I don't mean to sound callous but if your friends have read this forum in its entirety and still wondering "what to do", then would they like someone to tell them to call Getty up and negotiate to pay? Do they expect Getty to simply say, "We changed our minds. Since you successfully ignored and dodged us for a year, we are going to be good guys and send you a reward letter saying that we are not pursuing you for money anymore."
If it is too quiet for them, that can easily be changed with one email and phone call to Getty. If they are unwilling to negotiate and pay, then don't expect worry-free closure until the 3 years statute of limitations is up. It is that simple. They just need to sit and wait quietly. Or lawyer up if that makes them feel better.
The honest truth is that ELI would do financially much better if we distorted the facts and said the likelihood of getting sued is very high. It is amazing to me how badly people seem to want to disregard favorable news as if we stand to benefit from it. If Getty were to suddenly fire up 20 lawsuits, our website traffic would increase and we would make more money.
I've told Oscar we probably SHOULD let people believe that lawsuits are likely. He and I would get a lot more clients that way. But we don't because we feel it is sleazy to do unnecessary fear-mongering. But we can't give absolute guarantees either. We only report what we see.
EVERYONE pays a price. It is all a matter of choice. You can pay with simply sitting silently and have lack of closure for 3 years. Or you can negotiate and pay up to get closure. Or you can lawyer up to feel better. Everyone needs to pick their poison.
But too many people have this "irrational" thought, "I just want them to go away peacefully without me paying a penny and guarantee they will not contact me again". Well, hell, I want traffic to clear out of the way each time I get in my car to drive also. Being irrational doesn't serve anyone. Life is about making choices.
ELI helps extortion letter victims with the various issues and give people lots of options to choose from including publicly saying "lay low and be quiet". But very few here are going to provide counseling services and ongoing assurances to quell people's fears. Some people can take the stress and uncertainty of waiting 3 years, others can't. It is best to be honest about it with yourself. If they are going to lose sleep and get an ulcer over it even after this forum explains everything so bluntly, then I say go pay up and be done with it and move on. It is that simple.
Our friends received one letter but did not answer it over a year ago. A few other letters came to the office where their mailbox is but it was addressed to a person or "department" they don't have and sent back unopened. They haven't heard anything in about a year and are unsure of what to do. Yes they read every post and suggestion on here and know the options. LOL.
Topic: Another Getty Letter Story (Read 5837 times)