I am a regular poster on this site, but I decided to post this under a different user name for privacy.

My doorbell rang this evening and I answered it. Turns out, I got a Summons from the Oklahoma County court clerk. It said I am being sued by a local collection attorney for an unpaid credit card debt and have 20 days to mail an answer to the court clerk and the attorney's office. The debt is around $7000 and I am being sued for that, interest, costs, and attorney's fees.

I (stupidly) on a credit card accrued the debt over the course of our wedding and subsequent honeymoon 3 years ago. Now I have a new little boy and a stay-at-home wife, leaving me as the primary bread-winner making in the neighborhood of $2000/month. I have other various debts and student loans.

A couple of months ago, I decided to follow the advice of a book by Dave Ramsey and get out of debt. I have cut my expenses and sold stuff to pay down my financial obligations...then this happens. So frustrating!

I'm a law-abiding citizen and don't ever find myself in such trouble so this summons was quite distrubing to me. In my mind, these are my options:

File bankruptcy.
Pros: My credit score is sub-600 already, how much more can I hurt it?
Cons: The bulk of my debt is federal student loans that cannot be discharged.

Try and fight it myself.
Pros: Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the collector is required to provide me with debt validation if I request it in writing within 30 days of the receipt of their letter. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...edit/cre27.pdf I sent this certified return receipt and never received validation. I have the paperwork to prove it.
Cons: Representing yourself nearly always ends in distaster.

Hire an attorney.
Pros: They know what they are doing.
Cons: It will be cheaper to just pay the judgement.

Just accept the wage garnishment mentioned in the summons.
Pros: They can't get very much out of me.
Cons: Losing 25% of my income will devastate our finances and halt debt reduction.


Any advice will be more than welcome. Thanks.