Midland Credit Management, Inc.

Midland Credit Management is an American debt buyer and debt collection company headquartered in San Diego, California, and has offices throughout the United States as well as in India and Costa Rica.[1] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG).[2] It is one of the largest debt collectors in the United States.[3]

Midland Credit Management, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
Founded1953 (1953)
Key people
Ryan Bell (President)
Number of employees
4,000 (2017)
ParentEncore Capital Group
Websitewww.midlandcredit.com

History

Midland Credit Management, Inc., was founded in 1953 and incorporated in 1953.[4] The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Capital Group.[5][6] In 1998, an investor group led by Nelson Peltz, Peter May and Kerry Packer acquired a majority interest in its operations. That year, the company announced plans to double employment in its East Phoenix, Arizona call centers, with the end goal of employing 2,000 people in the region.[7]

In 1999, Midland Credit Management became part of a publicly traded company when its parent company, MCM Capital Group, Inc. completed its initial public offering.[8] In 2002 ,MCM Capital Group, Inc. was renamed Encore Capital Group, Inc., and Midland Credit Management is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Capital Group.[2][9]

Operations

Midland Credit Management is a purchaser and collector of debt in the United States.[10][11] According to ConsumerAffairs, as of 2021 more than 7 million consumers had paid off debt to Midland Credit Management.[12]

Lawsuits, fines and controversies

In 2013, the Southern District Court of New York ruled that Midland had the right to charge the same interest rate as charged by the bank that made the loan, finding that the terms of the loan were legally "valid when made".[13][14] In 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Southern District Court's decision, ruling that Midland Credit Management did not qualify for usury protection.[15]

After the Supreme Court of the United States refused to review the case in 2016,[16] the Second Circuit Court ruled in 2019 that Midland Credit Management was not protected under the National Bank Act. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a final rule to address the legal uncertainties caused by the Second Circuit Court of Appeal's decision and codified "valid when made".[17][18]

In September 2015, Midland Credit Management entered into a consent order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding violations to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In 2020, the CFPB filed a suit alleging the company violated the terms of the consent order. The suit was settled with a $15 million civil money penalty.[19][20]

In 2016, John Oliver mentioned Midland Credit Management as part of a segment on debt collection on his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.[21]

References
  1. Cappel, Mark (2014-05-16). "Midland Credit Management Collection Calls". Bills.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  2. Anderson, Mark. "California financial regulator investigates, seeks to license debt collectors". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  3. Stempel, Jonathan (2015-05-22). "Lawsuit revived against big debt collection firm in New York". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  4. "Midland Credit Management Inc". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  5. Hoover's (2006). Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies 2006. Hoover's, Incorporated. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-57311-111-9.
  6. "Investors Get in Synch With Debt Buyers". American Banker. 2004-09-01. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  7. "Arizona Economic Trends, Volumes 22-25". books.google.com. 1998. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  8. "ECPG: Encore Capital Group, a Small Company with Huge Upside Potential". StockNews.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  9. "Encore Capital to combine balance sheets of Midland, Cabot units". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  10. "IN BRIEF: Debt collector Midland sued over 'consumer bill of rights'". Reuters. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  11. "Midland Credit Management Collections Suit Must Be Arbitrated". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  12. "Top 208 Midland Credit Management Reviews". www.consumeraffairs.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  13. Zuluaga, Diego (March 20, 2018). "Invalid When Made: The District Court's Madden v. Midland Decision". www.cato.org. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  14. Horn, Charles M.; Hall, Melissa R.H. (2021). "The Curious Case of Madden v. Midland Funding and the Survival of the Valid-When-Made Doctrine". North Carolina Banking Institute. University of North Carolina. 21 (1).
  15. Stempel, Jonathan (2015-05-22). "Lawsuit revived against big debt collection firm in New York". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  16. "Supreme Court lets debt collection class-action suit proceed". Reuters. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  17. "Joint settlement proposed in Madden lawsuit, but industry still awaits a fix". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  18. "Recent Supreme Court Action Creates Uncertainty in Financial Industry: Madden v. Midland Funding". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  19. "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles Lawsuit With Debt Collectors And Debt Buyers Encore Capital Group, Midland Funding, Midland Credit Management, And Asset Acceptance Capital Corp". Consumer Bankers Association. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  20. "Fitch assigns final BB ratings". www.fitchratings.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  21. Murray, Sean. "Midland Funding Gets Mentioned in John Oliver's HBO Show". deBanked. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
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