Perdue Brandon: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection law firm

Also known as

Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, LLP; PBFCM

Collects

delinquent property taxes, toll road violations, court fines and fees, municipal utility balances

Website

pbfcm.com

31 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about PERDUE BRANDON FIELDER COLLINS & MOTT LLP 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 Perdue Brandon?

Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, LLP describes itself as one of the oldest and largest law firms in Texas focused on government collection matters. It says it works exclusively for governmental entities: school districts, cities, counties, hospital districts, appraisal districts, special districts and toll road authorities. Besides collections, it represents appraisal districts in property-tax litigation and represents school districts in appeals of the Texas Comptroller's property value study. Office notices on its website mention locations in Austin, Arlington and Edinburg, Texas.

We did not find a CFPB enforcement action against Perdue Brandon.

Why Perdue Brandon May Be Contacting You

The firm says its collection work covers delinquent property taxes, toll road violations, and fines and fees, including court fines, utilities and other government receivables. So a notice from Perdue Brandon typically concerns one of these:

• unpaid property taxes owed to a county, city, school district or other taxing unit, sometimes with a tax lawsuit;
• unpaid tolls and toll-violation charges;
• overdue court fines, traffic citations or parking tickets;
• a past-due bill from a city-run utility or another government service.

Perdue Brandon's payments page says that text messages from it about delinquent taxes, tolls or fines are legitimate, carry the firm's logo, and come from short code 69346. It also says not all tax offices take payments online, so people with tax questions should contact the Perdue Brandon office named on their notice.

How to Check a Debt Perdue Brandon Says You Owe

Government balances have their own rules, so start with the agency that created the charge.

• Identify the government client and the account. For taxes, get the property account number and tax years; for tolls, the plate, dates and toll authority; for fines, the court and citation number.
• Check the source records yourself. Most tax offices post account balances online, and courts can confirm whether a citation is still open. Make sure a homestead, over-65 or disability exemption was applied, and that you owned the property or vehicle on the dates charged.
• Dispute in writing. Where the FDCPA applies (see below), a written dispute within the validation period requires the firm to verify the debt before continuing (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). Even where it doesn't, a written dispute creates a record.
• Don't assume the four-year rule applies. The Texas four-year limitation period for consumer debts (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and the bar on debt buyers suing on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307), are for private debts. Property taxes and government fines are governed by other statutes, and other states have their own rules.

What Perdue Brandon Can and Can't Do

Lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts are "debt collectors" under the FDCPA (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). But the Act covers only "debts" arising from transactions primarily for personal, family or household purposes (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)). Property taxes and court fines generally don't arise from that kind of transaction, so the FDCPA may not apply to them. A city utility bill or a toll charge can be different. Keep these points in mind:

• For any account the FDCPA covers, the firm cannot make false or misleading statements (15 U.S.C. § 1692e) or call more than seven times in seven days (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
• Texas law also limits collection practices by anyone collecting a consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code ch. 392).
• Unpaid property taxes can lead to a tax suit and a lien on the property, which works very differently from a credit-card lawsuit. Get advice early if you receive tax-suit papers.

Not sure whether a government collection crossed a line? See our Texas FDCPA attorneys page.

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 Perdue Brandon 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

• Perdue Brandon: home page
• Perdue Brandon: About us
• Perdue Brandon: Collection services
• Perdue Brandon: Payments and text-message notice
• CFPB enforcement actions list (checked pages 1-17)
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: PERDUE BRANDON FIELDER COLLINS & MOTT LLP, debt collection

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