Recorded message that " The FBI reports a burglary every 45 minutes". I hung up. This is the third time they called. I believe they are selling alarm systems.

Call 1-312-423-7421 and say you're calling to pay a debt.  You'll get transferred to a live operator.  The operator can find the account associated with your phone number and remove your number.  I didn't get hasselled to pay any money.

Debt collection is a legitimate practice.  Unfortunately, some deadbeats give bogus phone numbers.

What sucks about Harris & Harris is they make it so damn inconvenient to actually reach a live person and get confirmation that they took care of it.

unwanted call.  They said, "we are calling for __" (no name given).  Then, "If you are __ (no name given) please press 2; if we have the wrong # please press 3".  I pressed 3 and it said "please call 312 423 7484 to have your
number removed".

855 519 4476 and 800 Service is what shows up on caller ID

The message stated this is an attempt to collect a debt but no name left in the "insert name here" pause this time. the other times it has been for a  person possibly named elizabeth santi estabon (?) but it is garbled.

I have no derogatory credit or unpaid debts/collections. I have called 4 times (once actually speaking to a person & 3 voicemails) to say this is an incorrect number for the person they are attempting to contact.

This all started when I was assigned a # from Comcast for a bundle discount, glad I don't actually have a phone plugged in because these are the only types of calls that come in on this number.  UGGGH!

Called the Sergio cell number and he didn't answer but called me back right away - he is no longer employed by H&H and gave me the 312-251-2300 # to call.  Called and requested the number they're calling to be removed - it's a business number not someone's personal cell.

This number called, asking for me. Caller ID says they are H&H Ltd. I have no debt. I assume they are a scam of some type

they also use (312) 423-7329. I googled this number as well as the others i don't recognize when they try to call.

I have had this number on my caller id 312-893-4791 call me numerous times, I have answered once and no one talks. The return number is 312-423-7484. Finally they left a message stating they are calling to collect debt for my 13 YEAR OLD SON!!! They stated they were called from Heather Hall?? Does anyone have suggestions if this is legit?

They keep leaving messages on my phone for an Alex hirsh or hersh. I am not him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually this is a legal gray area in the FDCPA. A collector must make "meaningful disclosure" of its identity yet respect the privacy of whoever is named on a debt account. Some collectors fear that giving a business name, or even simply leaving a message, may expose account discussion to the wrong person, a punishable offense. Many others have turned to the clumsy practice of trying to get a person to self-authenticate in a canned message. Hence those absurd commands to stop listening if you're not the intended target.

Collectors are sued about the same no matter which rule they favor. However, there is case law which scolds them for breaking one law to satisfy another. The same dilemma often sees a live collector and call recipient dancing in circles trying to get each other to reveal an identity and call purpose. The more devious collectors use this forced ambiguity to their advantage, making incomprehensibly hurried messages with coded phrases like "important business matter", calculated to both mask themselves and worry you enough to return the call.

More solid violations would be a collector refusing to give a business name on demand, or breaking a written cease-comm, or pulling the rude and obnoxious stunts the industry at large has become infamous for.

The people calling me from this number must be complete idiots.  They do not identify themselves or the purpose of their call on their recorded message.  This is a violation of federal law.  When I call the number they leave (312-423-7484), they identify themselves only as "the business office."  They ask me to leave my name and telephone number.  They are never there to answer my return calls.

I just left them a strongly worded message indicating that I do not give out my name and telephone number to unidentified callers who are violating federal law.  I told them that if they wish to speak with  me, they need to answer my return calls.

I AM ON A DO NOT CAL L LIST AND THESE PEOPLE KEEP CALLING THREE TIMES A DAY. PLEASE STOP WITH THE HARRASSMENT

I received a call at my work for my daughter.  I have no idea how they accessed my private work phone line.  I called the number above back and I don't have a good feeling about calling that number. I doubt my number is removed from their list.  I hate this kind of thing and their business doesn't even pertain to me.  I am assuming this is a debt collection, but I am not sure.  The company doesn't really say what it is they want.

