5 Ways to Send a Demand Letter

Before sending your demand letter by mail, you'll want to be confident that you write a professional and effective demand for payment If you need help with this, check out the 10 Steps to a Strong Demand Letter or quickly create one for free with JusticeDirect.

1. USPS Mail

Can a demand letter be sent by email? Yes. However, if you decide to send your letter through regular USPS mail, consider how you will prove that your intended recipient did indeed get the letter from you demanding payment. This is often tricky to do, but luckily, the next option provides an easy solution!

2. USPS Certified Mail or Registered Mail (Recommended)

Sending your letter demanding payment by certified mail is the most effective way to make sure that the other side knows that you are serious about getting your money back. You will have to go to the U.S. Post office in person, stand in line and pay for this service. Make sure you keep your receipt and bring it to court as evidence that you sent the demand letter and that it was delivered.

A good option to save you time and effort is to send it through JusticeDirect. JusticeDirect offers a service to automatically print and mail the demand letter generated on our platform. The demand letter will be sent by USPS Certified Mail to the recipient(s) you select. Using this service, you will not need to worry about printing out the demand letter, going to the Post Office, standing in line, mailing it by certified mail, and keeping track of it.

3. Email

Enable Read Receipts

If you want to send the demand letter via email, check your email program for a “read receipt” feature and turn it on, if there is one. This feature provides a notification to you when the person opens the email.

Consider a Plugin

If your email does not have a “read receipt” feature, search for a free plugin that will provide proof that your emails were opened by the recipient. Print out the notification, as well as a copy of the email from your “sent” email folder.

Try This Workaround

If you cannot turn on reading receipts through your email program or through a plugin, just include yourself (“CC”) as recipient on the demand letter email so that you receive an exact duplicate of what the other person receives and print that out.

4. Facsimile (fax)

If you have access to a fax machine, you could fax the demand letter if you have the fax number of the person you are writing to. You may fax the letter, but most people use email these days.

5. Private Courier

If you can afford to do so, then consider using a private courier company to deliver the demand letter. You might be able to purchase a special service in which the envelope is delivered to and signed for by the person to whom it is addressed.

Key Things When Sending a Demand Letter

• Relationship that you have with the person

• Method that “feels right” given the current state of relations between you

• Method that is your personal preference

• Contact information that you have for the person

• Amount of money you are willing to spend.

As with every expense, keep your receipt! If you have to go to court and you win your case, the judge may award you the total of extra costs in addition to the main dollar amount that you seek – but only if you have receipts for every single penny that you claim you had to spend to get your property back.

If you have to hand-write the letter, find a way to make photocopies. Local libraries and convenience stores almost always have photocopy machines, or you could visit a printing shop. Keep the receipt even if it only costs you one or two dollars. These “one or two dollar” items add up.

Frequently Asked Questions

NEED HELP WITH YOUR JUSTICE JOURNEY?

The quest for justice is never easy, particularly when it comes to getting your money back. However, thanks to advances in technology, it has become easier. Quest for Justice’s first app, JusticeDirect, is the only app of its kind designed to support people without lawyers resolve their dispute and get their money back, both in and out of court. The first step to getting money back is through a letter demanding payment from the other party JusticeDirect offers customizable demand letters for free. If the letter demanding payment does not work, then the next step is taking them to court. JusticeDirect* will guide users every step of the way through the small claims court process by helping them:

1. Understand the legal process;

2. Evaluate the pros and cons that come with taking someone to court;

3. Generate small claims court forms; and,

4. Avoid common mistakes when filing your forms and serving notice on the other side.

*Currently, JusticeDirect can only help litigants sue in California’s small claims court.