OdessaDan

Honestly, I dealt with Midland for 6 months and tried everything. The only thing that they actually responded to was a BBB complaint. After the initial complaint the stated they have tried to contact me but I have never contacted them. I sent a copy of all the letters I mailed and copies of the green cards. two days later they agreed to erase if I promised not to sue, LOL Make sure everything you do with them is in writing, and certified, and never by phone or email. Emails can be changed way to easily. Send them a few letters then file with the BBB. If I remember I filed with my AG, their AG, and the BBB. Dan

GEMB wants to see your monthly payments to be high. Thats why i will never get a CLI on JCP, LOL Dan

I just went to my Lowes account which is furnished by GEMB. Hit the Luv button and went from $500 to $1000. Best part is I have only had this card for 3 months. No Go on JCP. Thanks for the push, LOL.. Dan

Just got mine in the mail, it has a 600 limit, 0 AF, and 21% interest. Glad I am going to use the card as a PIF card. Has anyone ever gotten them to reduce the interest as time goes on? I am looking forward to the CLI in 6 months. LOL Dan

Thanks, I hope the limit is good. I need help in the utilization department. Dan

I know that a few of you have spoken to Julio, with Merrick Bank. I just got off the phone with him and he didnt seem to be to bad. Ask a few verification questions and then said it was approved, and that i should have the card in 7-10 days. I am going to pull everyday now, because I am too impatient to wait to find out my credit limit. LOL He said he didnt have a limit or if there was an AF. Thats the second card in 3 days I have received. I hope it is a good limit.. My TU is my best report and my FAKO score is at 636. Also, until this app I had no inquires on TU. I am going to wait until my cards update and then pull my FICO`s.. Thanks to CB, Dan

Congrats Have you tried looking at hooters, or orchard bank. They have credit cards for rebuilding credit. You will pay a high AF, but if its the only unsecured you can get, itll be worth it. Dan

I have several student loans and not one of them lists the DOFD. Is this something that is required to be reported. Is it something I can try and have removed because it is not listed.. The main reason I ask is because with no date listed to be removed, how will I ever know when they will come off. Also, they are from 2006 and have many lates. Are they still affecting my scores.. Dan

Sorry Beli, I should have been more specific. I meant to state that I always give them a 30 day window to answer any of my letters before sending out additional letters. Now that I think of it and thanks to beli, if I remember correctly since you dv'ed within the 30 day window, Midland cannot continue collection activity under both Cali and Federal Law. Keep an eye on your reports, if you daily pull. I believe that if they update the tradeline after they received the letter, but before they respond, that is continued collection activity. That would be another violation to work in your favor down the road. The only person that is going to care about the California violations, is the Cali AG. Thanks Beli for pointing that out. Dan

Congrats, keep up the good work.. Try not to do online disputes, I know its hard and easy but it will hurt you in the end. When you send in an online dispute, the CRA`s simply use an online system to verify the dispute. They dont usually send the letter to the company, and go through the whole process.. Also by doing it through the mail you create a papertrail. If the CRA states they never got your dispute you have a papertrail, unlike online disputes. dan

I just got finished beating Midland and it took 4 letters and 8 complaints to different agencies. The KEY to defeating Midland is the California Law. Midland will not respond to your letters. They will wait until a month or two before you are out of SOL and try and sue. If they try and sue simply attend the hearing and bring your letters. Tell the judge you have asked multiple times for validation and if they can prove it you will be happy to discuss the case further. Midland buys the debt not the paperwork associated with the debt. My suggestion is to wait until the 30 days are up on your DV and send another letter, asking for validation and stating that they failed to send you a response from your last letter. Try to get at least 3 letters to Midland with no response. The more the better, but not necessary. I would send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus after the 30 day window. Simply dispute one or two parts of the trade line that are clearly incorrect. When Midland verifies the trade line, that will be violation #1 according to Cali Law. Cali law states that they cannot verify any information that is either incomplete or Inaccurate. After the first violation you will be able to look at the trade line and probably find a few more violations. I had four violations according to Cali Law. Then you send a letter to as many agencies that will listen to your complaint. You tell them that you have Midland on several violations according to California Law, the state that they reside in. If you have them over a barrel they will delete and run FAST. They deleted their trade line within one week of stating that they will delete. They knew I could sue for more than they were asking for and I would win. Bottom line is dont get discouraged, I did and took almost 4 months off and had to push myself to get back into it. As soon as I started again, I got the itch. Its a good feeling to fight this hard and win. Dan

Thanks Everyone, I checked my daily pull today and they have removed the trade line from experian and equifax. Hopefully transunion follows shortly. Of course, Experian score never changed, and equifax showed a 59 point FAKO jump. Well see what transunion does.. Once I get my utilization down everything should hopefully begin to rise. Thanks Dan

Thanks Jen, What I did to remove Midland was actually easier than I thought. Let me first off state that I never received a dunning letter from Midland. I started off by sending a dispute to all 3 credit bureaus, challenging the balance and the date opened. They came back verified. I sent another dispute stating that the account was listed as open, and a collection account needs to be closed. Came back verified. I then starting sending out letters to Midland. The first was a simple DV letter stating that I saw the debt on my report and would like proof of the debt. No Answer Sent out a second letter, stating that I received no response from the first letter, an again challenged the debt. Still no answer. The third letter I wrote was a 623 letter specifically challenging the date opened and the balance. Still no answer. The last letter was basically a FOAD/ITS letter. No Answer. After the fourth letter went out, I received a summons to appear in court over the alleged debt. I showed up in court and told the judge I submitted 4 letters for validation. The judge told the lawyer they need to prove the debt within 30 days and go to mediation. The mediation date arrived and the lawyer sent nothing, the mediator told me to apply for a dismissal. A week after the mediation I received another summons to appear in court for the same debt. Finally, I got fed up with all this and sent complaints to seven different agencies. The BBB, ACA, Arizona financial division, the CA AG, the FL AG, the FTC, California collectors office, and the Kansas Banking Commission. In the letter I explained that they have violated my rights and violated the FCRA. I provided copies of the trade lines and highlighted the violations. The first letter from the BBB from Midland, stated that the debt was mine and that I had been paying on it until I decided to stop. I responded very forcefully stating that I never payed Midland, and to prove the payments. I also stated that they have violated my rights and that if I was to sue and win, I would recover damages worth double what they stated that I owed. I explained that if I do not receive a letter stating that they will be deleting I will be filing suit. It took 30 days to receive a response to that rebuttal, but in the rebuttal it stated that they will be deleting. I had to sign a release that I would drop the complaints and agree not to sue. Midland would do the same and release me of all financial obligations. I did sign the paper and fax back yesterday. The also dropped the second court case and agreed to a dismissal with prejudice. Today, I received the copies of the deletion letter and confirmation number. Thanks, Daniel

I just received the confirmation number and deletion letter from Midland. The confirmation number is that they sent it to the bureaus to delete. The letter verifies that it has been sent and will be deleted. Now all I have to do is wait till it comes off the report. This is one of the happiest days I have had in a very long time.. I just want to say thank you to all CB`ers that have posted, or responded to my posts. This is a very useful site. In anyone has any questions about the procedure, what went down, or anything about midland, please feel free to contact me. Thanks, Dan