Wyoming Demand Letter

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Wyoming's Consumer Protection Act blocks a private damages claim until written notice is given and the practice becomes uncured: Wyo. Stat. Section 40-12-109 requires notice stating fully the nature of the alleged unlawful deceptive trade practice and the actual damage suffered, and Section 40-12-102(a)(ix) then gives the recipient 15 days after notice to offer to cure before an individual can sue at all.

2. 2

   This notice-and-cure rule applies only to a consumer transaction: the advertising, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of merchandise to an individual for purposes that are primarily personal, family, or household (Wyo. Stat. Section 40-12-102(a)(ii)). An individual plaintiff recovers only actual damages under Section 40-12-108(a); the Act's civil penalties of up to $15,000 or $10,000 per willful violation are recoverable by the Attorney General, not the consumer, including the $15,000 penalty for victimizing an older person or a person with disabilities; in that case only restitution and reasonable attorney fees and costs go to the victim (Section 40-12-111(b)).

3. 3

   Wyoming has no presentment-and-wait statute awarding attorney's fees on an ordinary contract or account claim. Wyoming follows the American rule: fees follow only from a contract clause or a specific fee-shifting statute (Wyo. Stat. Section 1-14-126(a)-(b)).

4. 4

   If your claim involves a check that was dishonored, Wyo. Stat. Section 1-1-115 lets you seek only the check amount plus a $30 collection fee before sending a written demand. If the drawer does not pay within 30 days after the demand, the drawer becomes liable for three times the check's value, with a $100 floor and no statutory ceiling, plus the $30 fee and court costs.

5. 5

   Wyoming writes a demand requirement directly into its small claims procedure: to file a claim of $6,000 or less in circuit court, Wyo. Stat. Section 1-21-202(a) requires your filing affidavit to state that demand has been made and payment refused, and either side may bring an attorney to that hearing (Section 1-21-202(b)). Outside small claims, Wyoming's statute of limitations gives 10 years to sue on a written contract, 8 years on an unwritten contract, and 4 years on a contract for the sale of goods or for injury to personal property (Sections 1-3-105(a)(i)-(a)(iv), 34.1-2-725(a)).

6. 6

   If you and the other party did not agree on an interest rate, Wyoming's default legal rate is 7 percent per annum (Wyo. Stat. Section 40-14-106(e)). A judgment carries its own rate of 10 percent per year from the date of rendition, unless the judgment is founded on a contract that fixed a different rate, in which case the contract rate carries over (Section 1-16-102(a)-(b)).

7. 7

   Never use a demand letter to threaten arrest, jail, or criminal prosecution to collect a civil debt. Wyoming's Collection Agency Act, Wyo. Stat. Section 33-11-101(b)(i), regulates only third-party collection agencies and excludes a creditor collecting its own debt, so a threatening or deceptive first-party letter is not barred by that Act, but it can still risk exposure under the Consumer Protection Act's general unfair-or-deceptive-practices clause (Section 40-12-105(a)(xv)) if the transaction qualifies as a consumer transaction.

Wyoming Requirements for Demand Letter

• WCPA Notice-and-15-Day Cure Requirement

  For a claim arising from a consumer transaction, Wyoming Consumer Protection Act Section 40-12-109 requires written notice stating fully the nature of the alleged unlawful deceptive trade practice and the actual damage suffered, before an individual may sue. Section 40-12-102(a)(ix) then gives the recipient 15 days after notice to offer to cure; without an uncured practice, no private action exists, and any suit must be filed within one year after the notice.

• No Multiplied Damages for an Individual Consumer

  Under Wyo. Stat. Section 40-12-108(a), an individual bringing a WCPA claim recovers only the damages actually suffered. Civil penalties of up to $15,000 or $10,000 per willful violation (Sections 40-12-111(b), 40-12-113(c)) are recoverable by the Attorney General, not the consumer, including the $15,000 elder/disabled-victim penalty; only restitution and reasonable attorney fees and costs go to that victim under Section 40-12-111(b).

• No Presentment Fee-Shifting Statute

  Wyoming has no presentment-and-wait statute awarding attorney's fees on an ordinary contract, account, or services claim. Wyoming follows the American rule: fees follow only from a contract clause or a specific fee-shifting statute (Wyo. Stat. Section 1-14-126(a)-(b)).

• Bad-Check Demand Unlocks Uncapped Treble Damages

  Wyo. Stat. Section 1-1-115 lets you seek only the check amount plus a $30 collection fee before sending a written demand. If the drawer does not pay within 30 days after the demand, the drawer becomes liable for three times the check's value, with a $100 floor and no statutory ceiling, plus the $30 fee and court costs.

• Bad-Check Demand's Required Delivery Method

  Section 1-1-115(a) requires the bad-check demand to be mailed to the drawer's address on the check or last known address by United States Postal Service certificate of mailing, or personally served under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, and to state the check's value and the collection fee amount.

• Small Claims Demand-and-Refusal Affidavit

  Wyo. Stat. Section 1-21-202(a) requires the plaintiff's filing affidavit in every small claims action to recite the defendant's address, the nature of the claim, the amount due, and that demand has been made and payment refused. The statute requires that demand be made, not that it be in writing, but a demand letter documents it.

• Attorneys Allowed in Small Claims

  Wyoming's small claims procedure, heard in circuit court for claims up to $6,000 exclusive of costs (Section 1-21-201), allows either party to appear with an attorney; if one side brings one, Section 1-21-202(b) entitles the other side to a continuance to obtain counsel.

• Limitations Periods by Claim Type

  Wyoming allows 10 years to sue on a written contract, 8 years on an unwritten contract, and 4 years on a contract for the sale of goods or for injury to personal property (Wyo. Stat. Sections 1-3-105(a)(i)-(a)(iv), 34.1-2-725(a)).

• Collection Agency Act Excludes First-Party Creditors

  The Wyoming Collection Agency Act, Wyo. Stat. Section 33-11-101(b)(i), regulates only licensed third-party collection agencies and excludes an officer or employee of a creditor collecting its own debt. It sets no itemized list of barred collection statements; a threatening or deceptive letter can still risk exposure under the Consumer Protection Act's general unfair-or-deceptive-practices clause (Section 40-12-105(a)(xv)) if the transaction qualifies as a consumer transaction.