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Tennessee Demand Letter

Tennessee ties its real pre-suit demand rule not to its Consumer Protection Act but to its dishonored-check statute, its floating interest rules, and General Sessions Court.

Find out where you stand in Tennessee

What is this demand about?

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Introduction

Tennessee's Consumer Protection Act does not require you to send the other side any pre-suit notice before you sue for damages under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(a)(1), unlike states that make a consumer demand a filing prerequisite. Tennessee's real pre-suit demand rule instead sits in its dishonored-check statute: under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-29-101, a drawer who pays in full within 10 days after you give notice that a check bounced, which counts as given once deposited in ordinary mail addressed to the address printed on the check or the address the drawer gave in writing, avoids all liability under that section, and separately, base liability covers the face amount, 10 percent annual interest from the date the check was executed, your reasonable service charges, court costs, and attorney's fees, while treble damages, capped at $500 above the check's face amount, are added only if the check remains unpaid 30 days after you send a written notice by certified mail stating that the check has not been paid and that treble damages will be sought, and fraudulent intent is later found. Under the Consumer Protection Act, attorney's fees are discretionary and can cut both ways (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(e)). If your claim is for a security deposit or a final paycheck, use DocDraft's security deposit demand letter or final paycheck demand letter pages instead, which are built around those specific statutes. This page builds an ordinary demand letter into Tennessee law, with attorney review available before you send it.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Tennessee's dishonored-check statute, Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-29-101, sets up two separate notices: a drawer who pays in full within 10 days you give notice that a check bounced, which counts as given once deposited in ordinary mail addressed to the address printed on the check or the address the drawer gave in writing, avoids all liability under that section; otherwise base liability covers the face amount, 10 percent annual interest, service charges, court costs, and attorney's fees, and treble damages, capped at $500 above the face amount, are added only if the check remains unpaid 30 days after a separate certified-mail notice stating that the check has not been paid and that treble damages will be sought, and fraudulent intent is found.

  2. 2

    The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act does not require you to send the defendant any pre-suit notice before suing for damages (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(a)(1)); a demand letter here is strategic rather than a filing prerequisite. If the defendant makes a written, reasonable settlement offer, the court may limit your recovery to that offer's terms (Section 47-18-109(c)(4)).

  3. 3

    Under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a person who proves a violation (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(e)(1)), but a prevailing defendant may recover its fees if the suit is found frivolous, without legal or factual merit, or brought to harass (Section 47-18-109(e)(2)).

  4. 4

    Never threaten arrest, jail, or criminal prosecution to collect a civil debt. Tennessee's Collection Service Act does not reach a creditor collecting its own debt (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 62-20-103(b)) unless that creditor uses a fictitious name implying a third party is collecting (Section 62-20-102(3)(B)), so outside that exception no state collection-conduct statute limits a first-party demand letter, but keep the tone factual regardless.

  5. 5

    Tennessee gives six years to sue on a written or oral contract or an open account, since its catch-all limitations period does not distinguish between them (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 28-3-109(a)(3)), three years to sue for injury to property (Section 28-3-105(1)), and ten years on a demand note (Section 28-3-109(c)). A sale-of-goods claim may be governed by a separate commercial-code period, so confirm that deadline before relying on six years.

  6. 6

    Tennessee does not set a fixed legal interest rate. A court or jury may award prejudgment interest in accordance with the principles of equity at a rate not exceeding 10 percent per year , except that a contract subject to the usury ceiling of Section 47-14-103 uses that section's cap instead (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-14-123), and post-judgment interest is set twice a year using a formula rate the state publishes (Section 47-14-121(a)); sending a demand letter does not itself start interest running.

  7. 7

    Tennessee's General Sessions Court, the state's everyday civil court, hears civil cases, both law and equity, up to $25,000 (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501(d)(1)), without splitting the limit between individuals and businesses.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Demand Letter in Tennessee, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Demand Letter guide walks through them.

Open the Demand Letter guide

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Tennessee Requirements for Demand Letter

  • Bad-Check 10-Day Ordinary-Mail Cure

    Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-29-101(b)-(c) lets liability avoid attaching at all if the drawer pays the full amount within 10 days after the holder gives notice that the check was dishonored; this baseline notice is deemed given when deposited in ordinary U.S. mail addressed to the address printed on the check or the address the drawer gave in writing, so certified mail is not required for this step.

  • Bad-Check 30-Day Certified Notice for Treble Damages

    Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-29-101(d) requires a separate written notice sent by certified mail stating that the check has not been paid and that treble damages will be sought; the check must remain unpaid 30 days after that certified mailing, fraudulent intent must be found, and the amount added to the face amount for treble damages may not exceed $500.

  • Base Bad-Check Liability

    Once liability attaches under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-29-101(a), it covers the check's face amount, interest at 10 percent per year from the date the check was executed, reasonable service charges incurred trying to collect, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees; a claimant must elect between this civil remedy and the criminal restitution remedy, not both (Section 47-29-101(e)).

  • TCPA Has No Pre-Suit Notice Requirement

    Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(a)(1) lets a person who suffered an ascertainable loss sue for damages under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act without sending the defendant any notice before filing, unlike states that condition a consumer suit on a pre-suit demand.

  • Consumer Protection Act Fees Cut Both Ways

    Under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-18-109(e)(1), the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a person who proves a Consumer Protection Act violation. A prevailing defendant may recover its fees if the suit is found frivolous, without legal or factual merit, or brought to harass (Section 47-18-109(e)(2)).

  • Collection Service Act Excludes First-Party Creditors

    Tennessee's Collection Service Act, Tenn. Code Ann. Section 62-20-103(b), does not require an individual or business collecting only its own unpaid accounts to be licensed or regulated, unless it uses a fictitious name implying a third party is doing the collecting (Section 62-20-102(3)(B)); attorneys collecting for their own clients are separately exempt (Section 62-20-103(a)(2)).

  • Six-Year Limit With No Written/Oral Distinction

    Tennessee's catch-all limitations period gives six years to sue on a written or oral contract or an open account, without distinguishing between them (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 28-3-109(a)(3)), three years to sue for injury to property (Section 28-3-105(1)), and ten years on a demand note (Section 28-3-109(c)). A sale-of-goods claim may be governed by a separate commercial-code period, so confirm that deadline before relying on six years.

  • Floating Interest, No Fixed Rate

    Tennessee sets no fixed legal interest rate. Prejudgment interest may be awarded in accordance with the principles of equity at a rate not exceeding 10 percent per year , except that a contract subject to the usury ceiling of Section 47-14-103 uses that section's cap instead (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 47-14-123), and post-judgment interest is set twice a year using a formula rate the state publishes (Section 47-14-121(a)).

  • General Sessions Court $25,000 Limit

    Tennessee's General Sessions Court, the state's everyday civil court, has jurisdiction up to $25,000 in all civil cases, both law and equity (Tenn. Code Ann. Section 16-15-501(d)(1)).

Frequently Asked Questions