Do I have to pay, and can they really sue me?

I have a 3200.00 debt I have owed since 2004. It has currently been sold to debt collectors. They have a bad rating with the BBB… They have outsourced my account to an even less reputable company, who is notorious for taking payments and not reporting them. As well as promising things in writing they never send. I have been promised an email with the settlement offer 1500.00, but I haven’t gotten it yet. I also have not gotten any kind of written notice on the subject. I thought that after 5 days since they first contacted you they have to send you something in writing. They also have failed to use the collection of a debt disclaimer multiple times, once on my voicemail when inquiring on if I had gotten the ghost email they keep saying they are sending. I tried to talk to the original creditor but they refuse to talk to me or take payments directly. I am not confident that the business’s who currently have my account, and are demanding payment unless I want them to pursue legal action, will do anything good with my payments. Am I legally obligated to pay a company money who have a terrible rating with the BBB and have been sued for bad collection practices? Also, since they have yet to contact me in writing can’t I dispute the debt?

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See http://www.worldlawdirect.com/articl..._--_Stop_abuse.