Mel S. Harris And Associates LLC LR Credit 17 LLC Judgment without summons, pressured to pay higher than could afford, told company of unemployment New York, New York

I was recently attempting to work with Mel S. Harris & Associates in order to pay a very old bill from another company. I tried to manage the payments, which they always pressured me to agree to a high monthly payment; I did not know my rights when I first started interacting with them.

Since then, I have learned that I should have requested the original contract in order to verify they were giving me the correct information. After the recession in 2009, I became unemployed. I informed them of this when I spoke to them, and I told them I would do the best I could.

After I lost my job, my husband's hours were reduced. I called to tell them this and never heard back from them. I might have missed their call, but they should have left a message.

After that, I received a judgment letter from the county sheriff in Suffolk. I never received a summons, so the judgment was a surprise. Furthermore, I have been ordered to pay 10% of my wages from a company I no longer work for. It states if I do not make payments in 20 days, they will serve execution papers to an employer that I have not worked for in nearly eight months.

I believe my constitutional rights have been violated, and I am currently looking into legal action. I tried to work with them, but they decided to violate my rights instead. In point of fact, I attempted to find the court information regarding this case and found nothing. If other consumers can read this, know your rights. Before making any payments, request documents to validate that the account is even yours and that you owe the amount collectors say you owe.

After the way this company has handled this issue, I am in serious doubt the debt is even mine. My name is very common, and the likelihood of their mixing me up with someone else is very high. Because of my legal naivete, I was probably paying someone else's bill. I know better now.