Midland Collection Agency ("MCA"), also referred to as Midland Credit Management, is known to be one of the largest collection agencies in the United States. With its headquarters housed in San Diego, California, and two offices located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Phoenix, Arizona, Midland Collection Agency fields a large market share of the debt collection business in the United States.

As MCA holds such a large percentage of the debt collection industry, it is common practice for MCA to buy delinquent debt for a fraction of the original debt amount. Delinquent debt is offered for sale when creditors are unable to collect the debt from their debtors. After MCA has obtained the delinquent debt, it will proceed to try to collect from the debtor using all manner of collection techniques, such as contacting you by mail and telephone or even, in some cases, by initiating legal action.

A lender will require that you agree to specific terms and conditions if you apply for a line of credit. This line of credit can be for the purchase of a home or vehicle or even a credit card. Without a doubt, the agreement you sign, if approved, will include a condition that you will pay on or before your due date the amount of your minimum monthly payment.

If you do not live up to this repayment condition, you will be assailed by phone calls and letters demanding payment on behalf of the creditor. If you do not comply with these demands, the creditor may become tired of trying to collect the debt and decide to write it off as uncollectible and close your account. After doing this, the creditor may sell to a collection agency the outstanding debt. Be forewarned that this will affect your credit history immeasurably. Often, a colection agency, such as MCA, will purchase the delinquent debt for cents on the dollar.

You will begin to receive letters and phone calls again requesting payment. Most likely, the MCA collection agent will be looking to negotiate a settlement. Do not be surprised to find that your original debt amount has now multiplied as now you will see that late fees, over-limit charges, and interest have been applied.

It is wise to attempt to negotiate a settlement with MCA, if at all possible. If a settlement is not reached, you will see your credit score take a hit yet again.

However, this does not mean that you should agree to something that will be a financial impossibility. You should not agree to a financial obligation that you know down the road you will be unable to meet. Also, because MCA will purchase the debt for cents on the dollar, you should begin your negotiation by offering to pay 40% of the original debt amount. You could offer to pay a lump sum, which would show good faith on your part, or agree to make agreed upon monthly payments. Be sure to keep copies of all correspondence in the event you need it at a later time.

Before you complete your negotiation, be sure that the debt will be erased from your credit history or, at the very least, subsequently reported as "paid." Your credit history can list "unpaid" debts for seven years. Unpaid debts make lenders cautious and many a home loan, car loan, or credit card has been denied because of reported unpaid debts.

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