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Laws | Consumer Protection
State Laws
Colorado Consumer Credit Code
Title 5 Consumer Credit Code
Article 12 Interest - General Provisions
If there is no agreement or provision of law for a different rate, the interest on money shall be at the rate of eight percent per annum, compounded annually.
(1) Except as provided in section 13-21-101, C.R.S., when there is no agreement as to the rate thereof, creditors shall receive interest as follows:
(a) When money or property has been wrongfully withheld, interest shall be an amount which fully recognizes the gain or benefit realized by the person withholding such money or property from the date of wrongful withholding to the date of payment or to the date judgment is entered, whichever first occurs; or, at the election of the claimant,
(b) Interest shall be at the rate of eight percent per annum compounded annually for all moneys or the value of all property after they are wrongfully withheld or after they become due to the date of payment or to the date judgment is entered, whichever first occurs.
(2) When there is no agreement as to the rate thereof, creditors shall be allowed to receive interest at the rate of eight percent per annum compounded annually for all moneys after they become due on any bill, bond, promissory note, or other instrument of writing, or money due on mutual settlement of accounts from the date of such settlement and on money due on account from the date when the same became due.
(3) Interest shall be allowed as provided in subsection (1) of this section even if the amount is unliquidated at the time of wrongful withholding or at the time when due.
(4) Except as provided in section 5-12-106, creditors shall be allowed to receive interest on any judgment recovered before any court authorized to enter the same within this state from the date of entering said judgment until satisfaction thereof is made either:
(a) At the rate specified in a contract or instrument in writing which provides for payment of interest at a specified rate until the obligation is paid; except that if the contract or instrument provides for a variable rate, at the rate in effect under the contract or instrument on the date judgment enters; or
(b) In all other cases where no rate is specified, at the rate of eight percent per annum compounded annually.
(1) The parties to any bond, bill, promissory note, or other instrument of writing may stipulate therein for the payment of a greater or higher rate of interest than eight percent per annum, but not exceeding forty-five percent per annum, and any such stipulation may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction in the state, except as otherwise provided in articles 1 to 6 of this title. The rate of interest shall be deemed to be excessive of the limit under this section only if it could have been determined at the time of the stipulation by mathematical computation that such rate would exceed an annual rate of forty-five percent when the rate of interest was calculated on the unpaid balances of the debt on the assumption that the debt is to be paid according to its terms and will not be paid before the end of the agreed term.
(2) The term "interest" as used in this section means the sum of all charges payable directly or indirectly by a debtor and imposed directly or indirectly by a lender as an incident to or as a condition of the extension of credit to the debtor, whether paid or payable by the debtor, the lender, or any other person on behalf of the debtor to the lender or to a third party.
(3) The public policy of this state does not limit or prohibit contracting, agreeing, or stipulating in advance for the payment of interest on interest or compound interest.
(4) No law or public policy of this state limiting interest on interest, the adding of deferred interest to principal, or the compounding of interest shall apply to any promissory note secured by any mortgage or deed of trust or to one secured by a mortgage or deed of trust where periodic disbursement of part of the loan proceeds is made by a lender over a period of time as established by the mortgage or deed of trust, or over an expressed period of time, or ending with the death of the debtor, including, but not limited to, promissory notes secured by mortgages or deeds of trust having provisions for adding deferred interest to principal or otherwise providing for the charging of interest on interest.
(5) This section shall not apply to a commercial credit plan as defined in section 5-12-107 (8) and extensions of credit made pursuant thereto, unless the bond, bill, promissory note, instrument, or other written agreement evidencing the plan expressly states that it is subject to this section.
County orders and warrants, town and city and school orders and warrants, and other like evidences or certificates of municipal indebtedness, shall bear interest at the rate of six percent per annum from the date of the presentation thereof for payment at the treasury where the same may be payable, until there is money in the treasury for the payment thereof, except when otherwise specially provided by law. Every county treasurer, town treasurer, and city treasurer to whom any such county, town, city, or school order or warrant is presented for payment, and who shall not have on hand the funds to pay the same, shall endorse thereon the rate of interest said order or warrant will draw, and the date of such presentation, and subscribe such endorsement with his official signature; however, all such orders and warrants may be made to bear a lower rate of interest than above specified, by special agreement between such counties, towns, and cities issuing the same, and the person to whom such orders or warrants are issued.
In all cases where real estate shall be sold under execution or by virtue of the foreclosure of any mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien, the indebtedness and costs for which any certificate of purchase may issue shall bear interest at the rate specified in the original instrument.
