house where the case was supposed to have been heard on Feb 5th. Turns out there is a continuance until April 2. I asked the clerk there how it was legal for them to take me to court in a state I no longer lived in. She advised me to contact the law firm representing Midland. I told her I would not do that. I again asked her how I was supposed to be in court when I lived in another state, and had been in another state when they filed the court papers. She said it wasn't her job to answer that question. SO I hung up.

I called back a few minutes later to ask if I was going to receive anything in the mail about this. She said SHE called the law firm, and the girl she had talked to said they were going to dismiss the case since I lived out of state.

So now here are my questions:
1) Should I wait to receive the paperwork on dismissal?

2) When (and if) I receive this paperwork and it's valid, do I just wait and see if the start contacting me here in Arizona through another Law Firm or collection agency.

3) This was a debt with Fingerhut. It was charged off, as I said in July 2001. Is this considered an oral or written contract? In the state of Arizona the SOL for oral is 3 years, and the SOL for written is 6 years, which means in July, the SOL will be expired.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions? At least now I have some time to prepare for this.

I called the court house where the case was supposed to have been heard on Feb 5th. Turns out there is a continuance until April 2. I asked the clerk there how it was legal for them to take me to court in a state I no longer lived in. She advised me to contact the law firm representing Midland. I told her I would not do that. I again asked her how I was supposed to be in court when I lived in another state, and had been in another state when they filed the court papers. She said it wasn't her job to answer that question. SO I hung up.

I called back a few minutes later to ask if I was going to receive anything in the mail about this. She said SHE called the law firm, and the girl she had talked to said they were going to dismiss the case since I lived out of state.

So now here are my questions:
1) Should I wait to receive the paperwork on dismissal?

2) When (and if) I receive this paperwork and it's valid, do I just wait and see if the start contacting me here in Arizona through another Law Firm or collection agency.

3) This was a debt with Fingerhut. It was charged off, as I said in July 2001. Is this considered an oral or written contract? In the state of Arizona the SOL for oral is 3 years, and the SOL for written is 6 years, which means in July, the SOL will be expired.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions? At least now I have some time to prepare for this.