Start My Answer

How to Settle Debt With ProVest LLC

George Simons | January 28, 2025

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Has Provest LLC served you court papers for a debt collection lawsuit? Here’s how to respond to the lawsuit and resolve the debt.

If you have been served with a debt lawsuit, focusing on debt validation or filing a complaint may not be a good idea. You must respond to the lawsuit within your state’s deadline. Check the court papers for file-by dates and where to file. You will have between two weeks and a month, after which the court may rule on the case without your input.

ProVest serves lawsuits and other court documents on behalf of all entities. Your debt collector may hire ProVest LLC to ensure you receive the Summons and Complaint documents. Although not a debt collector, they offer skip-tracing services to track down consumers with past-due debt and verify their identity before serving the Summons.

This article explores how ProVest operates and provides insight into settling a debt collection lawsuit.

Protect your wages from default judgment.

Settle debt with ProVest LLC

You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.

Settle with SoloSettle

Who is ProVest LLC?

ProVest LLC is a process server. It provides legal support services, including serving court papers on behalf of financial institutions, Insurance companies, and law firms. If a PreVest process server brings you lawsuit notification papers, check the Summons to determine the plaintiff. You should also find the correct court to file the Answer.

ProVest oversees over 2,000 professional servers countrywide, but its headquarters are in Tampa, Florida. Below is the company’s central address information:

7702 Woodland Center Blvd.

Suite 100

Tampa, Florida 33614 - 2425

ProVest has offices in over 10 more locations in the country, including San Diego, California; Central Islip, New York; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Check its website or LinkedIn profile for an office closest to you.

Read ProVest LLC reviews online to learn more.

Process servers are crucial to the litigation process. Often, your contact with them is the first signal that you have a case to answer in court. Although you may be stunned, venting your frustrations on the server does not solve the matter. Reading reviews of consumers who acted fast can help you know how to resolve the lawsuit.

Read ProVest LLC reviews online on the following platforms:

If ProVest sends you the wrong court papers, contact customer care to correct the matter immediately. However, if you are the defendant in the lawsuit, you should drop everything and start preparing your Answer document. Let’s discuss how to do that next.

Prepare an Answer to the Summons and Complaint.

When you are served with a debt collection lawsuit, you will receive a Summons and Complaint. In these papers, you want to look for the following:

  • The deadline to file an Answer
  • Certification that you were served
  • Instructions for answering the Complaint: this might be a form to fill out
  • Evidence the collection agency is providing, such as affidavits or documents from the original creditor
  • List of allegations

In a debt collection lawsuit, the most important thing you can do is send an Answer to the Complaint. This means you must know the due date and keep track of time.

After you find the paperwork containing the complaints, you must reply with an Answer and state whether or not you agree with being sued for debt. Agreeing to every complaint means you plead guilty, and the debt collector wins. If any of the plaintiff’s claims are false, deny responsibility. You may also deny liability for lack of knowledge when you do not understand the allegation. Next, you should assert your affirmative defenses.

For more tips on how to answer a Summons, watch the video below.

How to use affirmative defenses

Affirmative defenses are legal reasons you believe the complaint should be thrown out of court. List your affirmative defenses at the bottom of your Answer after you respond to the allegations. Some of these affirmative defenses include:

  • Failed to state the basis of the lawsuit: With this affirmative defense, you are saying that the debt collector did not cite a law that was violated, meaning there is no legal reason to sue you.
  • Debt is time-barred: This means that the statute of limitations has passed. The statute of limitations governs how long you can legally be sued for debt. This may range from two to 20 years but averages four to six years.
  • Plaintiff lacks legal standing: If the plaintiff has failed to provide legal evidence that they own and can legally collect your debt, they lack legal standing. An example is when the debt collector cannot prove they purchased or were assigned the debt.

File your Answer with the court and the plaintiff’s attorney

After you have created your Answer, it needs to be filed with the right people. You must send a copy of your Answer to the courts and the lawyer listed in the complaint. Sometimes, you might be sued by a lawyer who is collecting on behalf of a debt collector, or you may be sued by a lawyer who has purchased your debt. Be sure to send this within the time frame of your Answer and by registered mail to ensure you know when it arrives. You can also take them directly to the court and file them with the court clerk.

