Butler & Associates: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection law firm

Also known as

Butler & Associates, P.A.; Butler and Associates, PA

Headquarters

Topeka, KS

Collects

medical bills, retail accounts, commercial accounts, insurance subrogation claims

Phone numbers it lists

(785) 267-6444, (888) 702-6444

Website

butlerlaw.com

26 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Butler and Associates, PA from November 13, 2023 to November 12, 2026. A complaint is a consumer's account, not a finding that the company broke the law. Read the complaints in the CFPB database.

Who Is Butler & Associates?

Butler & Associates, P.A. is a law firm at 5835 SW 29th Street, Suite 101, Topeka, Kansas 66614. Its website describes it as "a full service collections and insurance subrogation law firm" serving Kansas and Missouri. The firm says it was established in 1998 by Todd Butler and Gary Fanning. It lists four attorneys and practices "throughout the state of Kansas and the greater Kansas City Missouri Metropolitan Area." The site also lists about two dozen Kansas county courthouses where it works, including Sedgwick, Johnson, Shawnee and Reno.

Its phone numbers are (785) 267-6444 and (888) 702-6444 toll-free. The site has online payment and an online "Dispute Debt" form. We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Butler & Associates.

Why Butler & Associates May Be Contacting You

The firm says it handles "a wide range of collection cases, from commercial collection cases involving contract disputes for goods and services to retail accounts involving unpaid medical bills." Most complaints naming it in the CFPB database come from Kansas and are filed as medical debt. A letter or lawsuit from Butler & Associates is most likely about a Kansas hospital, clinic or other provider's bill.

The firm is open about its approach. Its collections page says that while it can send letters and make calls, "we believe in the legal process" and "seek justice in the form of a court judgment." It tells clients that a judgment "can last forever" and allows it to request garnishments and orders to appear for examination. If this firm has your account, a lawsuit may come quickly, so watch for court papers.

How to Check a Debt Butler & Associates Says You Owe

When a firm's business model is to file suit, the steps you take early matter most:

• Read the validation notice and note the dispute deadline. It must name the provider or creditor and itemize the balance (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
• Dispute in writing within that period if the bill was covered by insurance, already paid, or not yours. The firm must pause collection until it verifies the debt. Keep a copy of anything you submit through its online dispute form.
• Get an itemized bill and your explanation of benefits from your insurer, and ask the provider about financial assistance.
• Never ignore a summons. A default judgment can let a creditor pursue collection remedies for years. See how long a judgment lasts in Texas for how this works here.
• Check the limitations period. Texas generally allows four years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and debt buyers can't sue on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307). Kansas and Missouri set their own deadlines.

What Butler & Associates Can and Can't Do

A law firm that regularly collects consumer debts is a "debt collector" under the FDCPA, including in its lawsuits (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). See law firms as debt collectors. In practice:

• It must file suit where you live or signed the contract (15 U.S.C. § 1692i).
• It can't seek fees, interest or costs that the provider's agreement or the law doesn't allow (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1)).
• It can't misstate what a judgment would let it do. Remedies vary by state; in Texas, for example, wages can't be garnished for ordinary consumer debts (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28).
• It must stop contacting you directly once it knows a lawyer represents you (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2)).

We Sue Debt Collectors That Break the FDCPA

Texas Debt Law files Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits against debt collectors in federal court for consumers in Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado. If Butler & Associates or anyone collecting for it harassed you, misstated what you owe, threatened action it could not take, or told others about your debt, you may have a claim. A court can order a collector that violated the FDCPA to pay your actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages, and your attorney's fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). An FDCPA claim generally must be filed within one year of the violation (§ 1692k(d)), so keep your letters, call logs, voicemails and screenshots, and talk to us early. Texas residents may also have claims under the Texas Debt Collection Act. Learn more from our FDCPA attorneys.

Free FDCPA Case Review(214) 851-2250

Or start your free case evaluation online. No lawyer can promise a result; every claim depends on its facts and proof.

Sources

• Butler & Associates: Home
• Butler & Associates: Our collection practice
• Butler & Associates: Debtors
• Butler & Associates: Dispute debt
• CFPB consumer complaint database: Butler and Associates, PA
• CFPB enforcement actions (searched by name)
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Butler and Associates, PA, debt collection

This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Butler & Associates has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.