Missouri Demand Letter

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Missouri's bad-check statute, Section 537.123, RSMo, lets you send a written notice that a check did not clear plus a written demand for payment, by certified or registered mail, or by regular mail supported by an affidavit of service by mailing. The maker then has 30 days after that notice and demand to pay you in cash before you can recover the face amount of the check plus the greater of three times the face amount or $100, with total damages under the section, apart from attorney fees, capped at $500 and reasonable attorney fees recoverable in addition.

2. 2

   Missouri's Merchandising Practices Act does not require a consumer to send any written notice before suing for damages under Section 407.025, RSMo, for a purchase or lease of merchandise primarily for personal, family, or household use. If your claim qualifies, the court may award punitive damages and attorney's fees in its discretion, but neither is automatic or multiplied as a matter of right, and fees awarded in a damages case must bear a reasonable relationship to the amount of the judgment.

3. 3

   Missouri has no general statute requiring you to present a claim and wait a fixed number of days before you can recover attorney's fees on an ordinary contract, account, or services claim. Fee-shifting instead requires either a contractual attorney's-fee clause or a specific statute; absent either, each side pays its own attorney under Missouri's general rule.

4. 4

   If your agreement is a revolving or open-end credit contract with its own attorney's-fee clause, Section 408.140.1(5), RSMo caps that contractual fee at 15 percent of the amount due, and only when the account is referred to an attorney for collection rather than handled by the creditor's own salaried employee.

5. 5

   For a private design or construction-work payment contract, other than owner-occupied residential property of four units or less, Section 431.180, RSMo lets the prevailing party recover interest of up to one and one-half percent a month from the date payment was due, plus reasonable attorney fees, for a late payment, with no presentment or waiting period required first.

6. 6

   Missouri gives 10 years to sue on a written contract for the payment of money (Section 516.110(1), RSMo) and generally 5 years to sue on an oral contract, an open account not itself evidenced by a signed writing, or for injury to goods or chattels (Section 516.120, RSMo).

7. 7

   Never threaten arrest, jail, or criminal prosecution to collect a civil debt in a Missouri demand letter. Keep the letter factual: state the amount owed, the basis for it, and your deadline, and let the courts resolve any dispute the recipient raises.

Missouri Requirements for Demand Letter

• Bad-Check Demand Unlocks the Civil Penalty

  Section 537.123, RSMo lets a check holder recover the face amount plus the greater of three times the face amount or $100, capped at $500 total apart from attorney fees, but only after sending a written notice that the check did not clear plus a written demand for payment and waiting 30 days for cash payment. Reasonable attorney fees are recoverable in addition to the $500 cap.

• Bad-Check Demand Delivery and Eligibility Rules

  The Section 537.123 demand must go by certified or registered mail, or by regular mail supported by an affidavit of service by mailing, addressed to the maker at the address on the check or their last known address. Only the original holder may sue under this section, it does not apply where there is a bona fide dispute over the quality of goods or services sold, and a holder must elect between this civil action and Missouri's separate criminal bad-check process.

• No MMPA Pre-Suit Notice Requirement

  Section 407.025, RSMo lets a consumer who purchased or leased merchandise primarily for personal, family, or household use sue for damages without first sending any written notice. Punitive damages and attorney's fees are available only at the court's discretion, and fees awarded in a damages case must bear a reasonable relationship to the amount of the judgment.

• No General Attorney's-Fee Presentment Statute

  Missouri has no general statute that awards attorney's fees on a contract, account, or services claim simply because the claim was presented and went unpaid for a fixed number of days. Fee-shifting requires either a contractual attorney's-fee clause or a specific statute; absent either, Missouri follows the rule that each side pays its own attorney.

• 15 Percent Cap on a Credit Contract's Fee Clause

  Section 408.140.1(5), RSMo caps a contractual attorney's-fee clause in a revolving or open-end credit contract at 15 percent of the amount due, and only applies when the account is referred to an attorney for collection rather than handled by the creditor's own salaried employee.

• Construction-Payment Fee-Shifting Statute

  Section 431.180, RSMo lets the prevailing party on a private design or construction-work payment contract, other than owner-occupied residential property of four units or less, recover interest of up to one and one-half percent a month from the date payment was due, plus reasonable attorney fees, with no presentment or waiting period required first.

• Interest Ties to a Demand on Unwritten Accounts

  Section 408.020, RSMo sets legal interest at 9 percent a year when no other rate is agreed. Interest on a written contract runs automatically from the due date, but interest on an account not evidenced by a writing runs only once the account is due and a demand for payment has been made.

• Ten and Five-Year Limitations Periods

  Missouri gives 10 years to sue on a written contract for the payment of money, under Section 516.110(1), RSMo, and generally 5 years to sue on an oral contract, an open account not itself evidenced by a signed writing, or for injury to goods or chattels, under Section 516.120, RSMo.

• Small Claims Limit and Attorneys Permitted

  Missouri's small claims court hears civil cases, in tort or contract, up to $5,000, exclusive of interest or costs, under Section 482.305, RSMo. Section 482.310(1), RSMo makes self-representation optional rather than barring attorneys, so either side may appear with counsel.