When you have successfully filed your court papers and the plaintiff’s attorney, you can approach the debt collector to request an out-of-court settlement.

How to settle a debt collection letter out of court

Settling a debt for less may be easier than you imagine. You need to raise enough money to make an offer and then be willing to negotiate with the debt collector or original creditor. Although the specifics for each case may differ, the process follows these steps:

  1. Determine your financial capacity: You arrive at this amount by subtracting your expenses from your income and savings. You should keep enough funds to provide your basics.
  2. Make an offer: Write a letter to the debt collector requesting that they accept less than you owe because you will never be able to pay the full amount. Your offer should be less than the value you determined in step 1 to allow room for negotiations.
  3. Document that settlement. After reaching an agreement, make sure you get a settlement agreement in writing and signed by both parties.
  4. Pay the settlement: Pay the money before the deadline passes to avoid breaching the contract.

SoloSettle guides you through every step. It also tracks communication between you and the debt collector, helps manage the debt settlement documentation, and finalizes the payment.

Watch the following video for more information on debt settlement.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

The Ultimate 50 State Guide

Guides on how to resolve debt with every debt collector

Are you being sued by a debt collector? We’re making guides on how to resolve debt with each one.

Resolve your debt with your creditor

Some creditors, banks, and lenders have an internal collections department. If they come after you for a debt, Solosuit can still help you respond and resolve the debt. Here’s a list of guides on how to resolve debt with different creditors.

Settle your medical debt

Having a health challenge is stressful, but dealing medical debt on top of it is overwhelming. Here are some resources on how to manage medical debt.

Guides on arbitration

If the thought of going to court stresses you out, you’re not alone. Many Americans who are sued for credit card debt utilize a Motion to Compel Arbitration to push their case out of court and into arbitration.

Below are some resources on how to use an arbitration clause to your advantage and win a debt lawsuit.

Stop calls from debt collectors

Do you keep getting calls from an unknown number, only to realize that it’s a debt collector on the other line? If you’ve been called by any of the following numbers, chances are you have collectors coming after you, and we’ll tell you how to stop them.

Federal debt collection laws can protect you

Knowing your rights makes it easier to stand up for your rights. Below, we’ve compiled all our articles on federal debt collection laws that protect you from unfair practices.

Get debt relief in your state

We’ve created a specialized guide on how to find debt relief in all 50 states, complete with steps to take to find relief, state-specific resources, and more.

Debt collection laws in all 50 states

Debt collection laws vary by state, so we have compiled a guide to each state’s debt collection laws to make it easier for you to stand up for your rights—no matter where you live.

Statute of limitations on debt state guides

Like all debt collection laws, the statute of limitations on debt varies by state. So, we wrote a guide on each state’s statutes. Check it out below.

Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection by State (Best Guide)

Check the status of your court case

Don’t have time to go to your local courthouse to check the status of your case? We’ve created a guide on how to check the status of your case in every state, complete with online search tools and court directories.

How to stop wage garnishment in your state

Forgot to respond to your debt lawsuit? The judge may have ordered a default judgment against you, and with a default judgment, debt collectors can garnish your wages. Here are our guides on how to stop wage garnishment in all 50 states.

Other wage garnishment resources

How to settle a debt in your state

Debt settlement is one of the most effective ways to resolve a debt and save money. We’ve created a guide on how to settle your debt in all 50 states. Find out how to settle in your state with a simple click and explore other debt settlement resources below.

How to settle with every debt collector

Not sure how to negotiate a debt settlement with a debt collector? We are creating guides to help you know how to start the settlement conversation and increase your chances of coming to an agreement with every debt collector.

Other debt settlement resources

Personal loan and debt relief reviews

We give a factual review of the following debt consolidation, debt settlement, and loan organizations and companies to help you make an informed decision before you take on a debt.

How to repair and improve your credit score

Debt has a big impact on your credit. Below is a list of guides on how to repair and improve your credit, even while managing major debt.

How to resolve student loan debt

Struggling with student debt? SoloSuit’s got you covered. Below are resources on handling student loan debt.

Civil law legal definitions

You can represent yourself in court. Save yourself the time and cost of finding an attorney, and use the following resources to understand legal definitions better and how they may apply to your case.

Get answers to these FAQs on debt collection

How-to debt guides

Learn more with these additional debt resources

Contents