Please Help

I got in trouble on with a Chase card a few years ago. I moved and was late on a payment one time, they increased my interest to 30%. I owed 10K on this card, and had no other cards i could transfer this amount to. So I panicked and hired Hess Kennedy as a Dept Settment. Ive been paying them for 2+ years, and recently found out it was basically a scam, and I may or may not get my money back. During this time I was never once contacted by a debt collector. However, today I received a letter from Palisades Collection, advising me they purchased my debt. The amount they are asking for is correct, it matches my credit report, this amount being 13K. I have already thrown away 6K to Hess Kennedy, and have very little money to offer them. I'm scared to call them and offer a settlement, because I think they will start calling me. I'm also scared to pay them anything because I already got screwed once by a shady company, and after looking through this forum, I havent read one positive thing about their practice. I dont know what to do. The amount of money I owe is correct, but I dont have money, my job is being greatly impacted by the terrible economy. What do I do? I'm basically in tears right now.