Consumer Advisory regarding Credit Card Surcharges
Colorado’s credit card surcharge law is changing on July 1, 2022. The changes will allow merchants to add amounts to sales and lease transactions whether the consumer uses a credit or charge card. For more information, view this Consumer Alert regarding Credit Card Surcharges or Alerta al Consumidor sobre los Recargos en las Tarjetas de Crédito.
Consumer Advisory regarding Tribal Lending
Colorado consumers should be cautious when seeking loans from companies seen advertised on TV or online. These companies may be owned or affiliated with federally recognized Indian Tribes, which are not licensed or regulated by the Department. While some of these advertisements or websites do include notice of Tribal affiliation, this is not always the case.
Colorado has found instances in which these companies have charged significantly more than the legal interest rate in Colorado and executed wage garnishments without a court order. For a list of lenders licensed and regulated by the Department’s Consumer Credit Unit, use the link to the right Licensed Supervised Lenders & Disciplinary History.
Colorado Employers: Garnishing an employee’s wages for a debt from a consumer credit transaction is prohibited in the absence of a court order.
Employers who receive a creditor’s request to garnish one of their employees’ wages for debt from a consumer credit transaction should expect that request to be accompanied by a court order authorizing the requested garnishment and be served with the required accompanying forms related to exempt earnings. Under Colorado law, garnishing an employee’s wages for debt from a consumer credit transaction is expressly prohibited unless judgment has been entered by a court. C.R.S. s 5-5-105.
Employers who receive garnishment requests from creditors for debt from a consumer credit transaction that are not served along with a court order may contact the Colorado Department of Law at uccc@coag.gov.
File a Complaint
We will review your complaint to determine if our office has the statutory authority to proceed. If we have jurisdiction, we may send a copy of your complaint to the company for its response. You will receive a copy of the company’s response unless it is kept for additional investigation.
If we do not have jurisdiction over the matter, we will refer your complaint to the proper authority. We will notify you if we are unable to assist you.
We are prohibited by law from giving legal advice. To preserve any legal rights you may have, you may wish to consult a private attorney about your legal options under the law.
You may wish to review the list of Colorado and national Referral Agencies that may be of assistance.
If you’d prefer a hard copy of the complaint form, please click here.