CHARLESTON -
Attorney General Darrell McGraw has filed a suit against two companies for allegedly using false affidavits when obtaining default judgments against West Virginia consumers and for failing to include required information when suing consumers for debt, McGraw's office announced March 8.
McGraw filed the suit against Delaware-based Midland Funding LLC and its sister company, Kansas-based Midland Credit Management.
In recent years, Midland has purchased approximately $54.7 billion worth of old consumer debt, making it one of the nation's largest "debt buyers." Midland pays approximately $3 for every $100 of debt it purchases, the news release noted.
McGraw claims Midland used false and unreliable mass-produced affidavits as proof of consumer debts.
"Midland does this in order to obtain judgments against or extract payments from mostly unrepresented consumers, some of whom had no knowledge of any alleged debt," the news release stated.
McGraw's office began an investigation into Midland after receiving complaints from consumers who said they were sued for debts they did not owe.
"Unfortunately, many consumers are frightened or unaware of their rights when they are sued and fail to respond to these groundless lawsuits, leaving them subject to judgments on debts that cannot be proved," McGraw said in the release. "Companies such as Midland rely upon this fear and typically drop their lawsuits if consumers know their rights."
McGraw encourages anyone who may have been victimized by debt buyers or debt collectors to contact his Consumer Protection Division by calling 1-800-368-8808, or visit his office's website at http://www.wvago.gov.
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