pre litigation

I lost my job in March this year, I haven't made payments of 3 of my credit cards which had minimum payments that I couldn't handle, but I have made payments to to credit entities for a combined 100/month whuch I can afford. A person called me from BOA to make a settlement offer which I cannot meet, she says this is the pre litigation phase and she was aggressive, but polite, what does pre litigation mean in this case? I have been making payments to a debt settlement company, but these people will not talk with them.