I recently received a notice from a collection agency notifying me that i was being offered a 'settlement opportunity' to settle a debt. The collection notice was from Midland Credit Management and it stated that the original creditor was FCNB. I had no idea what this debt was as we paid off our 2 FCNB credit cards (Speigel and Eddie Bauer) many years ago. i know that these credit cards were paid in full somewhere between 1992-1994 because it was a requirement in order to obtain a mortgage to purchase a home. I called MCM today and spoke with a representative. I asked him what company this debt was from and he told me it was Spiegel, from March 1994. I explained to him that this was not a valid debt as it was paid in full many years ago. He told me either i could provide proof that the debt was paid or i could submit payment of debt to MCM. I explained that i would be unable to provide proof, since it was 14-16 years ago, he told me that i would then be held responsible for the debt. Am i going to be forced to pay this company $312, just so my credit is not ruined? Is there some organization that protects consumers from this kind of injustice?