The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) aims to protect consumers from the potential abuses of third-party debt collectors, including false or misleading statements. The complaint for this class action brings suit against Midland Credit Management, Inc. (MCM), Midland Funding, LLC, and Encore Capital Group, Inc., three related companies, in connection with statements made in court papers for the attempted collection of a consumer debt.
Plaintiff Milun Milisavljevic allegedly incurred a consumer debt in connection with a credit card from Citibank, NA. At some point, Midland Funding bought the debt. The company filed a lawsuit against Milisavljevic on March 25, 2019 in Cook County, Illinois.
Midland served the complaint with a summons on Milisavljevic on April 7, 2019. In the complaint, Midland says the “Amount Claimed” is “$5,804.93 plus Costs.”
However, the summons does not ask for costs. Also, a Credit Card or Debt Buyer Collection Action Affidavit is attached to the complaint. Its Paragraph 3 is headed, “Account Information After Charge-Off.” It asks, “Plaintiff is seeking additional amounts after the charge-off date:” and then the word “No” has been checked.
These “extra amounts,” the complaint says, would include court costs. However, the complaint does ask that the “Costs of Suit be awarded Plaintiff.”
The complaint for this class action alleges that this violates the FDCPA in that one of the statements must be false, and the FDCPA forbids the use of any false, deceptive, or misleading representation in connection with the collection of a debt.
Milisavljevic, the complaint says, had no way of knowing how much money he was being asked to pay.
In fact, the complaint alleges, “Midland and MCM have a policy of seeking court costs in collection actions they file, when seeking entry of judgment on the same.” The FDCPA forbids the use of unfair or unconscionable means to collect debts, and the complaint for this class action alleges that Midland and MCM have violated this provision as well.
The default judgment order entered in the case did finally include an amount for costs. Before this, however, the complaint says that Midland and MCM entered a different draft order that Milisavljevic saw and that further confused him about what he was expected to pay. This, too, the complaint says, was misleading.
The class for this action is
- All persons similarly situated in Illinois
- From whom Midland and MCM tried to collect a debt originating with Citibank, NA
- By serving a complaint and summons filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County
- Which included a Rule 280.2 affidavit
- Where the box labeled “Plaintiff is seeking additional amounts after the charge-off date” is checked “No”
- But where Midland still asks for court costs in the complaint or summons,
- Between December 27, 2018 and December 27, 2019.
Topic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Midland Funding Court Documents at Odds in Debt Complaint
December 27, 2019
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) aims to protect consumers from the potential abuses of third-party debt collectors, including false or misleading statements. The complaint for this class action brings suit against Midland Credit Management, Inc. (MCM), Midland Funding, LLC, and Encore Capital Group, Inc., three related companies, in connection with statements made in court papers for the attempted collection of a consumer debt.
midland_credit_mgmt_fdcpa_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Midland Funding Court Documents at Odds in Debt Complaint
December 27, 2019
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) aims to protect consumers from the potential abuses of third-party debt collectors, including false or misleading statements. The complaint for this class action brings suit against Midland Credit Management, Inc. (MCM), Midland Funding, LLC, and Encore Capital Group, Inc., three related companies, in connection with statements made in court papers for the attempted collection of a consumer debt.
midland_credit_mgmt_fdcpa_complaint.pdf