(1) Except as provided in section 13-21-101, C.R.S., where there is no written agreement as to the rate of interest, creditors shall receive interest as follows:
(a) If a judgment for money in a civil case is appealed by a judgment debtor and the judgment is affirmed, interest, as set out in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, shall be payable from the date of entry of judgment in the trial court until satisfaction of the judgment and shall include compounding of interest annually.
(b) If a judgment for money in a civil case is appealed by a judgment debtor and the judgment is modified or reversed with a direction that a judgment for money be entered in the trial court, interest, as set out in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, shall be payable from the date a judgment was first entered in the trial court until the judgment is satisfied and shall include compounding of interest annually. This interest shall be payable on the amount of the final judgment.
(2) (a) The rate of interest shall be certified on each January 1 by the secretary of state to be two percentage points above the discount rate, which discount rate shall be the rate of interest a commercial bank pays to the federal reserve bank of Kansas City using a government bond or other eligible paper as security, and shall be rounded to the nearest full percent. Such annual rate of interest shall be so established as of December 31, 1982, to become effective January 1, 1983. Thereafter, as of December 31 of each year, the annual rate of interest shall be established in the same manner, to become effective on January 1 of the following year.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (2), the rate of interest shall be no lower than the percentage authorized in section 5-12-102 (4) (b).
(3) The rate at which interest shall accrue during each year shall be the rate which the secretary of state has certified as the annual interest rate under subsection (2) of this section.
(1) Any creditor may offer and extend credit to the debtor under a commercial credit plan. Without limitation, credit may be extended under a commercial credit plan by the creditor's acquisition of obligations including, without limitation, obligations arising out of the honoring by a seller or another person of a credit device made available to the debtor under a commercial credit plan. A creditor may take such security in connection with a commercial credit plan as may be acceptable to the creditor and may, if the agreement governing the commercial credit plan allows, establish separate accounts for different types of purchases or loans, or both, and impose different terms for credit extended with respect to each account.
(2) (a) A creditor may charge and collect periodic interest under a commercial credit plan on the outstanding unpaid indebtedness at a periodic percentage rate or rates not exceeding forty-five percent per annum. If the applicable periodic percentage rate under the agreement governing the plan is other than daily, periodic interest may be calculated on an amount not in excess of the average outstanding unpaid indebtedness for the applicable billing period. If the applicable periodic percentage rate under the agreement governing the plan is daily, periodic interest may be calculated for each day in the billing period on an amount not in excess of either:
(I) The outstanding unpaid indebtedness on that day; or
(II) The average outstanding unpaid indebtedness for the applicable billing period. If the applicable periodic percentage rate under the agreement governing the plan is monthly, a billing period shall be deemed to be a month or monthly if the last day of each billing period is on the same day of each month or does not vary by more than four days therefrom.
(b) The rate limitation established by this subsection (2) for periodic interest shall not apply to the additional interest charges authorized by subsection (3) of this section regardless of whether such additional interest charges are imposed in addition to or in lieu of periodic interest.
(3) (a) In addition to or in lieu of interest at a periodic rate or rates, a creditor may, if the agreement governing the commercial credit plan so provides, either initially or pursuant to a change in the terms of the agreement made in the manner prescribed by subsection (5) of this section, charge and collect, in such manner, form, percentages, or amounts as the agreement governing the plan may provide, one or more of the following fees or charges:
(I) A fee for participation in the commercial credit plan, whether assessed on an annual or other periodic basis;
(II) A transaction charge for each separate purchase or loan under the plan;
(III) An automated teller machine charge or similar electronic or interchange fee or charge;
(IV) A minimum charge for each scheduled billing period under the commercial credit plan during any portion of which there is an outstanding unpaid indebtedness;
(V) A late payment charge for each required payment not made on or before its scheduled due date;
(VI) Fees for services rendered or for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the creditor or other persons in connection with the commercial credit plan, or other fees incidental to the application, opening, administration, maintenance, or termination of a commercial credit plan;
(VII) Returned payment charges;
(VIII) Documentary evidence charges including without limitation charges for furnishing copies of sales slips, invoices, monthly statements, or other documents; and
(IX) Any similar fees or charges provided for in the agreement governing the commercial credit plan, whether initially or pursuant to a change in the terms of the agreement made in the manner prescribed by subsection (5) of this section; except that in no event shall this authorization to charge and collect any similar fees or charges be construed to authorize the imposition of periodic interest on the outstanding unpaid indebtedness in addition to the periodic interest authorized by subsection (2) of this section.
(b) Notwithstanding the fact that they are not subject to the rate limitation established by subsection (2) of this section for periodic interest, all of the fees and charges permitted by this subsection (3) are interest.
