I file an answer to a lawsuit from a credit card company on my answer I said that i needed to see the original contract and now the attorney is sent me a letter and ask me to settle. do that means that they don't have a copy of the contract?
Offering to settle is, as you surmise, a sign of weakness in a collection lawsuit. You should serve the defendant with a demand for production of documents, a set of interrogatories, and a a set of requests for admission.