If they have your current address, you will be formally SERVED with a summons and complaint. Anything people say on the phone before that is a bunch of hooey. However, note that if you can't be found and evade service, you can be served by publication, which means that the notice of your lawsuit will be published in your local newspaper for two weeks, and you will be deemed to have notice of it. If the action is filed, and you have a hearing, you and/or your attorney must show-up to avoid a default judgment.

I am not in the best position to say what is a violation of the credit collection laws. They can call every hour, but they cannot harass you in some ways. You should see an attorney immediately to make the calls stop and to explore your options. Bankruptcy immediately comes to my mind.

Until an unsecured creditor sues and obtains a judgment entered by a court, there is not much the creditor can do other than make collection calls. It sounds like they are threatening to sue you in county court. If that happens, you will be served with papers and you can go to the hearing and explain the dispute to the judge. As long as you show up and have some type of defense the court will not enter a judgment against you at that time.

You have leverage in that the credit card company would have to spend money to get that judgment, and eve the judgment doesn't necessarily ensure they will get paid. You can probably settle the dispute ahead of time if you want, or fight it out on the merits.

You could always file a bankruptcy, but that may be an extreme step and depends on your overall financial situation.

Good luck.

See my web site on what collection companies can do under collection violations. Want to know the law? Sign up for our free newsletter on varies areas of the law by sending an email to amjrpamail@aol.com and requesting the newsletter, or go to www.ConsumerLawyerHelp.com.