What is my recourse in getting this garnishment fixed?

First, there is no wage garnishment in NC for most debts, so if you are in NC, exactly what are you being garnished for? If this is garnishment for something like a judgment on a credit card debt, then garnishment works like this - your employer gets a garnishment order. Funds are withheld by your employer and turned over to the sheriff. The sheriff sits on the money and at the end of the month turns it over to the creditor who got the judgment. As a result, the creditor's records are behind and not accurate; it can take several months for them to get everything accounted for. Does your employer indicate on your paystub the exact amounts garnished? Have all garnished sums been paid to the creditor and accounted for? There should not be a discrepancy of thousands of dollars. If you have proof (such as your paystubs) that x was taken out from your pay over each pay period from the time of the garnishment till now then I would provide that evidence to the creditor and see if they cannot update their books or find out where the missing money is located.