Civil Summons Issued Against Me For Debt. I’m Unemployed.

Location: New Mexico. Really confused since this is my first lawsuit filed against me. I had a credit card with Best Buy that stopped receiving my auto pay last year. They did not contact me a single time regarding this by phone, email and to my knowledge my mail. It just randomly appeared in my mailbox. I learned very recently I have a bad habit of not keeping track of my autopay which I’m changing immediately.

I contacted the courthouse to ask what this was, they referred me to the law firm citi bank hired. I spoke with them about the situation, they said they can’t talk to me about anything legally and that my only options are to pay it in full or start a payment plan.

This issue is I’m unemployed looking for a job like hell. I have no income so they told me I couldn’t start a payment plan and for sure can’t pay the full amount since my saving are drying up fast (this couldn’t have happened at a worse time) they advised I seek legal help and check back with them in 30 days and that all they could do was notate my account.

The confusion is within those 30 days what do I do about the summons? It seems like I have to respond but then what? I’m guessing a court date gets filed but if I don’t have the money now I won’t have it in 20 days. I’m hoping to get a job quick to get the payment plan set up. But within that time I have no idea what to do legally with this written response I have to submit. I asked if they could delay this lawsuit till I get a job and they told me they couldn’t since Citibank is their client. I asked if I should contact citi bank and they said they’d just refer them back to me.

I think it’ll take me at least a month to lockdown a job and I’m just full on stressing out about this summon.

Please any help is appreciated I have no money for a lawyer and I doubt I’d win since the debt seems to be mine.

PS: I don’t even know when the deadline is to respond. The court couldn’t tell me. Just “the day I received the summons” but I don’t know when that was since it was randomly in my mail. Just a pile of paperwork. I don’t want a default judgement but I need to buy myself some time to get income.