Rec'd Notice of Intent to Sue - How to Respond?

[amandak1026]

I received a letter in the mail from a law firm for an old medical bill of my daughter's.  It states:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE:

As you are aware, this law firm represtns the above client regarding your outstanding balance. This letter shall inform you that as a result of your failure to resolve this matter, we have made the decision to initiate litigation against you.

In the event you wish to avoid the time and expense of litigation, we invite you to contact our office at *******.  We sinecerly hope you take advantage of this opportunity to avoid the consquences of court preceedings.

This is the first correspondence I've received from this law firm. I can't PIF, and this is not on my credit report. I don't want a judgment filed against me or anything like that, and I'm willing to set up a payment plan, but what's my best course of action for responding to a letter like this? 

[Anonymous]

Well, first off - how old is it? What state are you in? Is the 'above client' in the letter a collection agency or the medical provider? Was your daughter of legal age at the time of service or did you accept responsibilty for the bill?

[gdale6]

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@amandak1026 wrote:

I received a letter in the mail from a law firm for an old medical bill of my daughter's.  It states:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE:

As you are aware, this law firm represtns the above client regarding your outstanding balance. This letter shall inform you that as a result of your failure to resolve this matter, we have made the decision to initiate litigation against you.

In the event you wish to avoid the time and expense of litigation, we invite you to contact our office at *******.  We sinecerly hope you take advantage of this opportunity to avoid the consquences of court preceedings.

This is the first correspondence I've received from this law firm. I can't PIF, and this is not on my credit report. I don't want a judgment filed against me or anything like that, and I'm willing to set up a payment plan, but what's my best course of action for responding to a letter like this? 

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The first thing is you need to know the SOL on this type of debt, they cannot obtain a successful judgment if its past the SOL and you assert it and if so there may even be violations of law here. You need to look up your states statutes on medical debt, if they have no specific category for medical then written contact SOL would apply.

[amandak1026]

The "above client" is the medical provider. My daughter was 4 at the time, and the SOL is 6 years (it's been 3.) 

[Anonymous]

Edit: DV them and set up payment plan with stip that it's not reported. 

[amandak1026]

Do I DV the law firm, or the medical provider? 

[cartwrna]

DV doesn't apply to an original creditor, so technically you can't DV the medical provider. Also in sure it will come back 100% verified. Health care providers keep VERY GOOD records. So a DV may just cause them to go ahead with court proceedings.

[amandak1026]

So is my best bet here just to call them and set up a payment plan? 

[cartwrna]

In my personal opinion I would call the medical provider and ask that they remove the reporting and in return you setup a payment plan. They may deny removal, but either way Id setup a payment plan. If you don't and they take you to court, they will receive a judgement and that will also be placed on your credit reports causing even more harm. A judgement is also a lot harder to get removed or reckon with.

[Anonymous]

Yes, call and make payment arrangements ASAP. You do not want a judgment on your reports. Since there is no current reporting or CA involved, that should not be an issue.