I was initially tipped off by an "Advertising Material" letter dated 2/24/2020 from a Lawyer advising I had been sued by Capital One, as of today I have not been served or gotten anything in the mail confirming that. I did however receive a letter from Gurstel Law Firm PC dated 1/8/2020 (that I overlooked in the mail until I did some digging today) that was phrased as a typical "We have been retained by Capital One to collect you have 30 days to respond or else we will assume the debt is valid, etc." letter, nothing about a lawsuit at this time.
When I log into my Capital One account overview, it shows the account as closed and references Gurstel as whom I should contact regarding the debt so, the stars align there. What I'm most concerned about is whether or not they have filed a lawsuit yet, or if I still have time to work with them to settle (Last payment on account was 14 months ago, Balance owed is $2,500). I am motivated to settle but need a little time because I would like to offer a lump sum and be done with it and want to avoid a judgement and everything that comes with it.
I stupidly called Gurstel just to inquire about the debt and of course confirmed my identity. They said a lawsuit was filed on 2/14/2020 and was "out for service" meaning they are attempting to have me served (I have a door camera at home and nobody has come to my house so I do not think there have been any attempts to have me served). He did still go over with me some settlement options (none of which I can afford right now) to stop the process. I told him I would see what I could do and ended the call. I checked my county's court dockets online and didn't find anything when I searched for myself so I'm wondering if they were just trying to scare me. I am motivated to settle but need time to gather some funds to make them an offer but I don't want to end up being served before I can make that happen... Should I just try to save up to make them an offer and pray I don't get served in the mean time?