being sued in civil court for a old credit card bill went into a debt collection comp what do i do?

This lawsuit is very common -- there are many companies that purchase delinquent accounts and then try to collect on them.  Often the debt buyer has little to no information regarding the underlying account and the validity of the debt.  The best thing to do with these claims is to respond to them, demand validation of the debt and, if necessary, attend the actual hearing.  When properly challenged, these debt buyers often back off because they know their claims are invalid or that they'll be unable to prove them at a hearing.  They rely on people not responding to the claims and allowing them to take default judgments. Its often not cost-effective for someone to retain an attorney to respond to these claims.  However there are companies that sell legal services memberships that entitle members to certain legal services, such as phone calls, document review and letter writing (such as a letter disputing your debt) as part of the membership benefits.   My law firm is the provider law firm in Pennsylvania for LegalShield, a provider of legal services memberships.  For as little as $20 a month, you can get telephone consultations, letters written on your behalf to document review, speeding tickets to will preparation and more.  We don't sell the memberships.  If you are interested in learning more, I suggest that you contact pbergerjr@legalshieldassociate.com.