ComplaintsforHarris Originals of NY, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company has closed and was suppose to delete all late payments from my credit reports. They no longer accept payments and stated that all consumer debt would be written off. It is still on my credit and there is no way to get in contact with them. I have left voicemails on there customer service number which also states the same information stated above on the recording. I have also tried emailing them with no response.

  Business response

  07/16/2023

  Harris has closed. As part of a settlement agreement, Harris removed all remaining balances from customers accounts as well as requested with all 3 credit reporting agencies to remove all negative reporting. If there is a reporting still showing, the consumer must now submit a dispute with the appropriate agency to request it to be removed.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased jewelry from this company a few years ago. I became delinquent on the account due to my own fault. I attempted to reach out to the company a month ago to settle and resolve the account because I received an email from them that they would settle for 90% off and Im working on repairing my credit. When I called they told me that they werent accepting payments and their website states: ************* is currently not accepting payments.Your account will not be reported as late during this interruption of payments, nor will it incur any late fees.However when I checked my credit report I see that its still reporting as late even though I tried to call and settle the account. So at this point in my life I am at a position to settle the account and I cant. And theyre still reporting my credit as late which is still affecting me negatively. So am I just stuck in a viscous cycle of late payments now because they're not accepting payments?

  Business response

  02/10/2022

  ******************** has requested a "Correction to a credit report". We cannot make a correction to his credit report as his account has consistently been reported to the credit bureaus accurately. He purchased an engagement set on 8/14/2019. The total sale came to $3727.57 including sales tax. ******************** made only two payments on his account totaling $193.84, the last was on 9/13/2019. We attempted to contact ***  ******** numerous times in an attempt to get him to resume payments and we eventually made numerous settlement offers which he ignored. The company shut it's doors in April of 2021 and ceased selling jewelry. We are currently only performing warranty repair work and are unable to process payments. And even if we were able to accept a payment from ********************, this would not remove the late notices on his credit bureau reports, those will stay with him for approximately 7 years, that is why his account is still reporting as late. Likewise a discounted settlement of the account would be reported to the the bureaus as such. We have noted ************************ concern and if such time we are able to resume processing payments, we will immediately attempt to contact ********************. 

  Customer response

  02/11/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  I did not ask for a run down of WHY its late. I mentioned that my account was delinquent due to my own fault. I disputed this account because I attempted to settle said account to END FURTHER NEGATIVE REPORTING TO FUTURE REPORTS AS THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN DOING. I attempted to settle and pay my account to begin repairing my credit not to take away the past delinquency. But the fact that I cant get it paid and CLOSED I had no choice but to dispute the account because regardless of me trying to rectify the situation and pay the settlement Im STUCK WITH MORE FUTURE NEGATIVE PAYMENTS. This company is not standing by its own word to not report negative payments while not accepting payments. So for the next however long- I get to keep getting negative payment history building up with an account that WONT LET ME PAY AND CLOSE because THEY cant accept payments? 
  

  
  

  Business response

  02/11/2022

  We do understand your frustration, however there is nothing we can do to resolve your issue at this time. Even if we were able to accept a payment from you (which we are not - more about that later), a settlement would do nothing to repair your credit. Your account would be noted as settled in full. From ** ********: "Settled in full" is code for a debt that has been paid for less than the entire balance, says *************************, a certified personal finance counselor and the managing editor of **************. "In other words, it means you did not pay your debts in full."

  And the reason your account continues to report late is because it is past due, years past due. When we ceased processing payments on 1/1/2022, you were not a payer, nor had you made a payment in years. There was no "interruption of payments" to your account. Unless you were to make a payment for the entire balance, your account would still show as past due. From ***********: 'According to a ********** spokesperson, If late payment information is indeed accurate and properly reported by a lender, then it cannot be removed from a consumer's report by the credit-reporting agency." ************* has always reported your account accurately. 

  So as you can see, the only way to resolve this matter is by paying your current balance in full, however as previously noted, we are not currently accepting payments. Due to ongoing litigation, we have suspended processing payments. This was done at the behest of a law enforcement agency. As we responded previously, we tried to resolve this numerous (actually dozens) of times over the years, but you never resumed payments or accepted a settlement. We do feel for you, but this situation is of your own making. We hope to to provide a resolution for you in the coming months.

  Customer response

  02/14/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  Im not sure why you keep responding with you were several months late etc I already acknowledged that I was delinquent due to my own fault. To continue to poke at that makes absolutely no sense. My issue RIGHT NOW is that I was offered a settlement from this company. I accepted the settlement and attempted to pay it. A settlement that THIS COMPANY OFFERED. If you cant accept payments then you could report no info on my credit. Or simply dont report again until you are accepting payments. I understand what a settlement is. I know how it reports and I would rather have settled for lesser amount than to keep receiving late payment when I cant even make a payment. As a matter of fact, this account is still opened and not charged off. So I shouldnt have to pay the full balance until its a charge off. Otherwise I need my credit to reflect AT THE VERY LEAST in the comments that I am now late as of January because THIS COMPANY couldnt take a payment. Not because I didnt try. Again, I understand that I was years late I know that. I didnt deny it. But to continue to report negative information on my account when I cant do anything about it is crooked. Offering me a settlement for 90% off of my account balance ($4,100) and then coming on here telling me I either have to choose between a continuation of bad reporting because you cant accept payments and paying the whole amount? But you also cant accept payments? Crooked. Sounds almost illegal.
  

  Heres my problem. Im not trying to fix the past on my credit. I know it will be there for 7 years. Im trying to move forward and rebuild my credit. If I open a credit card and have excellent payments with them for 6 months I will still have 6 months of past due with this company when I cant even make a payment to you guys because YOU cant accept payments. So the good and the bad are going to cancel each other out. So how am I supposed to move forward with repairing my credit when I dont have $4k sitting around ti throw at a company that cant even keep their own word with a settlement offer that was sent to me? Or a company that wont keep their own word with not reporting negative information while theyre not accepting payments. Bottom line is you DO have the option to leave no information to report. You are CHOOSING to keep reporting negative information that I CANT CHANGE until you accept payments again. So why not report nothing for the time being?

  *******************************
  

  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  While on my honeymoon, I bought my wife a ring in 2015. I saw that they were a military friendly business and help military service member build healthy credit, so I felt confident in doing business with them. Flash forward 7 years I am trying to move on and repair my credit score and I have a collection for **** dollars that I am unable to settle the debt, because the company is unable to accept payment. I have years worth of missed payments reported to my credit report and I acknowledge my part but now I am unable to move forward. I have dreams of owning my own house, but will not be able to for the foreseeable future with this un-payable collection lingering and continuing to haunt my present and future. What am I supposed to do?

  Business response

  01/24/2022

  **************, per our conversation last week, we are not currently able to process payments. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope to have a resolution in the coming weeks.
  
  As you note, you have years worth of missed payments. You made your purchase on 4/17/2015 and your last payment was made on 7/14/2016. We reached out to you repeatedly, as recently as a this past April in an attempt to settle your account. However you were unwilling to resolve the issue.
  
  We will reach out to you if and when we are able to resume processing payments. However even if you do settle your account in full (the current balance is $1446.96), this will not remove the previously reported late payments from your credit report. We are not able to provide a correction to a credit report as we have not reported it incorrectly. Your credit report reflects your payment history.
  
  Unfortunately, negative information that is accurate cannot be removed and will generally remain of your credit reports for around seven years. www.equifax.com>report
  
  We do understand your predicament, however there is currently nothing we are able to do to resolve this situation.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