Are you getting calls from 312-380-4033? Harris & Harris is on the other end of this line. They’re calling about a debt you supposedly owe – a medical bill, government debt, utility debt, or cell phone bill that was sent to this debt collection agency for payment.
Harris & Harris, Ltd. is a debt collection agency based in Chicago that has been collecting debts for consumers since 1968, and 312-380-4033 is one of their most popular phone numbers.
They’ve made over 52,000 phone calls from this phone number, according to RoboKiller, and 237 people have reported these calls. The caller ID usually says “H&H LTD OFFICE” or “Account Services Chicago Illinois,” and many people report answering the phone, only to be greeted by silence.
Before you do anything else, remember this. These phone calls are designed to evoke an emotional response, and everything Harris & Harris does is intended to produce that outcome. This article will explain what they’re doing, why it works, and how to fight back.
Who is Harris & Harris?
Here is some basic information about the company:
- Company Name: Harris & Harris, Ltd.
- Type: Third-party debt collection agency, accounts receivable management firm
- Founded: 1968, Chicago, IL
- Headquarters: 111 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 650, Chicago, IL 60604
- Employees: 500-700
- Backed by: Clarion Capital Partners (since Nov 2019, private equity)
- BBB Rating: A+ (accredited since 2018), 1.08/5 stars (101 reviews)
- Industries served: Healthcare, government, utilities, telecom, toll authorities, banking
- Known clients: Northwestern Medicine, Providence Health, Advocate Health Care, IU Health, Virginia Department of Taxation, DeKalb County Circuit Clerk
Their History of Infractions
Harris & Harris has had issues with regulators over their debt collection practices. In Feb 2024, the Attorney General of Washington state forced the company to agree to a $1 million settlement after it was discovered they had sent 300,000 collection notices to patients at Providence Health hospitals without the legally required disclosure about their eligibility for charity care and their rights to financial assistance.
They’ve also faced a number of federal lawsuits under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In one case, a federal judge ruled that certain language in a collection letter from Harris & Harris could reasonably be construed as an implicit threat that they would sue the consumer, which allowed the consumer’s case against them to go forward. These incidents are not anomalies. They’re a pattern.
Why is Harris & Harris calling me?
The Debt Collection Pipeline
Harris & Harris is calling you because a company you dealt with in the past decided to sell your debt to a third-party collection agency instead of trying to collect it themselves. In most cases, the original creditor has already charged off the debt, which means they’ve accepted the loss and moved on. Harris & Harris is collecting on a charged-off debt and earns a commission for every dollar they collect.
That distinction is important. The original creditor has already absorbed the loss, which means the “debt” Harris & Harris is pursuing may not be one the original creditor thought was worth pursuing. That doesn’t mean the debt is invalid, but it does mean the sense of urgency the debt collector is trying to instill in you is fabricated.
What kinds of debts are associated with these calls?
The majority of complaints about calls from 312-380-4033 involve medical debt. Northwestern Medicine, NorthShore University HealthSystem, IU Health, and University of Chicago Medical Center are all named as original creditors on collection calls from Harris & Harris. Government debt (taxes, court-ordered fines), utility bills, and telecom bills (including debt from Xfinity) are also common.
What are people saying about these calls?
Silent Calls & Robocalls
One of the most common complaints about 312-380-4033 is that people answer the phone and there’s no one on the other end. Here’s what one consumer said about a call from this number on Everycaller: “Just received a call where no one answered when I said hello. Caller id sys H&H LTD OFFICE.”
Another consumer said this on 800notes: “I owe no company money and should NOT be getting collection calls. This is ridiculous. I use to answer the phone calls, but no one is ever there and they hang up as soon as I did answer. This is HARASSMENT.”
These silent calls aren’t mistakes. They’re the result of robocalls that route to a live agent if one is available. If no agent is available, there’s only silence. The priority is on volume, not communication. That tells you a lot about the company’s strategy.
Wrong Number, Same Harassment
Some consumers who have reported this number say they don’t owe the debt. “Debt for someone else…explained this,” said Aaron Gibson on Everycaller. “They keep calling but not answering when I say hello… Really making me mad!”
Another caller on 800notes said they called Harris & Harris back and were told they had the wrong number, but the calls persisted anyway.
“I keep getting calls from this company for someone else,” said a consumer named Cindy L in a complaint on the Better Business Bureau website in Oct 2025. “I called and spoke with someone, they verified that I was the wrong person as original debtor has different address and birthdate. I asked them to please mail something to me as proof and they were rude on the phone and said they will not mail me anything.”