(4) The agreement governing a commercial credit plan may provide for the payment by the debtor of reasonable attorney's fees of the creditor if the account of the debtor is referred for collection to an attorney not a salaried employee of the creditor. The agreement also may provide for the payment by the debtor of all court and other collection costs actually incurred by the debtor.
(5) (a) Upon written notice furnished at least fifteen days prior to the effective date of the change, a creditor may change the terms of the agreement governing the commercial credit plan including, without limitation, periodic interest and additional interest charges so long as the debtor does not, prior to the effective date of the change set forth in the notice, furnish written notice to the creditor that the debtor does not agree to abide by the change. The change may be made effective with respect to existing balances if so provided in the written notice.
(b) Upon receipt by the creditor of a timely written notice stating that the debtor does not agree to abide by the change, the debtor shall have the remainder of the time under the existing terms in which to pay all sums owed to the creditor as of the effective date of the change set forth in the notice. If there is an authorized charge to the account on or after the effective date of the change set forth in the notice, the debtor shall be deemed to have accepted the new terms even if the debtor previously submitted to the creditor a timely written notice stating that the debtor does not agree to abide by the change.
(6) All terms, conditions, and other provisions of and relating to a commercial credit plan as contained in this section or in the agreement governing such plan, other than those fees and charges that are interest under this section, shall be and hereby are deemed to be material to the determination of interest applicable to a commercial credit plan under Colorado law, under the most favored lender doctrine, and under the "National Bank Act", 12 U.S.C. sec. 85 or section 521, 522, or 523 of the "Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980", 12 U.S.C. secs. 1463 (g), 1785 (g), and 1831d.
(7) A commercial credit plan established by a creditor and the extensions of credit made pursuant thereto shall be governed by Colorado law. Unless the agreement governing the commercial credit plan expressly states that it is subject to another law of this state, a commercial credit plan shall be governed exclusively by this section and shall not be subject to any other law of this state that otherwise would apply to the commercial credit plan including, but not limited to, laws limiting the amount or duration of credit or the rate or amount of interest or other charges that may be charged, taken, collected, received, or reserved.
(8) As used in this section:
(a) "Average outstanding unpaid indebtedness" means the amount determined by dividing the total of the amounts of the outstanding unpaid indebtedness for each day in the applicable billing period by the number of days in the billing period.
(b) "Commercial credit plan" or "plan" means a plan contemplating the extension of credit pursuant to an account governed by an agreement between a creditor and a debtor, whether or not providing for a security interest, pursuant to which:
(I) A creditor permits the debtor and, if allowed by a creditor, persons acting on behalf of or with authorization from the debtor, from time to time to make purchases on credit or obtain loans, or both, whether or not by use of a credit device;
(II) The purchases on credit are made or the loans are obtained primarily for business, commercial, investment, or agricultural purposes;
(III) The indebtedness of the debtor arising from such purchases or loans, or both, and other charges provided for in this section are debited to the account; and
(IV) (A) The debtor undertakes an obligation to pay the outstanding unpaid indebtedness at one time; or
(B) The debtor has the privilege of paying the outstanding unpaid indebtedness in one or more installments.
(c) "Credit" means the right granted by a creditor to the debtor to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment.
(d) "Credit device" means any card, check, identification code, account number, or other means of identification contemplated by the agreement governing the plan.
(e) "Creditor" means any seller or any lender located or maintaining a place of business in this state that enters into a commercial credit plan agreement with a debtor wherever located, including, without limitation, sellers of goods or services, small loan companies, licensed lenders, industrial banks, commercial banks and trust companies, savings and loan associations, and savings banks. The term "creditor" includes any transferee, whether such transferee acquires its interest by assignment or otherwise.
(f) "Debtor" means any natural person or individual or any corporation, partnership, cooperative, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, trust, estate, or other entity.
(g) "Interest" includes both periodic interest authorized by subsection (2) of this section and additional interest charges authorized by subsection (3) of this section.
(h) "Loans" means cash advances or loans to be paid to or for the account of the debtor.
(i) "Outstanding unpaid indebtedness" means on any day an amount not in excess of the total amount of purchases, loans, and other debits charged to the debtor's account under the plan that is outstanding and unpaid at the end of the day, after adding the aggregate amount of any new purchases, loans, and other debits charged to the account as of that day, including, without limitation, the amount of any periodic interest, additional interest charges, and other charges permitted by this section that have accrued, or been charged, to the account as of that day, and deducting the aggregate amount of any payments and other credits applied to that indebtedness as of that day.
(j) "Purchases" means payment obligations for property of whatever nature, real or personal, tangible or intangible, and payment obligations for services including, without limitation, insurance, licenses, taxes, official fees, fines, private or governmental obligations, or any other thing of value.
CO Colorado Official State Statutes
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