collecting debts + interest Illinois

[werner69]

Somebody owes me a certain amount of money already for mor than 1 year.
I had to pay off his credit bcs I guaranteed.

I want to send him a letter now. Can I add interest by law and how much is it?
Or do I first have to send him a letter giving him the chance to pay back only the principal I paid?

There is n writtne contract and I did not start any process yet.

Anybody can help me?

THANK YOU

 

[justalayman]

Unless your contract with him allows for interest, you cannot charge interest, even if you send him notification now. You cannot unilaterally alter a contract like that.

 

[Jeran]

No written contract?


More than one year? How many years? Maybe 3 years?


It might be beyond the statute of limitations.


For example: Breach of Contract, Oral 3 years Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-543(1)

 

[TheGeekess]

No written contract?


More than one year? How many years? Maybe 3 years?


It might be beyond the statute of limitations.


For example: Breach of Contract, Oral 3 years Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-543(1)

What does Arizona law have to do with Illinois?

 

[tranquility]

Since, under the statute of frauds, a promise to pay the debts of another must be in writing to be valid, I will assume there IS a written contract. Then, the SOL is 10 years. If the OP did not have a legal duty to pay, I'd call it a gift.

But, I agree with justalayman, you can't charge interest unless it is in the contract or post-judgment.

 

[Silverplum]

No written contract?


More than one year? How many years? Maybe 3 years?


It might be beyond the statute of limitations.


For example: Breach of Contract, Oral 3 years Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-543(1)

Arizona law has nothing whatsoever to do with OP's question.

I know you're a one-note singer, but either stick to AZ posters or learn how to google up some real answers.

Here, like this, I'll teach you:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Illinois+private+debt+collection+laws

 

[Zigner]

No written contract?


More than one year? How many years? Maybe 3 years?


It might be beyond the statute of limitations.


For example: Breach of Contract, Oral 3 years Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-543(1)

Had the time frame been 3+ years, the OP would have said "more than 3 years ago." It's obvious that the OP is talking in the range of more than a year, and less than 2 years.

 

[werner69]

Interest

To make my case a little bit clearer: The guy took a loan and stopped paying last year. I guaranteed so I paied the whole amount off.
He and his wife also had signed a personal guarantee with the bank.

They both work now so I want to try to get my money back.
First I will send them a certified letter to pay back the full amount (without interst) within 7 days.
If they fail (which I expect) I will charge them interest and penelty fees by using a collection agency.

Does it sound ok like this?

Hope you can help me!!!!!

 

[TigerD]

If they fail (which I expect) I will charge them interest and penelty fees by using a collection agency.

No. If your contract doesn't call for interest and penalties they can't be added by simply hiring a collection agency. Also, hiring a collection agency is a little bit harder than you may think. Most are more discerning about the credit files they accept than debtors think.

Your best bet is to hire an attorney and sue.

DC

 

[sandyclaus]

To make my case a little bit clearer: The guy took a loan and stopped paying last year. I guaranteed so I paied the whole amount off.
He and his wife also had signed a personal guarantee with the bank.

They both work now so I want to try to get my money back.
First I will send them a certified letter to pay back the full amount (without interst) within 7 days.
If they fail (which I expect) I will charge them interest and penelty fees by using a collection agency.

Does it sound ok like this?

Hope you can help me!!!!!

You guaranteed the loan. The guy didn't pay, so it was left to you, who had guaranteed (co-signed) the loan to pay, which you did in order to protect your own credit from further damage.

The interest might have been payable on the loan while active with the lender, but once you paid it off, no further interest accrued. The only debt you can collect from this guy is the debt you already paid. Since there was no separate agreement to charge interest on that debt now due to you, you cannot then charge interest to the guy. Even a CA can't charge interest if it wasn't included in the original contract on which they are collecting.

If you end up suing the person for the debt, you CAN ask that the court impose statutory interest upon the unpaid judgment amount if awarded.

 

[Jeran]

Arizona law has nothing whatsoever to do with OP's question.

I know you're a one-note singer, but either stick to AZ posters or learn how to google up some real answers.

Here, like this, I'll teach you:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Illinois+private+debt+collection+laws

Perhaps you had trouble reading and understanding my post.


The original poster said: "Somebody owes me a certain amount of money already for mor than 1 year"

So, I asked how much more than one year? Maybe as much as 3 years? Who knows? Unless the person tells us specifically how many years have passed. The original post wasn't clear about that. He even later said this: "To make my case a little bit clearer"

The person also said "There is n writtne contract and I did not start any process yet"

I took that to mean that there was no written contract, therefore it was an oral contract, which is generally subject to a shorter statute of limitations.

And then to help you with your reading comprehension, please notice the words I used:

"FOR EXAMPLE" and then I stated the AZ statute of limitations was three years.

 

[justalayman]

So why didn't you just say: for example, the sol in Illinois is...

Since op asked about Illinois law?

 

[werner69]

Thank you!

You all helped me a lot. Thank you!!!

Actually I paied off the loan last year in February and I just sent him a certified letter to give him a chance to pay the money back within 2 weeks.

If he fails I will give it to a collecting agency (because its a friend...) If this doesn´t work I will have to sue him.

But again THANK YOU ALL!!!

By the way, I have a few other similar issues to ask in the forum.....

 

[racer72]

You all helped me a lot. Thank you!!!

Actually I paied off the loan last year in February and I just sent him a certified letter to give him a chance to pay the money back within 2 weeks.

If he fails I will give it to a collecting agency (because its a friend...) If this doesn´t work I will have to sue him.

But again THANK YOU ALL!!!

By the way, I have a few other similar issues to ask in the forum.....

I can guarantee you no collection agency is going to take on a collection effort without a signed contract or a judgment. Sue first then consider a collection agency.