How to Remove Harris & Harris from Your Credit Report

Harris & Harris, Ltd. is based at 111 W. Jackson Boulevard in Chicago. It describes itself as an accounts receivable and revenue recovery company serving healthcare providers, government and public-sector agencies, toll authorities, utilities, and telecommunications companies. Public contracts show it has collected for Cook County and the Illinois Tollway, and its site says it handles tax collections, court fines and fees, parking collections, and toll violations. In May 2026 it acquired Frost-Arnett Company, another healthcare collector, so some Frost-Arnett accounts may now come from Harris & Harris.

Harris & Harris works mostly on contingency. That means the original creditor usually still owns the debt and Harris & Harris is paid a share of what it collects. If you dispute or resolve the account, it may be returned to that creditor, and the creditor's own records are what decide whether the balance is right.

• Chicago-based, collecting since 1968
• Clients include hospitals, counties, toll authorities, utilities, and telecom companies
• Acquired Frost-Arnett Company in 2026
• Usually collects on behalf of the creditor rather than owning the debt

Start with your credit report and any letter from Harris & Harris. The report should list an original creditor, and the validation notice must name the creditor and itemize the balance. Write down the account type, the amount, and the date of first delinquency.

Then contact the original creditor directly, using a phone number you look up yourself. For hospital bills, ask for an itemized statement and check it against your insurer's Explanation of Benefits. For tolls, parking, or city fines, check the balance with the agency that issued them. Many have online lookup tools, and some allow you to contest the underlying ticket or toll. Paying the issuing agency directly can be simpler, but confirm it will recall the account from Harris & Harris and update any credit reporting.

• Identify the original creditor from your report or the notice
• Hospital bill: get an itemized statement and your EOB
• Toll, parking, or fine: look it up with the issuing agency
• Ask the creditor whether it will recall the account if you resolve it directly

If the account is a medical bill, the three bureaus' medical-debt policies apply. Paid medical collections are deleted. Unpaid medical collections are not added until a year after they go delinquent. And medical collections with an original balance under $500 are not reported at all.

If your Harris & Harris medical account is paid, under $500, or less than a year old, it should not be on your report and you can dispute it with each bureau that shows it. Also ask the hospital about financial assistance. Nonprofit hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy, and approval can reduce the balance even after it goes to collections.

• Paid medical collections: should be deleted
• Under $500 original balance: should not be reported
• Less than a year past due: should not be reported yet
• Ask about financial assistance or an uninsured discount

The FDCPA covers consumer debts, which it defines as obligations arising from a transaction primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Courts have generally held that parking tickets and court fines are not 'debts' under that definition, because they do not arise from a consumer transaction. Toll violations have been treated differently in different cases. So if your Harris & Harris account is a fine, the FDCPA's validation rules may not apply to it.

Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act apply either way. If a fine, toll, or utility account is on your credit report with a wrong balance, wrong dates, or as an account that is not yours, you can dispute it with the bureaus and they must investigate. Illinois and other states also have their own collection laws, and the issuing agency usually has its own process for contesting the original ticket or charge.

• Fines and parking tickets may fall outside the FDCPA
• FCRA dispute rights apply to anything on your credit report
• Contest the underlying ticket or toll with the agency if it is wrong

For consumer debts such as hospital, utility, and phone bills, Harris & Harris must send a validation notice within five days of first contacting you. If you dispute the debt in writing within the 30-day window on that notice, it must stop collecting until it mails you verification.

Send your dispute by certified mail. Ask for the original creditor's name, the account statement or itemized bill, the date of first delinquency, and how the balance was calculated. A validation request pauses collection but does not by itself require deletion of a credit entry. If Harris & Harris keeps reporting the account after you dispute it, it must show it as disputed.

• Dispute in writing within the 30-day window
• Ask for an itemized balance and the original creditor's records
• Keep copies and certified-mail receipts

You can dispute a Harris & Harris entry with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at any time. Each bureau has 30 days to investigate (45 if you send more information during that time), must forward your dispute to Harris & Harris, and must delete or correct anything that is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified.

Name the specific error and attach evidence. Common problems include a wrong balance, a paid account still showing as unpaid, a medical account under $500, a wrong date of first delinquency, and the same debt reported by both Harris & Harris and the original creditor with a balance on each. Dispute with each bureau separately, since their files differ. You can also dispute directly with Harris & Harris as the furnisher.

• Dispute with every bureau that shows the account
• State the exact error and attach proof
• Watch for the same balance reported twice
• Inaccurate or unverifiable entries must be deleted or corrected

An accurate, verified collection can stay on your report for seven years plus 180 days from the date the account first went delinquent. Transferring it to a new collector does not restart that clock.

If the debt is real, you can pay the original creditor or Harris & Harris, set up a payment plan, or negotiate a settlement. For medical accounts, paid collections are deleted under bureau policy. For other accounts, you can ask in writing for the account to be deleted as part of a settlement. That is lawful to request, but no collector is required to agree. Get any agreement in writing before paying, and pay in a way that leaves a record.

• Accurate entries can report for about 7.5 years from first delinquency
• Paid medical collections are deleted
• Get any settlement terms in writing before paying

Yes. Harris & Harris is a long-established collection agency with public contracts. A letter or call from it is not a scam on its face, but confirm the debt with the original creditor before paying anyone, using contact details you find yourself.

If you have problems such as calls after you have asked in writing for contact to stop, threats, or reporting you have shown to be wrong, you can file a free complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov or with your state attorney general.

850ai reads your credit report, flags collection entries with likely errors, such as duplicate balances or medical accounts that should not be reported, and drafts validation and dispute letters for you to review. On the Send plan ($59.99/month) it prints the letters you approve and mails them USPS First Class. It cannot guarantee any entry will be removed, and you decide what is sent.