Getting collection calls for a debt that isn’t yours isn’t just frustrating. If the collection ends up on your credit report, it can do serious damage to your credit score.
Their Go-To Tactics
Threats and Pressure
Harris & Harris has a history of using language that implies they may sue you without explicitly saying so. In one federal case, a judge ruled that language in a collection letter from Harris & Harris that said, “our customer(s) may exercise their respective choices to enforce collection” could be reasonably read by the least sophisticated consumer as a threat that they would be sued. That kind of language is intentional. It’s meant to scare you without actually threatening anything.
Here’s the truth they don’t want you to know. Most collection debts – especially debts under a few thousand dollars – never result in a lawsuit. It costs money to file a lawsuit, and most collection agencies have decided it’s not worth the investment for smaller debts. The threat of a lawsuit is one of their most effective tools because consumers assume it’s inevitable. In most cases, it’s not.
Credit Damage
Another favorite tactic of debt collectors is threatening your credit score. Collectors know that consumers are highly motivated by the threat of credit damage, and they play on those fears. Yes, it’s true that having a collection account on your credit report is likely to hurt your credit score, but what they don’t tell you is that paying the collection agency won’t necessarily fix the damage.
Collections stay on your credit report for seven years from the date you first missed a payment. That’s the seven-year rule under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and no amount of urgency from a debt collector changes that fact. Don’t let anyone rush you into paying a debt by telling you it will restore your credit.
How to Protect Yourself
Demand Proof
You have the right to demand proof of the debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. That means you can ask Harris & Harris to verify that the debt is yours, that you owe the amount they claim you owe, and that they have the right to collect it. You’re entitled to this information:
- The original creditor’s name
- The amount you owe
- The date of your last payment
- Documentation that proves you owe the debt
If Harris & Harris can’t provide this documentation, they have no legal right to collect the debt or report it on your credit report. You’d be surprised how often debt collectors can’t verify the debts they’re collecting. The documentation standards in the debt collection industry are much lower than you think.
Don’t Bother with a Goodwill Letter
Some consumers try to get collection agencies to remove a debt from their credit report by writing a goodwill letter asking them to do so as an act of good faith. That almost never works with third-party debt collectors. Collection agencies like Harris & Harris typically don’t accept goodwill letters requesting the removal of a debt because the credit reporting is a major source of leverage for them. If they remove it voluntarily, they just gave up their leverage.
Instead, you can challenge the accuracy of the debt through the credit reporting agencies. If the information on the credit report is inaccurate, if the debt can’t be verified, or if the collector didn’t follow the proper procedure in pursuing the debt, you have grounds to dispute the item with the credit reporting agencies.
Get Your Credit Report Under Control
Your credit report is your leverage. Harris & Harris needs that debt on your report if they’re going to keep calling. Without it, they don’t have the same leverage over you. That means disputing any inaccurate information on your credit report is not just a defensive measure – it’s also a highly effective offense.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies are required to investigate any disputed item on your report and remove it if they can’t verify it within 30 days. You don’t have to negotiate with Harris & Harris to make that happen. You don’t even have to contact them. You just have to know your rights and use them.
What is FightCollections.com?
At FightCollections.com, we help consumers fight debt collectors by challenging the items on their credit reports that are wrong, can’t be verified, or were placed there illegally. We know the tactics companies like Harris & Harris use because we know how to fight them under the FCRA and FDCPA.
You don’t have to face debt collectors alone, and you don’t have to answer every phone call from 312-380-4033 hoping the calls will stop. The FCRA and FDCPA aren’t just shields to protect you. They’re also swords you can use to fight back.
Conclusion
Stop Reacting & Start Acting
Harris & Harris has been in the debt collection business for over 50 years, and they’ve been making phone calls from 312-380-4033 for over a decade. They don’t need to change their playbook because it works. Silent phone calls, veiled threats, credit damage threats, and persistence are all highly effective against consumers who don’t know their rights.
Now you know yours. Phone calls from 312-380-4033 are meant to make you feel helpless, but the law says otherwise. You have the right to verify a debt. You have the right to dispute information on your credit report. And you have the right to hold debt collectors accountable when they violate your rights.
Take the Next Step
If Harris & Harris has put a collection account on your credit report, don’t wait any longer for the problem to resolve itself. Head over to FightCollections.com today to find out how we can help you dispute collection accounts and reclaim your credit report. The longer you wait, the longer they dictate the terms. Change that.