Can a Credit Card Company Garnish Your Wages in Georgia?
Credit card users who fall behind on their payments face a range of potential negative consequences, including lowered credit scores, increased interest rates and even lawsuits. A credit card company can garnish your wages in Georgia, but only under certain conditions and only if it follows specific procedures. Talk to a Georgia attorney if you need legal advice about your credit card debt questions.
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Credit Card Lawsuits
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If you fall behind on your credit card payments, you run the risk of having the credit card company sue you in court to try to recover the money you owe. In general, card companies won't sue you unless you're significantly behind on the debt and if it believes it can get the money back. When it does sue you, you have the right to defend against the lawsuit like you would any other. The only time a company can garnish your wages is if it sues you in court and wins.
Garnishment Limitations
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Once a credit card company sues you and wins, the court grants it a judgment. A judgment is a legal order that states the company won and that you owe the company money. The company can use this judgment to file a wage garnishment. When your wages get garnished, your employer pays a percentage of your paycheck directly to the court, which in turn pays that money to the credit card company or other judgment holder.
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Practical Concerns
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Just because a credit card company can garnish your wages, that doesn't mean it will. Even if a credit card company sues you and wins, the likelihood it will garnish your wages is hard to determine. Wage garnishments involve a lot of time and expense, and credit card companies may not be willing to garnish your wages if they do not believe the expense is worth it.
Collections
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Garnishments are not the only tool a credit card company can use against you when collecting on a judgment debt. The card company can try to convince you to pay by hiring a collections agency and threatening the garnish your wages. It might also be able to levy your bank accounts, meaning it can take the money you have in your bank account to satisfy the debt. Another option the company might use is to place a lien against your home that will prevent you from selling it until the debt is paid.
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References
- Photo Credit Georgia state contour with Capital City against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
