Are You Being Called By Harris & Harris Ltd.?*

Are You Being Called By Harris & Harris Ltd.?* Here’s what you need to know.

When you fall behind in your monthly debt payments due to illness or job loss and the accounts are turned over to a collection agency, your situation can become more stressful, especially if the collector is hostile, rude, and intrusive. At such a difficult time, it’s easy to forget that you have rights and protections under the law.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

As a consumer you are protected Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, which limits what debt collectors may say and do during the process of collecting a debt. Below are some collection tactics that are illegal under the FDCPA.

• Calling you constantly every day
• Failing to identify themselves as debt collectors seeking to collect a debt
• Pretending to be police officers, government officials, or any other law enforcement figure
• Using profane and obscene language
• Discussing the debt with anyone except you, your spouse, or your attorney
• Keep calling you and sending letters after you dispute a debt

If you are being called by Harris & Harris Ltd. information about the company is below.

Harris & Harris Ltd. is a debt collection agency located in Chicago, Illinois. It was established in 1968, has 200 to 500 employees, and is managed by its President, Arnold Harris. Records on file at the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website indicate that consumers who believed they were being harassed by Harris & Harris Ltd. turned to the federal court system to assert their rights.

Alleged Violations against Harris & Harris Ltd.

According to PACER, in March 2016, Harris & Harris Ltd. allegedly began calling an Illinois consumer in an attempt to collect a debt owed by a person with the same last name as the consumer. The consumer told the caller each time that she was not this person and to stop calling.

She also claimed that each time a call connected, there was an audible click from the receiver indicating that the call was placed using an automatic telephone dialing system.

Feeling harassed by Harris & Harris Ltd., the consumer hired a consumer attorney and sued the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Using abusive and harassing methods to collect a debt
• Continuing to call her cell phone after she ordered them to stop
• Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt

The matter was later settled.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this collection agency are as follows:

• 1-312-380-4059
• 1-312-251-2300

If you see either of these numbers on your caller ID when the phone rings, it means that you are being called by Harris & Harris Ltd.. If they keep calling your cell phone about someone else’s debt and disregard your demands to stop, hire a consumer attorney.

If you file a claim against Harris & Harris Ltd., you could potentially be awarded $1,000 per violation as well as attorney’s fees, court costs, and any actual damages. Owing a debt does not mean you should be subject to abuse, a reality that collection agencies ignore at their own professional risk.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case: 1:16-cv-09353 from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

Additional Resources

• Has a Debt Collector Used Profane Language?
• Can a Debt Collector Claim to be Police or IRS?

Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be constructed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Harris & Harris Ltd., or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.