I received a summons about a past due credit card, what do I do now?

Yes, you will want to hire an attorney in your area to respond to the summons and develop a strategy to resolve this issue.

I suggest you consult an attorney. If you do not appear in court a default judgment will be entered against you and your wages and/or bank accounts can be garnished. If you appear in court you can either admit the debt, with the same results as above or deny the debt and set the case for trial. I suggest you work out a payment plan or settlement with the creditor or the creditor's attorney.

If you've received a summons and complaint, you should contact a lawyer and have a consultation about your options. It's impossible to say what you should do, and how you should respond, without knowing all the facts. Certainly if you can afford to pay off the debt that's past due, that would bring the matter to a resolution. But hiring a lawyer and/or fighting the collection in court will ultimately cost you money, too, so you've got a bit of a cost/benefit analysis to do. Often debt cases can be negotiated and settled, but once a court case has been filed it's more difficult and less likely to be resolved cheaply or easily. Another option you may have is staying the case and eliminating the debt with a bankruptcy filing, but that also has certain costs that come along with it, financial and otherwise.