How to Sue CenturyLink

Send a demand letter.

Most small claims courts require that you ask the person you’re suing (the “defendant”) to fix your problem voluntarily before you sue CenturyLink. This is to ensure you’ve done your part to fix it outside of the court system.

This letter can be simple, just a few sentences where you tell CenturyLink who you are (your name, address, phone number and account number), what the problem is, and what you want from them. The goal here is just to check the legal box before you officially sue CenturyLink.

When you’re done writing, you need to mail a hard copy of the letter, preferably as certified mail or some other service that allows you to confirm delivery, to:

Lumen Technologies
Attn: Litigation Department
931 14th Street
Suite 900
Denver, CO 80202

If you would like examples of demand letters or more information about how to write them, you can find an excellent guide here.

(These addresses is taken from the subscriber agreements for CenturyLink Internet and Phone.)

Fill out court documents.

In order to sue CenturyLink in small claims court, assuming they did not respond to the demand letter, you have to fill out the right court documents.

Each state has a set of forms that need to be filled out to sue CenturyLink in small claims courts, and sometimes counties will provide additional forms.

You can locate the correct forms for your location for free on your state court’s website.

Make sure you fill out enough forms too. Most courts require 3 or 4 for the next step, and if you don’t have enough, you won’t be able to sue CenturyLink today.

File the forms.

When you’re done filling out the court forms, it’s time to give those forms to the court. This is a legal process called “filing” and like the forms themselves, different courts have different rules.

Many courts will require you to physically come to the courthouse during specific hours and days to hand-deliver the forms to the court’s clerk in order to sue CenturyLink. If you are very lucky, you might live in an area where the courts allow you to file by mail, fax or (for a few courts) online.

Regardless, you will need to pay a small claims court filing fee before they allow your to sue CenturyLink in small claims. The amount for this fee will be published on your court’s website, and it can sometimes be waved if you are a low income plaintiff.

When you file your forms, the court clerk will provide you with a stamped copy of the forms and assign you a court date. Keep all of that safe for the next steps…

“Serve” CenturyLink.

With one of those stamped copies, you now have to “serve” CenturyLink which is just a legal way of officially notifying them that you have taken the steps to sue CenturyLink..

To do this, you need to deliver a copy of your filed papers to CenturyLink in accordance with the rules for where you live. Check out the court website for instructions on how to do this, or search for “[your state] small claims service of process”.

Every court is different, and some courts have many strange rules about how to serve a defendant, but if you don’t follow each of them, your claim will be dropped.So be careful!

Show up for court.

You’ve reached the final step! Remember when the court clerk gave you a court date after you filed your forms? That’s the date of your hearing.

Make sure you go to the right courthouse, with your copy of your filed forms, and any other evidence that backs up your case for why you decided to sue CenturyLink.

Sometimes they won’t show up to oppose you, other times CenturyLink will send representation. Either way, use the time to focus on your side of the story.