Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in South Carolina

Re: payday loans

This question gets posed to me so frequently - because so many unscrupulous payday lenders threaten such action. The answer is NO. We do not imprison people because they can't pay their debts.

Oftentimes, the payday lenders will attempt to justify the threat on the basis of the bad check law. That SC statute is inapplicable to most payday loans, since the authorization for the check *at the time of giving it* renders the "intent" portion of the statute unmet. In other words, to violate the bad check law, you have to *intend* at the time of giving the check not to pay it.

This action - threatening imprisonment - in my view may well violate provision of the South Carolina Consumer Protection Code. Please see a consumer law attorney immediately if this happens to you.