New Hampshire Demand Letter
This letter applies New Hampshire's bad-check notice-and-cure statute, its Consumer Protection Act's direct private right of action, and its small claims, interest, and limitations rules.
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What is this demand about?
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Introduction
New Hampshire does not require a demand letter before you sue under the state's Consumer Protection Act, but if your claim involves a dishonored check, New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 544-B requires notice, in person or in writing, and a 10-day opportunity to cure before you can recover the check's value and costs under that statute. A demand letter states clearly what you are owed, why, and what you will do if the other side does not respond by your deadline, and it creates a paper trail a judge will want to see even when no statute requires one. New Hampshire's Consumer Protection Act, RSA 358-A:10, lets any person injured by an unfair or deceptive act or practice sue directly, without a prior notice step under that statute, and a prevailing plaintiff recovers actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, which the court must multiply two to three times if the violation was willful or knowing, plus mandatory attorney's fees. If your dispute involves a security deposit or a final paycheck, New Hampshire applies separate rules to those claims, covered on their own demand letter pages rather than repeated here. DocDraft builds your New Hampshire demand letter from your facts and your deadline, with attorney review available before you send it.
Key Things to Know
- 1
New Hampshire's Consumer Protection Act (RSA 358-A:10) does not require a demand letter before you sue, but if your claim involves a dishonored check, RSA 544-B requires notice, in person or in writing, and a 10-day opportunity to cure before you can recover the check's value and costs under that statute.
- 2
State your demand in specific numbers. Name the exact amount owed, the contract, invoice, or dishonored check it comes from, and a firm deadline to pay or act.
- 3
If you send a dishonored-check notice under RSA 544-B:2, wait at least 10 days after the recipient receives it before suing under that statute. If the recipient tenders the check amount plus bank fees and mailing costs within those 10 days, RSA 544-B:1 bars recovery under this statute.
- 4
New Hampshire's small claims docket, run in the District Division of the Circuit Court, hears claims up to $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs (RSA 503:1, I). A defendant can remove a claim over $1,500 to a jury trial, and claims over $5,000 without a jury demand go through mediation first.
- 5
Mind New Hampshire's statute of limitations: 3 years for a written contract, oral contract, open account, or property damage claim (RSA 508:4), and 4 years for a contract for the sale of goods (RSA 382-A:2-725).
- 6
Interest on a business transaction with no stipulated rate is 10 percent a year under RSA 336:1, but that rate excludes any consumer credit transaction. Interest on a judgment instead follows a rate the state treasurer sets annually.
- 7
Keep the tone firm and factual, not threatening. Do not threaten arrest, jail, or criminal prosecution to collect a civil debt. New Hampshire's collection practices act (RSA 358-C) also covers an original creditor collecting its own consumer credit debt, not just third-party collectors.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Demand Letter in New Hampshire, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Demand Letter guide walks through them.
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New Hampshire Requirements for Demand Letter
Bad-Check Notice and 10-Day Cure Required to Recover
Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 544-B:1, you may recover a dishonored check's amount plus court costs, service costs, and collection costs only if you gave the drawer notice, in person or in writing, under Section 544-B:2 and the drawer failed to tender the check amount plus bank fees and mailing costs within 10 days of receiving it.
Certified or Registered Mail for a Bad-Check Notice
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 544-B:2 treats written notice as conclusively given when properly deposited, postage prepaid, by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the person at the address on the check or their last known address.
Post-Judgment Daily Penalty on an Unpaid Bad-Check Judgment
If a court enters judgment on a dishonored-check debt and the drawer still has not paid on the judgment date, New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 544-B:1, II adds $10 for each business day the debt remains outstanding, up to a total of $500.
No Pre-Suit Notice Required Under the Consumer Protection Act
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 358-A:10, I lets any person injured by an unfair or deceptive act or practice sue directly for damages, with no prior written demand or waiting period required by that statute.
Mandatory Willful-Violation Multiplier and Fees
Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 358-A:10, I, a prevailing plaintiff recovers actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, and if the violation was willful or knowing, the court must award two to three times that amount, plus the costs of suit and reasonable attorney's fees. A waiver of this right is void and unenforceable.
No General Attorney's-Fee Presentment Statute
New Hampshire follows the American rule for an ordinary contract, account, or services claim: each side bears its own attorney's fees absent a contract clause or a specific fee-shifting statute. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 508:4-e governs only a contingent-fee agreement between an attorney and that attorney's own client, not a creditor's presentment of a claim.
Original Creditors Covered by the Collection Practices Act
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 358-C:1, VIII(a) reaches any person enforcing a consumer credit obligation, including an original creditor collecting its own consumer installment or finance-charge debt, not only third-party collection agencies. Section 358-C:3, XI bars threatening that nonpayment will result in arrest or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of property or wages, unless the collector discloses that a court order is a legal prerequisite and, where applicable, that the debtor can contest it first.
Small Claims Limit, Jury and Mediation Thresholds
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 503:1, I sets a small claims limit of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs. Under Section 503:1, III a defendant can remove a claim over $1,500 to a jury trial, and under Section 503:1, IV a claim over $5,000 with no jury demand must go through mediation before trial.
Statute of Limitations by Claim Type
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Section 508:4 sets a 3-year period for most personal actions, including a written contract, an oral contract, an open account, and property damage. Section 382-A:2-725 instead gives 4 years for a contract for the sale of goods.