Chosen by Asker

Ben, Well it looks like things took a turn for the worse. TL Thompson is a collection agency, I believe out of Texas, which tells me that this must be an older claim or St. Farm couldn't get a response from you early on and decided to up the stakes on you. -----DISCLAIMER----- I do not handle subrogation claims in CA. With that said my advice will be general in nature as I honestly don't know if it will apply in CA. A. If the lady tells you that she doesn't have to provide you with the documentation because you were uninsured I would double check that with the CA Insurance Commissioners office. I find it hard to believe that they don't have to document their claim. If that is true, then that is just plain stupid and would be another reason why my company doesn't do business in CA. Insured or uninsured, who in their right mind is going to pay any debt without documentation? Here is the commish's website. www ... B. TL Thompson may not HAVE to offer you a monthly payment plan in CA, but the alternative for them is to sue you and spend more money which is just bad business in my mind. Sure they can probably add their attorney fees and court costs to the original debt but that still doesn't get them any money from you. Getting a judgment against you may get your drivers license revoked and hurt your credit rating. However, the judgment is not a guarantee of payment as you can conceivably live without a license. At our company we normally require a down payment of $325 for a payment plan and I thought that was too high, but $1500 on a 2000 claim is nuts. That just tells me they don't want to take the money over time. They intend to force you into finding the cash to pay the claim or will sue you. Obviously, I'm OK with forcing you to get the cash. I do that to people all day long. Look at the things you own that you could sell. I have handled claims where people have sold snowmobiles, motorcycles, guns, furniture & other stuff to pay off a claim. C. Since I'm the subrogator who suggested the $1350, this is what I suggest. Make sure you have the money first, making an offer and not having the money will only make things worse. IF you have the money send a written offer to TL Thompson. I would suggest sending it via fax, email and certified mail. I would also send a copy of the written offer to the person at St. Farm. However, be advised that doing so will just make the lady at TL Thompson mad. Keeps copies of the fax receipt, email & certified mail paperwork. This will come in handy in court if they decide to sue you. If they agree to $1350 or any other figure pay them with a cashiers check. D. Please, if you haven't already done so go buy some insurance. Again, Good Luck

Source(s)

Owner of a subrogation vendor company representing insurance companies.

by fightingsaints

2 years ago

Asker's Rating: 

1) Don't know 2) Don't know 3) Don't know and don't care Next time get insurance.

by kw46misty- 2 years ago

your attorney should have access to that information

by Amanda H- 2 years ago

You didn't say which state you live in so here's another one of those "it depends on which state you live in" replies. I will say from experience State Farm will come after you for their money. Lawyers can be expensive!

by William C- 2 years ago

I think State Farm knows the law & what is & isn't legal more than an average reader on Yahoo Answers, so that answers that question. Also, they either send a claims adjuster out, or the victim takes their car to an authorized collision shop, who reports the damages to State Farm. I'm pretty sure State Farm does not need to send you a copy of the check. Why did someone tell you to offer $1350? How much was the total damages. Regardless, you owe the full damages, they won't negotiate. If you can get in touch with the victim, you can try to negotiate with them directly & they could pull the claim, but I don't think they'd do that, I wouldn't. What if you never paid. Then they'd be SOL.

by The Dude- 2 years ago

Before they have sued you, it is only a demand for money. You can tell them to take a hike. If you are a deadbeat they will have a hard time collecting but if you have real assets or a good job then they will most likely collect in case of a judgement. But to make a long story short, of course they will have to disclose the cost of paying the claim at some point if they decide to sue you! The judge is not going to blindly just give them money even if you don't have insurance. So tell them to show it now or they can take a hike. Your real total situation really depends on your venue. This is because you may be subject to additional crimminal or DMV sanctions for driving around without insurance in different states and the creditor if they get a judgement against you may have different options to collect depending upon the state laws. It's possible the DMV might not ever hear about this but that depends on who reports what to the DMV. In a lot of states you lose your license if you cause an accident and don't have insurance. Just how fast was that parked car going anyhow?-:)

by chingchonger- 2 years ago

1. It's true, she doesn't have to produce proof of damages until you're in front of a judge. You don't have to PAY until a judge says you have to. You can make them sue you, if you haven't already accepted liability, but it will increase your costs, as you'll have to pay THEIR court costs. YOU can hire someone to get your OWN estimate of damages, and take your OWN pictures. You don't get THEIR work, for free. 2. Yes, it's true they do NOT have to accept a payment plan of any type. They are not a bank, they don't have to do unsecured loans - which is what a payment plan is. 3. If you want to offer $1350, you say to them, "will you take $1350?" and they will either say no, accept it, or counteroffer.

by mbrcatz17- 2 years ago