Are You Being Called By Brennan & Clark, Ltd.*?

If you’ve encountered financial difficulties and fallen behind in paying your debts, collection agencies will eventually be contacting you to demand payment. Not all of them will be civil or respectful, either. But as consumer you have rights that ambitious and over-zealous debt collectors violate at their own professional risk.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, protects indebted consumers from harassment and bullying by third-party collection agencies. This means that debt collectors are prohibited from using methods like the following to make you pay.

• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. your time
• Using profane or obscene language
• Discussing your debt with anyone except you, your spouse, or your attorney
• Pretending to be attorneys or police officers
• Claiming that you can be arrested, have your assets seized, or have your wages garnished if they do not pay
• Disguising the fact that they are debt collectors trying to collect a debt

Company Profile: Brennan & Clark, Ltd.

If you are being called by Brennan & Clark, Ltd., information about the company is below.

Brennan & Clark, Ltd. is a debt collection agency located in Villa Park, Illinois. It was established in 1980, has 20 to 49 employees, and is managed by its President, Meg Scotty.

Civil litigation records digitized and retained by the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) website confirm that consumers who felt they were being harassed by Brennan & Clark, Ltd. dealt with the situation by disputing the debt and standing up for themselves in court.

Alleged Violations against Brennan & Clark, Ltd.

According to PACER, Brennan & Clark, Ltd. began trying to collect a Safeco debt from a New York consumer in late 2014. She strongly disputed the alleged debt and objected to the letters, which stated, in pertinent part:

If the check is returned as NSF, we will represent via ACH debit, and assess a $30.00 service fee.

The consumer erroneously believed that the company had the legal right to charge her $30.00 if her check were returned for insufficient funds. Feeling harassed by Brennan & Clark, Ltd., she hired a consumer attorney and filed a class action suit against the company for allegedly violating the FDCPA in the following ways:

• Attempting to collect an amount not permitted by law
• Using false, deceptive and misleading means to collect a debt

The matter was later dismissed.

Hire an Attorney

The phone numbers for this debt collection law firm are:

• 1-630-279-7600
• 1-800-858-7600

If either number appears on your caller ID when the phone rings, be aware that you are being called by Brennan & Clark, Ltd.. If they appear to be demanding amounts not supported by law or the original creditor agreement, hire a FDCPA attorney who can help you file a claim against Brennan & Clark, Ltd.

‘Service fees’ of this type are illegal under the FDCPA, and if you win your case, you could potentially be awarded $1,000 per FDCPA violation, which can add up to a fair amount of money. A consumer attorney can help ensure that when a collection agency goes too far, you have ways of demanding compensation.

*Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is Case 1:15-cv-06794-WFK-MDG from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be constructed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Brennan & Clark, Ltd., or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.