Is there a legal basis for charging a late payment fee.?

Question

The basic fee is the agreed upon price for the product/service. If the fee is not paid there is legal recourse. Is not a late payment fee basically one side of the transaction declaring the price of the product already delivered is now greater than that agreed on. How can that be legal?

Answer 1

the whole idea is your charged for bad banking managment but the price hey are charging is not in relation to the items sent to you to say your late !
it surely cannot cost £35 for 1 computer to send 1 letter that is stored on hard drive anyway!
i contested my banks charges and got £2000 back(just before the courts gave the banks a refusal to pay any more back till the court case!)
it should cost @£2-£3 to send a letter for going over your overdraft and not much more £3-£4 for card transactions
so if any 1 in the uk has had charges get contesting now you can still claim but will after wait till the court ruling to see if you will get anything back
my view the banks are running sh*tless as they have already ben told to cut credit card charges down & realise they will prob be told the same by the court
as i told 1 call centre employee who said the banks will not pay me ""untill there was a court ruling there was nothing they could do to stop me asking for my money back"
sorry this is so long but it makes my blood boil being ripped of
if you need help then send me an e-mail and i will try helping as much as possable
thanks

Answer 2

Check small print on agreements where this is not just a flat sale or one time payment. There is usually a clause or statement to protect the seller or service person from being taken advantage of by the consumer who is being extended a 'courtesy' of not having to pay all at once (for a year's lawn service for example, or a year' rent in adavance, or a car purchase/lease, etc.) And that late fee usually is there, not to irritate the consumer, but to cover all the costs that arise to the service/product provider. These are people too and they have to budget their expenses just like everyone else. So there is a financial backlash for them when payments are not received on time as agreed upon. There are penalties and consequences for not being in the integrity of keeping one's word. Late fees are just one part of it. Better to pay ahead of the rate than not pay on time and be late. If there is a real one time reason, usually most companies and service providers will understand, but it's not fair to take advantage of having credit extended to you. It's an honor and a privelege many forget.
Just my opinion. Thanks for an interesting question! :)

Answer 3

If you signed a contract for a loan (for a car or whatnot), typically they declare that there is a late fee if you don't pay, they have a right to charge you a fee. Credit card companies typically charge a late fee as listed in their "terms of use", to which you have to agree to receive the card and use it.

Answer 4

The legality comes from the contractural obligation you entered into with regards to a payment schedule.

If you look at your agreement, it states that you will pay all fees by a certain date or face a financial penalty for failure to do so.

Think of it like getting spanked for not being good

Answer 5

The form in which you are asking your question is extremely confusing. However, if the supplier specified in written form the presence of a late fee then it is legal. You should've paid on time!

Answer 6

Late payment charges is applicable if u delay your payment due date but if u face any wrong statement/products you should give the complaint in writing to the concerned authorities, till your problem is cleared they should not charge the late payment charges.

Answer 7

Usually its included as one of the conditions of the transaction. If you agree to it, you are bound by it unless a court determines thats an illegal condition or that you were incompetent to enter into the contract.

Answer 8

in many states and cities there are late fees and charges
that are perfectly legal.
the papers are drawn uo to allow these companies to
charge these fees. their attorneys, who the companies
pay their feees are going to draw up any contract
or legal instrument for their client and not the consumer.

Answer 9

In the socialist commonwealth Patrick can and will do anything he can to get your money. I would say it's pretty excessive since it's almost twice the amount of the original ticket, but there's really nothing you can do but pay your tickets on time.

Answer 10

if you contracted for it, then you are bound by it.