A coop on Third Street has been victimized by a Manhattan law firm, known by some as The Bank Freeze King. It seems that this horrendous law firm freezes bank accounts for a living. Read about them on Budd Hibbs, a website which helps America hold debt collectors to the law. Many have been victims of these crooks.
Did you ever hear of the Manhattan law firm, Mel Harris & Associates?
Neither
did our co-op, until we became victims. These shysters make money by
making life hell for other New Yorkers–that is, by having legal holds
placed on their bank accounts based on trumped up claims and then
extorting them for payment in order to leave them alone.What little
research I did turned up quite a few victims indeed, all bewildered and
grasping for recourse.Luckily, we have a lawyer in the building and
we got the hold lifted, at least. Others are not so lucky. I thought I’d pass it
along.
I received a court summons from Mel S. Harris and Associates a couple months back. I really dont understand how they got my account. They are based in manhattan, and I live 20 miles from Canadian border. At first when I called to set up payment arrangements I was told they were sending out paperwork for me to sign and send back with my first payment. The paperwork never came. I kept getting phone calls wanting to know where the payment was. I told them I would not send the payment until I got the paperwork to look over and sign. I still havent received the paperwork. I called my credit card company to find out who actually had my account and they said it was Mel Harris. I called them to do a settlement offer and they agreed. I went to the post office to get a money order as per their orders and sent it to the address they gave me, which was 5 Hanover Square 8th Floor Ny, NY. The payment was sent out on February 18th. I called today to verify they received the payment and they said they never got it. Now I’m wondering if they got it and are just holding out for another payment or what? I tried looking up the address I was told to send it to but had no luck. When I called them back, the address I found on the net was different from where they told me to send it. Any ideas on how to find this address?
I have been reading more and more about Mel Harris & Associates and their ways. Just last week they froze my bank accounts on a credit card I had in 1996 and have not used since.
I reside on Long Island and am disabled. I was never served any legal papers and when I called them to ask them to send me a copy, they hung up on me.
2 years ago Mel Harris did this to me and being naive, I believed them and agreed to set up a payment plan. I paid them twice and then stopped. I didn’t hear from them until last week.
I was told by one of my banks to go to court to try to get the restraints off. They are trying to collect on a debt that is over 12 years old.
I just had the bank freeze from Mel Harris for the total of $4482(-1359 from my bank acct today)=3239 i owed.( i do not record such acct/amount, i had called Harris several times,but never got an answer.also i never received any summons or court order at my address. Please help. I am so fraustrated now, any infor will help. what should I do to solve this problem. thank you very much for your time and help!
I have just this past Sat. been a victim of Mel S Harris and Assoc. The only notification I have recieved from them was a letter quite some time ago. Due to my husbands health situation, we have fallen on hard times. The bill that is in question is from about 2yrs ago. I have never recieved a summons from Mel S Harris or anyone from their firm. I had spoken to someone at the office after I had recieved the original letter and was told to pay what I could not to be upset. Nothing since then, till I recieved the letter in the mail from my bank stating that my acct had been frozen by them. Nothing about this was sent from Mel S Harris. Do I have any recourse? I have no money now to by food, gas to get to work, oil and my electric pymt bounced because of this and now my electric will be shut off. I want to go to the newspaper with my story, but saw your site and wanted to ask you my questions first. I have 3 children who all have asthma, firstly if I get my electric shut off because of them, and one of my children is without their medical equipment, ie: nebulizer and something happens, what do I do? and how do I feed my children now? I am at the end of my rope. I am at a loss as to how to resolve this. I have called them and called them and called them. I get one extension after the next telling me they are busy and will call back. No one is ever there or answers the phone. Please help.
They should still contact the “debtor” with adaquate information or offer a legitimate payment plan. Going straight to a legal resolution seems like an unfair yet pushy tactic. It should be clear on the original policy (ie: the credit card policy) that one takes out with their creditor that this can happen. I contacted the bank directly and they said they “do NOT garnish wages or levy because of a unpaid balance'”. If they did I would not do business with this company and I will continue to ask if this is something that can happen when I do business in the future. Buyer should beware of what could happen if they do business with such creditors. If said creditor loses money for having harsh business practices they would go out of business and then other companies could work with people when they have a harship. I shouldn’t be levied or legal’d when I have a hardship. I don’t know about everyone else but if I don’t have money to pay a bill, it’s due to something serious going on, this is the last things I need. Not more debt.
Mr. Fleischman’s suggestion is good. I’ve feel victim to this law firm as well. They have agreed to unfreeze my account, but I first had to pay a down pymnt and make a payment arrangement. I moved out of NY 6 years ago. I live in Florida now. How do I fight this in Florida?
A few things I have found helpful for dealing with collections in general:
1: collection accounts have a contract – if you contact the original creditor and find out when the contract expires, then offer to pay the original amount (plus interest) in full immediately after it expires, it can work: I saved my wife about 2 grand in fees that way.
2: they have to have a statement. If they can’t provide a statement of the account, they are not allowed to collect on it. I got rid of 2 fraudulent collections this way (a credit card and much later a phone line were opened using my personal information, but in each case the collection company couldn’t provide a statement, and sent me a letter saying the account was closed and that I could show the letters to credit agencies to get the accounts taken off my credit report).
Hope this helps some people out there!
Mr. Fleischman should be invited to be a regular contributor to OTBKB, much like your poet laureate or the shrink who regularly contributes. He explains a frightening phenomenon in understandable language and offers clear, level-headed advice.
Best of all, he isn’t sending you a bill for his time.
Mel S. Harris & Associates is a collection law firm in lower Manhattan. They institute lawsuits on behalf of creditors and debt buyers; when a lawsuit is filed and the consumer doesn’t file a timely answer with the court, the creditor can obtain a default judgment. The judgment allows them to freeze the consumer’s bank account and execute on their income (a “wage garnishee”) to collect the balance of the judgment, which accrues interest at the legal rate of 9%.
Many people don’t open their mail and may not realize they are being sued. New York law allows what is called “nail and mail” service, which means that if a process server can’t find you then they can tape a copy of the lawsuit to your door and mail you a copy by regular mail.
Many creditor lawyers practice what is called “sewer service,” which is what it sounds like – they toss out the lawsuit and claim they sent it to you.
If you find your bank account restrained and have never received any lawsuit papers, go to the court and file a motion to vacate the judgment – the court clerk will help you. Brooklyn residents can go to the Supreme Court building on Adams Street to get this done. This will force the creditor to prove they served you properly, and possibly give you the chance to defend the case.
Most collection lawsuits can be defended, forcing the creditor to prove their case. When a debt has been sold, the creditor often can’t prove the amount due or even the fact that you actually owe the money.
Yes, I’m a Brooklyn-based lawyer representing consumers in actions against abusive debt collectors. Many creditors and debt buyers are shady. It’s important to know your rights, and stand up for them.