IIf someone says they loaned you some money and you didn't pay it back can they call your employer and have your wages garnished?

Question

IIf someone says they loaned you some money and you didn't pay it back can they call your employer and have your wages garnished?

Answer

No. Even if they sue and get a judgment, there is no wage garnishment for this type of debt in North Carolina. I am assuming the loan was made in North Carolina.

Answer

First, the creditor must sue you and prove that they made the loan to you. Was the loan evidenced by a promissory note? Have they made a written demand for repayment?

Assuming that they have taken the proper steps and have sued you and recovered a judgment, then there is no wage garnishment in North Carolina for debt of this kind. There are only a few states where that is true. If you are in North Carolina now but move to a wage garnishment state like Georgia, the creditor can always transfer the judgment to your new state of residence and have it enforced as if it were a judgment rendered by that state. Whether the creditor would want to incur the effort and costs involved is another question. This may or may not be likely depending on the amount of the loan/judgment.

Is this some kind of a pay day loan where the lender threatened to call your employer and garnish wages? Or a private loan and the lenderr just has no clue about the laws? If the former, payday loans are illegal in North Carolina and its an empty threat. If the latter, its still an empty threat but if a friend loaned you money in good faith, you do have a moral, if not legal, obligation to try and repay that loan in good faith as well.