Are You Being Called By Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A.?*

When you owe money, don’t be intimidated into payments you can’t afford by aggressive or abusive debt collectors. You have rights as a consumer, and if a collection agency ignores them, an experienced consumer lawyer can prevent you from being taken advantage of and help you seek justice.

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted in 1977 to curb many of the abusive and unethical practices that are prevalent in the collections industry. Some of the prohibited behaviors specified in this legislation are outlined below.

• Failing to identify themselves as debt collectors seeking to collect a debt
• Using obscene, profane, and threatening language
• Pretending to be attorneys or police officers
• Refusing to provide you with information about the debt upon request
• Calling you outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. in your time zone
• Ignoring a cease communications notice

Company Profile: Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A.

If you are being called by Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A., information about the company is below.

Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A., which now does business as Peroutka, Miller, Klima & Peters, is a debt collection law office located in Pasadena, Maryland. It was founded in 1983, has 20 to 49 employees, and is managed by owner Stephen G. Peroutka.

According to the company website, it practices in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, DC, and Virginia. Legal files maintained by the PACER website reveals that consumers who felt they were being harassed by Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A. hired their own attorneys to file a claim against the firm.

Alleged Violations against Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A.

According to PACER, on or about May 25, 2012, Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A. sent a Maryland consumer a Motion to Substitute Party in an action allegedly on behalf of Capital One Bank. The consumer sent the firm a Notice of Dispute and Demand for Validation via certified mail.

Over two weeks later, on or about June 12,2012, the consumer received another Motion to Substitute Party in an action, allegedly on behalf of Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. (Case No. 39546-2005). Stephen G. Peroutka.

He sent another Notice of Dispute and Demand for Validation via certified mail, but allegedly never received the requested information.

Feeling harassed by Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A., he hired a consumer lawyer and filed an FDCPA claim against the firm for the following alleged violations:

• Failure to validate the debt
• Failure to cease collection efforts upon receipt of the dispute.
• Threatening actions they could not legally take

The matter was later settled.

Hire a Consumer Lawyer

The phone numbers for Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A. are:

• 1-800-899-2424
• 1-888-768-2280

If these numbers appear on your caller ID, it means that a collection representative from Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A. is on the line. If they send court paperwork to you without first validating the debt, hire a consumer lawyer.

If you file a claim against Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A., you could receive up to $1,000 in statutory damages. These damages are a penalty against a debt collector that violated the FDCPA, so when your rights are disregarded, the agency in question can end up owing you money.

Additional Resources

• Can a Debt Collector Claim to be Police or IRS?
• Has a Debt Collector Been Calling You at Odd Hours?

Case taken from PACER (pacer.gov). File number is Case 8:13-cv-00611-AW from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Greenbelt Division.

*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 Peroutka & Peroutka, P.A.. or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.