If you are being harassed by Harris & Harris, call one of these numbers and complain:

312-296-4158   <-- call this one liberally
312-423-7382
312-251-2300   <-- main company phone number

Got a message requesting a call back.  Never heard of these people.  It's long distance.

where is the toll free number???? I have to call them back on my dime to complain and tell them the person they are looking for doesn't live here, and then the office is closed with no voice mail?  Give your head a shake, this is complete BS. I can hardly wait till tomorrow morning when I get to harrass them.

You know, if you called them at one of their numbers to complain about them calling you, you verified to them the phone number they had for you is a good phone number. If they think you owe them money, they're going to keep contacting you to collect.

If the bill is yours, pay it, the phone calls will stop. If the bill is not yours, tell them it's not yours and go from there.

The first one is the director, Sergio's, cell number.  Perfect one to call.

The suggestion to call 312-423-4158 reaches Sergio one of the directors and he is placing me on the do not call list.  I gave him an angry earful.  I do not who his company was trying to call and calling in to leave a message, has had no effect.

sounds like a collection agency,,,,mike moritz doesnt work here...take our # off

Stop calling here please

YOUR STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND the IL ATTORNEY GENERAL ASAP
Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org



http://www.consumerjustice.com/consumer/agencydetail.aspx?id=5735
Harris & Harris Collection Agency  
100 S. Wacker Dr #225
Chicago, Illinois, 60606


www.quickcollect.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phone No.  800-362-0097 - 312-251-2300  
Fax 312-251-2333  

  Arnold S. Harris, Owner Richard Mednick, Partner
 
 

Notes






1) Never assume they have a VALID DEBT OR LEGAL RIGHT TO COLLECT
 
2) Debt collectors MUST FOLLOW your STATE laws regarding licensing.  Check your Secretary of State for licensing requirements for ANY collection agency that contacts you

Debt Collectors DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION!    
The INFORMED CONSUMER IS THE DEBT COLLECTORS WORST ENEMY!

THE CORRECT WAY TO HANDLE COLLECTION CALLS AND ILLEGAL TACTICS

READ DEALING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS, RECORDING CALLS AND STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BY STATE

You can also post your questions here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum/   NEW URL!    

These links are to attorneys for those being scammed www.naca.net or http://www.consumerjustice.com/consumer/searchattorneys.aspx


Dealing with Debt Collectors
Http://www.budhibbs.com/First.htm    
    
Statute of Limitations by State ? always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm

Recording calls from Debt Collectors - always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm


From Federal Trade Commission Website ? FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you?re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor?s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn?t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they?re told (orally or in writing) that you?re not allowed to get calls there.

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter ? even if you don?t think you owe the debt, can?t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don?t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector ? in writing ? to stop contacting you. Here?s how to do that:
Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a ?return receipt? so you?ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don?t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people ? but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written ?validation notice? telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don?t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don?t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don?t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:
    use threats of violence or harm;
    publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
    use obscene or profane language; or
    repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
    falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
    falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
    misrepresent the amount you owe;
    indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
    indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:
    you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
    they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
    legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

Debt collectors may not:
    give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
    send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn?t; or
    use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt ? or your state law ? allows the charge;
    deposit a post-dated check early;
    take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
    contact you by postcard.

Can I control which debts my payments apply to?
Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don?t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?
If you don?t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.
Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don?t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:
    Social Security Benefits
    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
    Veterans? Benefits
    Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Service Members? Pay
    Military Annuities and Survivors? Benefits
    Student Assistance
    Railroad Retirement Benefits
    Merchant Seamen Wages
    Longshoremen?s and Harbor Workers? Death and Disability Benefits
    Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
    Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can?t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney?s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector?s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?
If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General?s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General?s office can help you determine your rights under your state?s law.

