Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin
We owned a small trucking company and had a fuel account at a local gas station. We were forced to close unexpectedly and had a balance on the fuel account. I made arrangements to make monthly payments of $500 on the account and the owner agreed not to charge me any interest. This was a verbal agreement. The next month she charged me $398 in interest and then again charged me $298 in interest 6 months later. I only owe $576 on the original fuel bill, do I have to pay her the interest?
1 Answer from Attorneys
While verbal contracts can legally be enforced when they only involve small monetary amounts, the old saying about them is true, that is, that they are not "worth the paper they're written on." Commercial vendors, however, do often have language in their invoices or other paperwork reserving the right to charge interest, which would generally trump a verbal agreement. Additionally, WI law allows small interest charges on open accounts even without an agreement. You therefore may be on the hook for some interest charges here. The good news, however, is that both interest and principal are generally 100% dischargeable in bankruptcy. While it wouldn't be worth spending a thousand or two over a $1000 debt, if you are like most owners of failed businesses, you probably have multiple other reasons to consider bankruptcy. You therefore owe it to yourself to at least schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. My comments here are not legal advice, nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us; rather they are only for public educational purposes on this website. You are; however, always welcome to contact my office in Racine to discuss any additional questions which you may have.
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