As you can imagine, when your debt is sent to collections, your credit score will be damaged. If from there your creditor seeks a judgment for payment, your credit score will plummet even further.
If you have lost a law suit involving a debt or did not show up for court and lost the case by default, the judgment against you can be vacated. To do this you would file a Motion to Vacate.
Debt settlement firms expect you to have at least $10,000 in credit card debt. They expect you to pay them $1500-2000 or more of that $10,000 in fees before they settle your debt. They also expect you to stop paying your credit card and give those monthly payments to them for their fees and your eventual lump-sum settlement.