For More Information
To learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government?s portal to financial education.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad
February 2009

File complaints with

Federal Trade Commission  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

Your State Attorney General
State Attorney General is every state they have offices

Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org

If you or they are located in NY ? use this SPECIAL Link  www.NYDebtHelp.com
This special website was created by NY AG Andrew Cuomo specifically for reporting illegal debt collection practices.  HE?S CRACKING DOWN AND SHUTTING THEM DOWN!
    
Also report your calls and contacts with debt collectors at http://www.budhibbs.com/index.html  If the company is listed under agencies ? report there. If not on the list YET, click on Watchlist! and add to the list.   You can also post here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum2/index.php?board=2.0




Time-Barred Debts
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt144.shtm

There?s no doubt about it: you are responsible for your debts. If you fall behind in paying your creditors ? or if you dispute the legitimacy of a debt ? a debt collector may contact you.

?Time-barred? debts are debts so old they are beyond the point at which a creditor or debt collector may sue you to collect. State law varies as to when a creditor or debt collector may no longer sue to collect: in most states, the statute of limitations period on debts is between 3 and 10 years; in some states, the period is longer. Check with your State Attorney General?s Office to determine when a debt is considered time-barred in your state. You can find contact information for your State Attorney General at www.naag.org.

Federal law imposes limitations on how debt collectors can collect debts, including time-barred debts. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a ?debt collector? generally is any person or organization that regularly collects debts owed to others. The term includes lawyers who collect debts for others on a regular basis, but it does not include creditors collecting their own debts.

The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in any unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices while collecting debts. It does not erase any legitimate debt that you owe. To learn more about your rights under the FDCPA, click on www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm.
Collecting Time-Barred Debts

Most courts that have addressed the issue have ruled that the FDCPA does not prohibit debt collectors from trying to collect time-barred debts, as long as they do not sue or threaten to sue you for the debt. If a debt collector sues you to collect a time-barred debt, you can have the suit dismissed by letting the court or judge know the debt is, indeed, time-barred.

Whether a time-barred debt ? or any debt for that matter ? can appear on your credit report depends on how long the debt has been delinquent: debts that have been delinquent more than seven years cannot appear on your credit report, with certain exceptions. In addition, a debt collector may not try to collect a debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy, no matter when it was incurred. To learn more about credit reporting, click on www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fcra.htm.
Contact with Collectors

Can a debt collector continue to contact you about a time-barred debt you don?t think you owe? According to the law, if you send the debt collector a letter stating that you do not owe some or all of the money within 30 days after you receive written notice of a debt, the collector must stop trying to collect until you?ve been given written verification of the debt, like a copy of the bill for the amount you supposedly owe. The collector can renew collection activities once you?ve gotten proof of the debt.

You can stop debt collectors from contacting you about any debt, regardless of whether you owe it, by writing a letter telling them to stop contacting you. Once the collector gets your letter, it may not contact you again ? except to say there will be no further contact or to let you know that the collector or creditor intends to take some specific action. Sending a letter doesn?t absolve you of the debt if you actually owe it; the debt collector or creditor still could sue you for the debt.
Future Collection Efforts

The best way to protect yourself from future collection on any disputed or partially settled debt is to get a form or letter from the creditor or collector that releases you from further obligation. To make sure the release is valid, you may want to consult an attorney. If you believe that a debt collector violated the law, you have the right to sue in a state or federal court within a year from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered, plus an additional amount up to $1,000. You also may recover court costs and attorney?s fees. You also may want to report any problems you have with a debt collector to your State Attorney General and to the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a new video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
October 2004

I have no debt to collect.  Obviously this is not legit.  I need to report this.  Anyone got any info of where I can report this too.

I just got this call today.. have no clue who they are representing.

stop calling. you are calling me at work and I don't know who you are.

They also use the number 312-893-4824, that's what shows up on my caller id but it says to call back 312-423-7484.

This "service" or whatever has called many times aqsking for a name that is not in my home and I AM TIRED OF THIS GARBAGE.  How do i stop this???