You’re kidding? And you never got served as well? Just something in the mail months after a judgment had been entered against you? Welcome to the world of debt collection in New York. Far be it from me to say whether or not service was correct, but I literally have hundreds of clients that have called me with the same problem. Out of nowhere, their bank accounts have been frozen by Mel S. Harris & Associates, Pressler and Pressler, Rubin & Rothman, or Kirschenbaum and Phillips.
So what happens next? You call them, they say they have your money and you owe the debt and to pay up because they are just going to collect it anyway? Not a chance. Get a lawyer. Do it yourself. Whatever is preferable to you, you need to understand that as cliche as it sounds for a lawyer to say this…YOU HAVE RIGHTS. They can’t just freeze your account without serving you properly in New York City. And guess what? Many of these firms don’t have the documentation at times to back up collecting the actual debt itself. It’s not as if Citibank can call Pressler and Pressler and say “Hey Jeanine Lopez (fictitious name) owes us $2,000. Go collect” It doesnt work that way. Debt collection is heavily regulated, even though in my opinion, most debt collectors do not follow the rules. Having said that, you need to realize that before you listen to the things they tell you, or the rights they claim to have, you have ways of fighting back. You can request something called validation of a debt, which they are required to provide you. You can file an Order to Show Cause with the Court. You can negotiate the sum due. Just make sure you take a step back, speak to someone, and then decide before losing your hard earned money.
