$150 Late Fee on a $10 Balance
My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Michigan. I have a $10 balance that was added onto my bill for a pair of glasses, and I did not pay it. Now I am getting a bill for $160, $150 for late fees. It has not been turned over to a Collection Agency. Is this legal? I have purchased a Cashiers Check for the $10, but am not sure of the nature of the letter I need to write to them when I mail the payment? Thank you for any help!
Re: $150 Late Fee on a $10 Balance
Do you have a contract with the company that sold you the glasses? If so, what does it say about late fees? If not, when you called and asked them the legal basis upon which they were trying to collect a late fee at all, what did they tell you? Because absent a contract, a late fee being a form of liquidated damages, I don't see how such a fee could be imposed or deemed reasonable based upon a $10 delinquency. (Even if there's a contract, depending on the full facts, $150 fee on $10 may be unconscionable.)