Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property after repossession

This notice

The paper is often titled Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property. Sometimes the heading says Notice of Intent to Sell, pre-sale notice, or private-sale notice. The lender already took the vehicle. This letter is about the sale that comes next.

Recent CFPB complaints describe the same heading from auto lenders and assignees such as Axos, American Credit Acceptance, Toyota Motor Credit, Wells Fargo Auto, and others. Some people got the notice after a repossession. Some got it after a total-loss pickup. Some said they never received any pre-sale notice at all.

The CFPB page What happens if my car is repossessed? treats that notice as your chance to redeem the vehicle before it is sold, and later to check the deficiency or surplus.

This is not a mortgage Notice of Default. It is not a collector’s first validation letter about a deficiency you already owe. It is not a student-loan wage-garnishment paper. Those are different clocks.

Official path

1. Save the notice, the envelope, and every prior repo or voluntary-surrender letter. Circle the earliest sale date and whether the sale is public or private. The CFPB repossession page says a public sale notice must give date, time, and place, and a private sale notice must give the date after which the vehicle may be sold.

2. Call the lender or servicer the same day about redemption and about personal property left in the car. The same CFPB page says to contact the lender right away to retrieve belongings, and that you may be entitled to buy the vehicle back by paying the full loan amount plus repossession costs before the sale. Ask for a written redemption payoff that lists every fee. The CFPB page What should I do if I can’t make my car payments? also says to get repayment or reinstatement deals in writing.

3. Ask whether your state or contract lets you cure or reinstate after repossession by catching up missed payments plus repo costs. The repossession page describes that path. Confirm with your state attorney general or consumer protection office if the notice is silent. Do not rely on a phone promise alone.

4. Write the lender before the sale date. State that you received the Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property (or that you never received one), quote the sale date on the paper, request the redemption or cure amount, demand return of personal property, and ask for the planned sale method. Keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove delivery.

5. Watch the sale and the math. The CFPB page says lenders must sell in a commercially reasonable manner, that you may owe a deficiency if the sale does not cover the loan plus fees, and that you are entitled to any surplus. Ask in writing for the sale price, date, and an itemized fee list as soon as the sale closes.

6. Submit a complaint at Submit a complaint if the notice never came, the sale date already passed without a real chance to redeem, personal property is withheld for an upfront fee the CFPB has treated as unfair in enforcement, or the deficiency figures do not match the notice. Attach the notice, your written requests, and any sale accounting. The Bureau’s Bulletin 2022-04 flags unfair repossession practices for holders and servicers.

What people reported

Often helps

• Calling and writing the same day the Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property arrived, with the sale date and a request for a written redemption or cure payoff.
• Listing every item left in the vehicle, then scheduling pickup before the sale date, as the CFPB page urges.
• Asking for the post-sale accounting when a deficiency letter arrived, then comparing fees to the pre-sale notice.

Often fails

• Waiting past the private-sale date on the notice, then arguing only after a collector billed a deficiency. CFPB narratives also describe people who never got a pre-sale notice and only learned of the auction after the fact.

Community outcomes here come from CFPB complaint narratives, not from invented usernames. Forum tip-trading is not statute.

Template

[DATE]

[LENDER / SERVICER NAME]
Repossession / Remarketing
[ADDRESS ON THE NOTICE]

Re: Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property, account ending [LAST FOUR], [YEAR/MAKE/MODEL]

I am writing about the Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property dated [NOTICE DATE] for the vehicle taken on [REPO DATE]. The notice says the vehicle may be sold [publicly on DATE/TIME/PLACE / privately after DATE].

Before that sale date, please send in writing:
1. The full redemption amount, itemizing principal, interest, and every repossession or storage fee.
2. Whether cure or reinstatement is available, with the exact amount and deadline.
3. A timed appointment to retrieve personal property left in the vehicle: [SHORT LIST].
4. The sale method and where you will send the sale accounting.

If you say I already got a different notice, send a copy. Reply to this address.

[FULL NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]

Enclosures: [COPY OF NOTICE / PROPERTY LIST]

Stop here if…

• You were served a lawsuit, summons, or post-judgment wage garnishment about the deficiency. Those court deadlines are not the same as a pre-sale notice.
• The paper is a mortgage Notice of Default, intent to foreclose, or loss-mitigation decision, not a vehicle sale notice.
• A collector’s first validation letter is the only paper you have, and you never received a pre-sale notice from the auto lender—treat the validation path separately and still ask the lender for the sale file.

FAQ

Is this the same as a foreclosure Notice of Default?

No. A Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property is about a repossessed vehicle (or other personal property) the lender plans to sell. A mortgage Notice of Default or intent to foreclose is real-estate paper with different rules.

Can they sell the car without this notice?

The CFPB repossession page says you have the right to be notified before the vehicle is sold or kept as compensation for the debt. For a public sale, the lender must tell you the date, time, and place. For a private sale, it must tell you the date after which the vehicle may be sold. If you never got that notice, say so in writing and keep proof of your address.

What is redemption?

The same CFPB page says you may be entitled to buy the vehicle back by paying the full loan amount plus repossession costs before the sale. That is often called redemption. Ask the lender for a written payoff that lists every fee.

What if my state lets me cure or reinstate after repo?

Some states let you catch up on missed payments plus repossession costs and get the car back. The CFPB page calls that curing or reinstating. Check your contract and your state attorney general or consumer protection office. Get any deal in writing.

What happens after the sale?

If the sale price plus fees does not cover what you owe, the CFPB page says you may owe a deficiency balance. If the sale brings more than you owe after fees, you are entitled to the surplus. Lenders must sell in a commercially reasonable manner. Ask in writing for the sale price, buyer type, and an itemized list of fees.