Our Blog

A recent state report indicates that payday loan companies in Utah charged an average APR of 522.26 percent, or $10.02, for a seven-day $100 loan last year. The highest rate charged by a payday lender in Utah last year was 2,607% APR, or $50 for a $100 loan for seven days. TAB Bank works with EasyPay Finance for loans for auto repairs, furniture, appliances, pets, wheels and tires with an annual rate of up to 189% in 30 states. According to § 15-1-1, the maximum legal interest rate is ten percent per annum if there is no contract that sets a different interest rate. According to section 15-1-4, the rate of interest on monetary judgments is the federal interest rate after the judgment of January 1 of each year plus two per cent. If the judgment is based on a promissory note or contract that sets a different interest rate, the interest will be equal to the interest agreed in the transaction. It`s true. The laws on Utah`s interests are irreconcilable. However, this does not mean that every contract with high interest rates is an insurmountable problem.

If an experienced lawyer uses the right pressure points, a creditor may back down and not fully perform a contract, including an inflated interest rate. The lawyer can help the creditor identify problems with the contract that encourage them to pay less than what is owed. As explained above, there are many laws that can affect the enforceability of the contract, in addition to the consumer laws that continue to apply. An experienced lawyer will analyze the unique terms and circumstances of your contract and advise you on the best path forward. Most of us have faced a financial commitment or had to make significant purchases or investments. And most of us have used a credit card, taken out a loan, or at least wondered about these options. For both, a high interest rate could cause us more money problems if we don`t take care to use it responsibly and make payments on time. The hive state can also help – by limiting the amount of interest a creditor can charge.

This is an introduction to the laws of interest in Utah. (Leah Hogsten| Some Utah banks are criticized for helping high-yield extragovernmental lenders avoid interest rate caps imposed by other states. Consumer groups say high-yield lenders — who do things like payday loans or auto loans — are using a new way to circumvent government interest rate caps nationwide: they work with Utah banks that don`t set interest rate limits. Capital Community Bank partners with ChoiceCa$h (Loan Mart) to provide auto loans with an annual rate of up to 222% in 16 states and the District of Columbia. An error also invalidates a contract and releases a party from being bound by an agreed interest rate. Mistakes can be reciprocal or one-sided. A mutual error means that both parties have erred about a very important contractual clause. For example, both parties to a real estate contract may believe that a parcel of farmland can be developed into residential land, but they are wrong.

This mistake can invalidate the contract, especially if both parties know that the purpose of the sale is to develop residential land. A one-sided mistake occurs when only one party is wrong and the other party is aware of this misunderstanding. In the example above, if the seller knows that the land cannot be developed into residential land and also knows that the other party does not know, a unilateral error has occurred that may invalidate the contract (and the interest rate associated with it). Saunders said most states set interest rate caps on non-bank installment loans — and the average cap among the 45 states that would cap interest on a six-month $500 loan is an APR of 37.5 percent. Pawnbrokers in the state of Utah are allowed to set their own rates. Title 11, Chapter 6, Section 4 of the Utah Code grants this power. Therefore, pawnshops throughout the state are not subject to usury laws. Section 76-6-520 of the Utah Code reads: “§ 76-6-520.

Criminal usury (1) A person is guilty of criminal usury if he knowingly engages in or finances, directly or indirectly, the business of making loans at a higher or equivalent interest rate than that permitted by law, or financing loans, directly or indirectly. 2) Criminal usury is a third-degree felony. While each case is different, Utah laws and courts have applied relatively high interest rates. For example, consumer interest rates above 20% per annum may be clearly enforceable, and interest rates of 40% per annum in commercial contracts may also have teeth. Especially between demanding parties in trade, many people believe that high interest rates are good for our economy. Without high-risk capital backed by high interest rates, some companies – especially those with untested products or new ideas – would be hampered.