As a business owner who hasn’t received payment for your services, you need to take action. You’ve called the debtor and asked them to set up a payment plan for you with no luck. You’ve talked to them a few times and understand that they are working but yet have made no attempt to repay the debt. They haven’t attempted to pay anything, not even a few dollars, to show that they’re trying.
If you’re out of patience and you have tried talking to the debtor to explain the debt, you may be in a position to look into wage garnishment. Of course, some people will work under the table and off the books to try to avoid garnishment, since you won’t be able to prove that they work at all.
Since you feel that the individual may try to claim they’re not working when you know that they are, you might be thinking that you should file for wage garnishment without informing them first. Unfortunately, you can’t do that.
Debtors do have to be warned about wage garnishment
Debtors have rights when it comes to wage garnishment. First, you do need to let them know that you’re suing them. So, you will go to court to sue the individual, and the debtor will have an opportunity to defend themselves.
They have a right to dispute your claim. This could make the process longer, but if you have proof of what is owed, then you’ll be in a better position to ask for the garnishment.
What happens if the individual says they don’t work?
If you can’t pursue wage garnishment because they have no employer that can be located, you may instead want to look into nonwage garnishment. Also known as a bank levy, this allows creditors to take funds directly out of the individual’s bank account. So, if they are working for cash and not reporting employment but they have money in the bank, that money could be something you could gain access to.
It can be tricky to get some people to pay what they owe you. With the right legal process, it may be possible, though.